James Tenney - The Solo Works for Percussion

Performed by Matthias Kaul with the assistance of Rüdiger Orth. It contains the shocking "Maximusic" (1965), built from sudden dynamic contrasts of a mysterious soft cymbal roll and an explosion of the performer's energy. "Ergodos II" for tape with percussion complement (1963-64) is a classic from Tenney's early work at the Bell Labs and is for computer-generated sound and percussionist guided by a graphic score offering a wide range of responsive options. "Koan: Having Never Written a Note for Percussion" for tamtam (1971) is an deeply intense and meditative 17-minute study in the surprising harmonic richness of a slowly modulated sustained gong. Read More