Duration
10' - 20'
Publisher
Instrumentation Notes
orchestra
Program Notes
[The revised Peters Edition score of 2007 replaces all previous editions.]
MODULES I & II were composed in 1965-66 on commission from the Orchestre National of the O.R.T.F. Paris. As in AVAILABLE FORMS II (premiered at the Venice Biennale in 1962) the work is scored for one large orchestra under the direction of two conductors. I consider it to be a single orchestral event made up of two simultaneous planes of sonic activity. All of the sounds are composed in each score but the two conductors may superimpose the sounds and modify their durations and loudness in spontaneous relation to one another during performance. It is an immediate collaborative activity resulting in different formal and poetic configurations in each performance, while the basic character of the work is maintained. These are the first of a series of modules for different instrumentations, any two or more of which may be performed simultaneously.
As I have frequently commented, the graphic, mobile and open-form works that I have written since 1952 were originally inspired by the visual art work of Alexander Calder and Jackson Pollock. I continue to believe very much in the interrelatedness of all the arts and these first two MODULES were very much influenced by recent American ;aintin gand sculpture by artists such as Frank Stella, Al Held, Elsworth Kelly and Bob Morris; a kind of art called, “minimal.” The chord structures are mathematically constructed and related, as in some Schillinger techniques, but the dominant poetic image is one of simple, powerful, intense sonic structures which relate, transform and surge through time without the pressure of rhetorical purpose or anxiety, a simple orchestral event.
More Information
2.1.1.B-cl.1 – 2.2.1.1 – Str. (each divisi a 2)
May be performed alone or simultaneously with Module II or Module III. Commissioned by the Orchestre National (ORTF), Paris.
Audio Samples
Modules I & II
Selected Performances
September 8, 2016 • Bautzen,Germany
Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie
Conductors:
GMD Andrea Sanguineti
Ulrich Kern
Modules I & II
September 7, 2016 • Hoeyerswerda, Germany
Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie
Conductors:
GMD Andrea Sanguineti
Ulrich Kern
Modules I & II
September 6, 2016 • Görlitz, Germany
Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie
Conductors:
GMD Andrea Sanguineti
Ulrich Kern
Modules I & II
September 3, 2016 • Zittau, Germany
Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie
Conductors:
GMD Andrea Sanguineti
Ulrich Kern
Modules I & II
September 2, 2016 • Görlitz, Germany
Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie
Conductors:
GMD Andrea Sanguineti
Ulrich Kern
Modules I & II
August 27, 2001 • Philharmonic Hall, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Ensemble: Janacek PhilharmonicConductor: Petr KotikSoloist: Christian Arming
May 22, 2000 • Alice Tully Hall, New York City, USA
Ensemble: The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble
Conductor: Petr Kotik
December 1, 1999 • Opernhaus, Halle, Germany
Ensemble: Orchester des Opernhauses HalleConductor: Earle Brown
May 21, 1999 • Prague, Czech Republic
Ensemble: S.E.M. EnsembleConductor: Petr KotikSoloist: Christian Arming
October 24, 1994 • Vienna, Austria
Conductor: Earle Brown, Hans Zender
October 24, 1994 • Wien Modern, Austria
Ensemble: ORF-SymphonieorchesterConductor: Hans Zender
April 18, 1984 • Saarbruecken, Saarlaendischer Rundfunk
September 24, 1981 • Saarbruecken, Saarlaendischer Rundfunk
May 29, 1981 • Saarbruecken, Germany
Ensemble: Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester SaarbrueckenConductor: Hans Zender, Earle Brown
November 19, 1980 • Nottingham
July 31, 1980 • Rejkjavik
November 30, 1979 • Geneva
August 25, 1976 • RAI Rome
June 23, 1976 • Deutschlandfunk
October 13, 1975 • Detschlandfunk Berlin
September 11, 1974 • RAI Rome
May 31, 1974 • Basel
Ensemble: Baseler Orchester Gesellschaft
March 14, 1974 • Rotterdam
Ensemble: Rotterdam Philharmonic
February 24, 1972 • Kiel, Germany
Ensemble: Philharmonisches Orchester Kiel
August 22, 1971 • Bayreuth
August 19, 1971 • NDR Hamburg, Germany
March 12, 1971 • WDR Koeln, Germany
December 22, 1970 • Frankfurt, Hessischer Rundfunk
August 7, 1970 • Koeln, Germany, WDR
March 17, 1970 • Berlin, SFB
February 24, 1970 • RAI Venezia, Italy
September 10, 1969 • Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Italy
Ensemble: Orchestra Filarmonica SlovenaConductor: Marcello Panni, Earle Brown
September 6, 1968 • Oslo
Ensemble: Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
November 30, 1967 • Tokyo, festival "Orchestral Space"
Conductor: Kazuyoshi Akiyama and Seiji Ozawa.
February 7, 1967 • Theatre des Champs Elysees, Paris
Ensemble: L' Orchestre National de l'O.R.T.F.Conductor: Eleazar de CarvalhoWorld premiere
