Ode To Gravity:
15th Anniversary Program

On March 4, 1970 Charles Amirkhanian broadcast the first in a series of programs called “Ode to Gravity”. The focus of the program was avant-garde and contemporary music, with significant forays into the realms of poetry and experimental literature, as well as visual and performance art. Initially inspired by a live theater piece by Amirkhanian, in which assorted objects ranging from a marble to a mattress to a car fender were dropped from a balcony into a circle of spectators, the radio program, “Ode to Gravity” became the longest running avant-garde music show on American radio. In this 15 year retrospective you will hear excerpts from past programs, including the first. These include the sound poetry of Liam O'Gallagher; Leonard Bernstein’s Clarinet Sonata; James Petrillo’s city wide chess happening; John Dinwiddie’s and Phil Corner’s avalanche of pianos from a Berkeley piano shop; George Antheil’s Pianola Rolls; an interview with composer Ivan Wyschnegradsky; as well as an installation and live concert by Bill Fontana & Stuart Dempster. (from KPFA Folio)