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La Monte Young Raers

hemolhemol 2,578 Posts
edited January 2008 in Strut Central
Sharing what I've got, even though it's not funky.I Scored two of the four La Monte Yonug Well Tuned Piano cds at the Thunderbird a few years ago. No case, and scratched, but they played. Guy selling them had no clue and gave them each to me for a dollar. I'm not sure if this stuff is easy to get on filesharing networks, but I know it's pretty hard to find/expensive otherwise. He owns all of his own material and rarely releases stuff.This recording was made in the early eighties, but he's been working on the score for decades. Every time he plays he adds more notes, and the whole thing is memorized. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but an important composer, and piece in the history of American music. La Monte Young was contemporary with Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. Young is often considered to be the first formally recognized American Minimalist. He studied with Pandit Pran Nath, and was close friends with Terry Riley (who also began studying with Nath through Young). Young's works are accompanied by light installations created by his wife Marian Zazeela. He employs techniques that emphasize glacial tempos--'notes' can take minutes, and the silences between them are likewise quite long. Young spent some time studying in Cage's classes alongside the artists who later began Fluxus--Kaprow, Paik, et al.--at Julliard.Well tuned Piano: 1-02 [Untitled 2].m4a

  Comments

  • SnagglepusSnagglepus 1,756 Posts
    He's a special man to be sure. A friend of mine is pretty close with him and studied under him for a couple of years. As La Monte's days are 27 hours long, my friend would be called to "class" at all hours of the night (it would be mid-afternoon in La Monte's world).

    I still have to visit the Dream House. Should be a mind opening experience.


    And, by the way, thanks for the recording!
  • hemolhemol 2,578 Posts
    Happy to share. The Dream House definitely is a unique experience. I recommend it.
  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts
    I Scored two of the four La Monte Yonug Well Tuned Piano cds at the Thunderbird a few years ago. No case, and scratched, but they played. Guy selling them had no clue and gave them each to me for a dollar.

    Are scratched, coverless, incomplete CD sets actually worth any more than $1?
  • youknowyouknowyouknowyouknow 264 Posts
    nice post. i work at the university of north texas music library and when i'm shelving scores nine times out of ten i'm "bumping" la monte young 'well-tuned piano or 'theater of the eternal mind' - "the tortoise recalling the drone of the holy numbers as they were revealed in the dreams of the whirlwind and the obsidian gong and illuminated by the sawmill". it's a challenge not to sit down and meditate the hours away in between hidden rows of music literature. the dream house looks great!
  • hemolhemol 2,578 Posts
    I Scored two of the four La Monte Yonug Well Tuned Piano cds at the Thunderbird a few years ago. No case, and scratched, but they played. Guy selling them had no clue and gave them each to me for a dollar.

    Are scratched, coverless, incomplete CD sets actually worth any more than $1?

    To resell? No. I'm not a hustler like that anyways though. To hear music that is otherwise unobtainable? Yes, they are worth way more than $1.
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