The Art of David Tudor (1963-1992)

David Tudor's(1926-1996) identity morphed seamlessly from interpreter of mainly acoustic music to composer-performer of predominately electronic music over a period of about ten years, from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. This set of seven CDs, the first truly comprehensive survey of Tudor's work as a composer, goes beyond any previous attempt to document that process of transformation. It captures his touch and sensitivity and offers an expansive, previously unavailable view onto more than three decades of Tudor's astonishingly original work as an electronic musician. It neatly describes the arc of his career, from his first composition, Bandoneon ! (A Combine), through the fully-realized works of his long collaboration with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Six works that were issued in excerpted form in Music for Merce (1952-2009) are issued here complete. Other highlights include the live soundscapes for the Pepsi Pavilion at the 1970 Osaka World Expo, the marvelous simultaneous performance with John Cage of Mesostics Re Merce Cunningham/Untitled, and two extended binaural recordings of Rainforest IV with Composers Inside Electronics, the best recorded documents of this signature work. While Cage has finally more or less received his due, Tudor's own accomplishments have been somewhat overshadowed and are ripe for a proper re-evaluation. It is our hope that the release of this set will prompt a thorough reconsideration of his seminal achievements.


Disc 1
1. John Cage : Variations II
 David Tudor, piano, live electronics
2. Christian Wolff: For 1, 2, or 3 People
David Tudor, baroque organ, live electronics
3. David Tudor: Bandoneon ! (A Combine)
David Tudor, live electronics

Disc 2
1. Anima Pepsi
2. Pepsibird
3. Pepscillator
David Tudor, live electronics

Disc 3
 John Cage/David Tudor: Mesostics re Merce Cunningham/Untitled
(simultaneous performance) John Cage, voice; David Tudor, live electronics

Disc 4
1. Weatherings
2. Phonemes
David Tudor, live electronics

Disc 5
1. Rainforest IV
Composers Inside Electronics: John Driscoll, Phil Edelstein, Ralph Jones, Martin Kalve, David Tudor, live electronics
2. Webwork
David Tudor, live electronics

Disc 6
1. Rainforest IV
Composers Inside Electronics: John Driscoll, Phil Edelstein, Ralph Jones, Martin Kalve, David Tudor, Bill Viola, live electronics
2. Virtual Focus
David Tudor, live electronics

Disc 7
Neural Network Plus
David Tudor, Takehisa Kosugi, live electronics