A Concert of Experimental Music from England

On March 21, 1974 the San Francisco Conservatory New Music Ensemble under the direction of John Adams performed a concert of avant-garde and experimental music, by mostly young English composers. Works heard include an arrangement of an early 20th century waltz, a song based on a Chinese melody by Cornelius Cardew, and a rondo by Christopher Hobbs. Also heard are two pieces by Gavin Bryars, one inspired by the story of the Titanic, and another by a film of a London tramp singing an old hymn. Both of Bryars’ pieces, which he introduced himself, were accompanied by visual projections of pictures or films and have a beautiful yet haunting quality to them. Much of this work is based on reworkings of Victorian waltz melodies and sentimental salon pieces. Most of the pieces are consonant, some even very emotional.