36 Years Ago

36 Years Ago, Vienna 1971—A Student Journal

Day 346: Avant-garde 3

Day 346 — Avant-garde 3
13-Jul-1972 (Thur.)

Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche
I am immersed in avant-garde music—day and night—at the continuing music festival in Berlin. At night, it’s Steve Reich and modern dance. During the afternoon break, I’m at the museum of the Berlin Wall.
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Day 345: Avant-garde music, my thoughts

Day 345 — Avant-garde music, my thoughts
12-Jul-1972 (Wed.)

First sight of the Berlin Wall
It’s a big day of much avant-garde music and art. I hear a lot of music today and am a bit critical of things sounding “typical.” That’s typical, of me. The Berlin girls are chic (and bra-less). Berlin is a town for young people.
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Day 344: John Cage, avant-garde festival

Day 344 — John Cage, avant-garde festival
11-Jul-1972 (Tue.)

Avant-garde music festival at the Akadamie der Kunste
I’m in Berlin (West). I spend the day sightseeing and getting ready to go to a series of avant-garde music concerts by John Cage. I talk a lot about John Cage and chance music. Lot’s of photos.
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Day 301: Paris says no

Day 301 — Paris says no
29-May-1972 (Montag–Mon.)

Today is the day that I actually get the news that I am not going to Fontainebleau this summer to study composition. I’m depressed.
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Day 299: New music from Prof. Kaufmann; Mai Fest

Day 299 — New music from Prof. Kaufmann; Mai Fest
27-May-1972 (Samstag–Sat.)

Vienna park and Rathaus at night
A full day. Lots of things. Significant is that composer Dieter Kaufmann is beginning work on a new musique concrète composition. Mai Fest is also beginning.
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Day 296: Opera’s expression

Day 296 — Opera’s expression
24-May-1972 (Mittwoch–Wed.)

A light day. Just a short discourse on opera’s use of dialog to communicate the story.
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Day 287: Contemporary ballet and OSU

Day 287 — Contemporary ballet and OSU
15-May-1972 (Montag–Mon.)

I speak today to contemporary ballet and modern dance and relate to a modern dance/music composition that I wrote while a student at The Ohio State University. The composition was a musique concrète/electronic work titled, “Ruth,” based on the Book of Ruth from the Old Testament.
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Day 281: Documenting the Fantasy

Day 281 — Documenting the Fantasy
09-May-1972 (Dienstag–Tue.)

Handwritten Fantasy score and timings
I talk a bit about the documentation that I am preparing for Fantasy on Broken Glass and the educational aspect of documenting the techniques and creation of the composition. Includes some scans.
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Day 277: Note from Nadia Boulanger

Day 277 — Note from Nadia Boulanger
05-May-1972 (Freitag–Fri.)

Nadia Boulanger note part 1
A wonderful note comes to me from Fontainebleau in France. Nadia Boulanger has written me a handwritten note. A treasure. Today’s post is one of the most important to me, personally, in this entire year of blogging.
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Day 270: Fantasy on Broken Glass—Finished, yay!

Day 270 — Fantasy on Broken Glass—Finished, yay!
28-April-1972 (Freitag–Fri.)

Fantasy rough score 01
A great day. Fantasy on Broken Glass—that’s my musique concrète work—is finally finished. Yes. It’s a good feeling to complete a project. Be thankful to your teachers. Some pictures of the rough score.
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Day 249: Jean-Pierre leaves

Day 249 — Jean-Pierre leaves
07-April-1972 (Freitag–Fri.)

A good friend leaves today and I discover that you can’t tell a composer by his published cover—until you see it.
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Day 246: Lost Glass, found—Thank you, Vienna

Day 246 — Lost Glass, found—Thank you, Vienna
04-April-1972 (Dienstag–Tue.)

Broken Glass, found. No, that’s not a code word to launch nuclear weapons, it’s news from the Institute of Composition and Electroacoustic Media at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. They have found my 36-year-old tapes and will digitize them and send them to me. It’s a miracle.
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Day 222: Taking a chance

Day 222 — Taking a chance
11-March-1972 (Samstag–Sat.)

John Cage Berlin 1972
A brand new idea comes to me. Turning radio recordings into compositions. I talk a bit about John Cage and his influence on the genre of “chance” music and “happenings.”
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Day 220: Too little, too much

Day 220 — Too little, too much
09-March-1972 (Donnerstag–Thur.)

I pose to you, the reader, these questions:

• Which is better—too little, or too much?
• Is it better to produce five top-ten hits or 200 here’s-the-idea pieces of music?

Then, I spend a lot of time talking about this stuff.
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Day 164: NAMM and the Vienna Symphonic Library

Day 164 — NAMM and the Vienna Symphonic Library
13-January-1972 (Donnerstag–Thur.)

VSL at NAMM 2008
In 2008, I visit the NAMM trade show and visit my favorite music manufacturers and software developers, including the Vienna Symphonic Library. If you are a composer, arranger, orchestrator, producer, or have aspirations of writing music for film, TV, commercial, or the record business, you need to discover orchestral sample libraries.
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Day 092: Tights, tutus, and tippie-toes

Day 92 —Tights, tutus, and tippie-toes
02-November-1971 (Tue.)


Austrian skiing
Excitement stirs. Plans for a skiing vacation are formulating. I talk a bit about my regret of not traveling more in life. Damn Euro/dollar ratio. Damn time.

I enjoy my first ballet in Vienna—
Swan Lake. There are men in tights, women in tutus, and lots of tippie-toes.
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Day 082: Techie day—recording and editing sound

Day 82 — Techie day—recording and editing sound
23-October-1971 (Sat.)


I’m splicing up a tape storm in the electronic music lab, and give a detailed overview of the process of editing and composing with tape and sound. It gets a bit detailed and is meant for music majors interested in learning about these vintage composing techniques. If you’re not a music techie—skip to tomorrow.

I get a letter from best friend Lenny, and Anjali. That makes today, a red-letter day.

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Day 059: Two resolutions—exam completed and new apartment

Day 59 — Two resolutions—exam completed and new apartment
30-September-1971 (Thur.)

Wickenburggasse apartment
Examination day—composition. I’m not sure if I passed or failed. I think I passed.

Then on to my new apartment. It’s nice to settle down.
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