Electric Richard Maxfield

On June 27, 1969, Richard Maxfield, 42, jumped out of a window of the Figueroa Hotel in Los Angeles, ending his tragically short life during which he became known as one of the earliest and foremost electronic music composers. Maxfield studied at U. C. Berkeley, performed concerts widely, and taught at the New School in New York City and then at the San Francisco State University in the late 1960s. In this program, Charles Amirkhanian plays a selection from Maxfield’s vast output, including “Night Music” and “Amazing Grace”. Also included in this program are excerpts from an interview with Maxfield recorded on November 11, 1960 in which he describes the composition techniques he used to create his electronic music. In addition this program contains the world premiere of “Jump”, a text-sound composition by Amirkhanian that is dedicated to Maxfield.