eMusic Review 0
Cornelius Cardew was an important figure on the British new music scene throughout the '60s and '70s, occupying a spot in the U.K. roughly analogous to that of John Cage in the States. Both composers, despite their ferocious avant-garde reputations, had a soft spot for the simple and direct music of fin-de-siecle Frenchman Erik Satie; both looked to the East for inspiration (Zen for Cage, Chairman Mao for Cardew); and both were the taproots from which a major generation of so-called Minimalists sprung. Cage, through his influence on La Monte Young, was a formative influence on Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Cardew, through his Scratch Orchestra, was similarly important to British composers like Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman, John White, Howard Skempton and Christopher Hobbs, to name just a few.
Cardew turned away from "avant-garde" music in the early '70s, believing that music was a social and political act that needed to be accessible to all. This collection includes works with perhaps daunting titles ("Soon There Will Be a High Tide of Revolution in Our Century," "Long Live Chairman Mao" and the title track, "Four Principles on Ireland," among others) that turn out… read more »
