Panel Discussions
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Amirkhanian: For instance, we have had discussions
about censorship because in America there were some senators who were saying
that artists should not have money because they use profanity or they sometimes
incorporate sexually explicit material. So we had a discussion about censorship.
That discussion was with Laurie ANDERSON, Pauline OLIVEROS, Roger REYNOLDS,
Henry BRANT, and some people from other countries like I Wayan SADRA from
Indonesia and a Chinese composer, GE Gan Ru. When these composers spoke
about censorship, it was really extreme. Sadra discussed how when he gave
a performance of his music, army tanks came to the performance area and
scared all the people away. It's illegal even to speak about love between
a young man and woman in a song. And he has music which criticizes the government,
but is very, very disguised. So he has been under attack by the government.
Shimoda: In Indonesia?
Amirkhanian: Yes, in Indonesia, in the countryside
when he was giving a concert outside, tanks came.
So, we looked at him and thought this is real censorship.
Then we looked around and Ge Gan Ru had tears coming out of his eyes. "For
years," he said, "I was in a camp digging potatoes because I played
a Western violin. And every night I would go at four in the morning to an
abandoned barn, take out my violin and a candle, and I would play. I had
an another friend who would also play." We asked who that was? He said,
"The concert master of the Beijing Philharmonic, my teacher."
That's when we realized we had to make a statement. So we
wrote a manifesto saying that artists should be able to do whatever they
have to do without restriction. And Laurie Anderson called the UPI (United
Press International), and she read it, and it was printed in all the newspapers
in America.
So this is the kind of thing we would like to do when we have
panel discussions. |
Participants
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Amirkhanian: We also have concerts in San Francisco. The concerts
this year will include a piece by Lukas LIGETI, the son of George LIGETI.
This piece "Groove Magic" is for 12 players. Each one with headphones,
each one playing in a different tempo. We also have Frederic RZEWSKI, playing
a new composition for piano, George LEWIS, and Henry KAISER. Do you know
the Japanese artist YANAGI Kazunobu? He does big brush paintings.
Shimoda: He's a visual artist?
Amirkhanian: Yes. He will paint a large canvas in response to
Henry Kaiser's live improvisation performance. And then we have other composers.
La Monte YOUNG is coming, and some other composers from China.
Shimoda: So the participants will be coming from all over the
world, and the festival will run from November 21 to 24? And that's going
to be concerts and panel discussions?
Amirkhanian: Right. And before that, for four days, the composers
will be meeting at the Djerassi Program. This will be the third festival.
We've been having it every 18 months, but from now on we will be doing it
once every 12 months.
Shimoda: So it's going to be an annual event? And you started
in 1993, didn't you?
Amirkhanian: Right.
Shimoda: It sounds very unique, especially since the main focus
is on the communication between the composers. Is another focus perhaps
what will come out of these meetings?
Amirkhanian: You mean when the festival is over what happens with
the results?
Well, we have a Web page and we publish our panel discussions. About
60 photographs can be seen from the first two festivals. And the Djerassi
Web page also has a lot of photos of the Djerassi Program.
(to be continued in our next issue) |
