Come and take part in
the one-off performance of one of the unquestioned masterpieces of contemporary music!
Rehearsals for Cornelius Cardew’s “The Great Learning”
Directed by John Tilbury (UK)
3-11 May 2013; Labirynt Gallery, 5 ks. J. Popiełuszki Street, Lublin
Come and be a part of the first ever Polish full-length performance of visionary Cornelius Cardew’s cult piece, as interpreted by John Tilbury. Spanning two evenings, the concert will inaugurate the 5th Festival of Traditional and Avant-garde Music - Codes 2013.
“The Great Learning” calls for a large number of both trained and untrained musicians (choristers, soloists, instrumentalists).
Rehearsals: 3-9 May, performance: 10-11 May.
The deadline for the applications is 26 April.
Send your applications at:
Please include the following details:
- name and surname
- mobile number and email address
- age
- musical experience
ATTENTION: We accept applications only of those who are willing to participate full-time in the rehearsals. The rehearsals are free of charge and the number of participants is limited.
Cornelius Cardew’s “The Great Learning”, based on Ezra Pound's translation of one of the Confucian scriptures, is one of the artist’s most mysterious and intriguing pieces. This monumental composition, consisting of seven paragraphs, is an attempt to make the utopian dream of equality and global community come true through collective music-making. Amateur and professional musicians are equal partners, playing various instruments, singing, and experimenting. All of them, confronted with the idea of cultural sharing succinctly described by the composer - “If you have anything to offer, offer it. If you have nothing to offer, receive something”, communally create the art of music, a sonic artwork.
Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981) – English composer, visionary, artist who has extended the boundaries of music in the past century. Although he studied music in Europe’s leading academic centres, he predominantly angled towards amateur sensibilities and praxis. Instead of choosing the professional comfort zone of London’s Royal Albert Hall, he opted for urban streets and, in general, the periphery. Experiencing the hustle and bustle of the capital, he was attracted to the West, in particular to US avant-garde, and to the music of the Far East. Equally, he was inspired by both European and Asian thinkers and philosophers, e.g. Karl Marx, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Confucius.
John Tilbury (1936) – musician, improviser, outstanding interpreter of contemporary music. Tilbury won a piano scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. He became a pupil of James Gibb and then went to Warsaw on a Polish government scholarship where he studied with Zbigniew Drzewiecki. He has worked with many composers - including Earle Brown, Morton Feldman, John Cage and Cornelius Cardew. He is also well known as an improvising musician through his membership of AMM, one of the most distinguished and influential free improvisation groups to have emerged in the sixties. More recently Tilbury has gained recognition as an actor, in particular, he is noted for his interpretations of the works of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. Tilbury is also the author of the 2008’s biography of the life and work of Cornelius Cardew - “Cornelius Cardew – a Life Unfinished”.
