Cornelius CARDEW Schooltime Compositions (1968) / Polish premiere
Performers: Cardew Collective (Poland), conducted by: John TILBURY (Great Britain)
Among contemporary composers preoccupied with the search for the new functions of music and its role in the cultivation of the community and in the personal development of an individual Cornelius Cardew stands out as the most determined and dedicated of all. Equipped with all-round and in-depth education and conversant with the economic, political and sociological complexity of the modern world, he drew on the experience and creative output of the leading early twentieth-century composers with a view to posing, accompanied by a group of close-knit friends, fundamental questions about the role of the creator, their work as such, the score, the performers and the audience. What the Cardew circle also took into consideration was the issue of the quality of the creative process, chance, professionalism and amateurism. The manifestos and ideas that were conceptualised back then may at first signify that the attitude of Cardew the composer was sidelined by the inventiveness and expression of the performer. This would be a snap judgement, though. The musical scores of Cardew are typified by a “ritual-like” scenario, during which the performer is encouraged to undergo a rite of passage and to refer to memory, consciousness, the subconscious, archetypes, signs and symbols.
During this year’s Codes, three compositions of Cornelius Cardew, i.e., Schooltime Compositions, Tiger's Mind, and Treatise, will be performed. These compositions were created both with professional musicians (educated and experienced) and non-professional instrumentalists (interested in the intellectual, emotional and aesthetic side of the very act of creation) in mind. All the performances will be conducted by John Tilbury, a long-time friend of Cardew, an outstanding pianist and interpreter of contemporary music, with whom Cardew worked closely on a number of his compositions. The events will be preceded by rehearsals led by John Tilbury.
18.00 / The Centre for Culture in Lublin, Inner Courtyard, 12 Peowiaków Street