TitleWorld of Alan Hovhaness: Ode to gravity, KPFA-FM (Radio program)
Additional title: Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation CollectionAdditional title: Ode to gravity (Radio program)
NamesMerce Cunningham Dance Company (Associated name)Amirkhanian, Charles (Interviewer)Amirkhanian, Charles (Host)Amirkhanian, Charles (Radio producer)Hovhaness, Alan, 1911-2000 (Interviewee)Cage, John (Instrumentalist)Hovhaness, Alan, 1911-2000 (Instrumentalist)KPFA (Radio station : Berkeley, Calif.) (Broadcaster)MGM Chamber Orchestra (Performer)
CollectionMerce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials
Dates / OriginDate Created: 1975Date Issued: 1976-01-28Date Created: 1981-10-22
Library locationsRodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded SoundShelf locator: *LDC-A 411
TopicsHovhaness, Alan, 1911-2000Chamber orchestra musicPercussion and piano music
GenresRadio programsInterviews
NotesStatement of responsibility: produced and hosted by Charles Amirkhanian; with interviewee, Alan Hovhaness.Content: Title provided by cataloger based on the photocopied insert of the original reel container included with the audio disc and audition.Content: Photocopied insert of the original reel container, side 1: "Pacifica KPFA FM 94.1, KPFB FM 89.3 ; Ode to Gravity ; The World of Alan Hovhaness ; American composer Alan Hovhaness (b. 1911, Somerville, Mass.) has successfully combined Eastern and Western music to produce unique works both exotic and immediately accessible. Incorporating music reflecting his Armenian heritage with procedures common in Medieval and pre-Baroque Western music, Hovhaness has produced an enormous catalogue of works after destroying his first thousand pieces which he regarded as learning pieces. This program, including an interview with the composer by Charles Amirkhanian recorded in late 1975, introduces both early and late compositions: Mihr, for two pianos, Invocations to Vahaken IV and V (piano and percussion), Komitas: Yerangi, And God Created Great Whales (tape and orchestra), October Mountain, percussion ensemble, Khaldis Concerto for 4 Trumpets, Piano and Percussion (1st mvmt), Symphony no. 15, "Silver Pilgrimmage", Anahid. chamber orchestra ; Broadcast: 28 Jan 1976 Wednesday, 22 Nov 1981 Thursday 9:00am". Photocopied insert of the original reel container, side 2: "Pacifica KPFA FM 94.1, KPFB FM 89.3 ; Ode to Gravity ; The World of Alan Hovhaness ; Reel two of two ; Originally broadcast 1/28/76 on KPFA. Also available in archives of Pacifica Program Service AZ 0021 a/b.".Venue: Originally recorded on a reel to reel in an unidentified location.Venue: Dubbed to audio disc from the original reel at Other Minds Archive, San Franciso, California, [probably 1990's?].Acquisition: Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Physical DescriptionAudio discExtent: 1 audio disc (51 minutes) : digital, 4 3/4 in., stereoSound quality is good.
DescriptionBegins abruptly with an unidentified excerpt of music; program host Charles Amirkhanian describes the musical influences that Alan Hovhaness incorporates into his compositions; Amirkhanian gives a brief biography of Hovhaness in his early years and introduces his 1975 interview with Hovhaness; [interview begins ca. 3:43] Amirkhanian recalls the pivotal childhood experience of listening to the recording, Piano compositions, by Alan Hovhaness and John Cage, and expresses his admiration of Hovhaness; Hovhaness speaks briefly about the record, now out of print; Hovhaness speaks about his earliest experiments in the 1940s with the Armenian instrument, Qānūn, and the resulting composition "Invocation to Vahaken" (1945); [excerpt of "Invocation to Vahaken" from Piano compositions by Alan Hovhaness and John Cage]; Hovhaness briefly describes his other works with similar instrumentation; Hovhaness describes the first performance and composition of "Nagooran", South Indian orchestra (1960); Hovhaness speaks about his early musical influences while growing up in Massachusetts, and beginning to compose at 7 years old; briefly, operas that he composed in junior and senior high school; his admiration of works by the composer, Jean Sibelius; Hovhaness speaks about why he threw away his earliest compositions in the 1930s and 1940s; Hovhaness speaks about his original last name and why he changed it; he describes the style and composition of Symphony no. 26 [on the occasion of its world premiere in San Jose, 1975]; Hovhaness speaks about inspiration from nature and Eastern religions; [excerpt of Anahid (1944-45), played by the MGM Chamber Orchestra]; [interview continues, ca. 38:18]; Hovhaness speaks about his interest in inventing musical instruments that play microtones; electronic music, his brief experimentation with it and his distaste of its sound; Hovhaness speaks about his publishers throughout the years, including MGM records and music producer Ed Cole; Hovhaness speaks briefly about conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in recording his work for Poseidon Society Records; Hovhaness speaks about forthcoming records and recording projects; [excerpt from Symphony no. 26].
Type of ResourceSound recording
LanguagesEnglish
IdentifiersRLIN/OCLC: 909422568NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20625379Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 45917270-b8c3-0133-c26f-60f81dd2b63c
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