[silence] Petr Kotik's Umbilical Cord

[Glenn Freeman]

>>> To perform the work? Yes. To perform the work well is another  
>>> question.
>>
>> OK, and what authority figure will decide what is well and what is  
>> not?
>
> Authority figure?

who decides what is "well"?

>> I never said irrelevant, I said not required.
>
> So then you agree that the statements outside the score can have a
> beneficial effect on performance. How would you revise your previous
> remarks to make them consistent with this?

no need to revise.

> Have you heard of the stories of the attempts by major orchestras to
> perform Cage's works in his presence during his lifetime? You might
> find them enlightening.

feel free to provide an oral history of such attempts if you like, but  
the past is gone.

cage has been dead since 1992. his number pieces for orchestra were  
all written within 5 years of his death. that is, 6 major orchestral  
works [not including various re-combinations] i would describe as  
cage's 6 late symphonies. they all remain unperformed by the major  
orchestras of our day.

today's orchestras, quite a bit different than the orchestras of the  
1960s and 70s (aside from the conductor issue), would encounter no  
problems performing these symphonies. i soon hope to hear the major  
orchestras of the world performing Cage's 6 final symphonies on a  
regular basis.

Glenn Freeman
OgreOgress productions
http://ogreogress.com