Event overview
Come for part or all of this 16-hour performance-installation, from 7am - midnight!
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Erik Satie's birth, Goldsmiths Keyboard Collective present John Cage's historic 1963 multi-player staging of Satie's epic repetitive work for piano, Vexations (1893). Come for part or all of this 16-hour performance-installation.
Though Erik Satie’s “Vexations” (1893) consisted of only a half sheet of notation, its recital had previously been deemed impossible, as the French composer had suggested at the top of his original manuscript that the motif be repeated 840 times. Even before repetition, the piano line is unnerving: mild but menacing, exquisite but skewed, modest but exacting. Above the music, Satie included an author’s note, as much a warning as direction: “It would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities.” ... The American composer John Cage was the first to insist that staging “Vexations” was not only possible but essential.
(text Sam Sweet, The New Yorker)
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Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun 2016 | 7:00am - 11:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
