Michael Pisaro, October 2004:
On Schoenberg and his circle though Boulez and Xenakis; Jazz from Armstrong to Coltrane; Rock n' Roll music from Presley to the Sex Pistols; Cage and his circle.
On Schoenberg and his circle though Boulez and Xenakis; Jazz from Armstrong to Coltrane; Rock n' Roll music from Presley to the Sex Pistols; Cage and his circle.
What do we think of this? Would we add any? Would not most of what is talked about here fall (in a certain way) under one of these nominations?These are for the four recognizable sites within music where I can find those things which make me think a 'truth procedure' is (or was) in underway: A founding event (unforeseeable within its time); the creation of a group of 'subjects' to the truth forecasted by this event; a pursuit of the consequences of the event in its widest implications along an infinite path (i.e., a truth procedure).
There is of course nothing absolute or definitive about my list (even though over the years I have given this a lot of thought). It must be admitted that the process of nominating events is always open to debate and to verification. For us, as composers, this is something that I think we do in our work (consciously or not). We test the truths we have encountered in process of making our own work: see how far they can be extended, discover their limits (if they exist): and all of this is done, I believe, more or less intuitively (this is not the realm of logic).
Last edited: