Junko Ueda . Percussieklas Conservatorium Antwerpen

According to John Cage's conception of things, a composer should above all be an inventor of new sounds and new instruments. He himself displayed a great interest in the rustling sounds produced by percussion instruments. He had his first great successes as a composer with experimental works for a variety of percussion ensembles. He not only sought new realms of sound, but also devised new forms and compositional processes. In his 1939-40 piece 'Constructions' the structure of the compositions is based on numbers laid down in advance. 'First Construction', for example, was written for six percussionists, each of whom is allotted 16 different sounds. The first percussionist plays 16 bells, 8 anvils, 4 Chinese bowls, etc. In this piece 16 rhythmic cells or motifs are used, arranged into 4 series of 4 motifs. This sort of structure is typical of the works Cage wrote in this period. This late-night concert is ushered in with Japanese lute music and Buddhist shômyô-chants by Jundo Ueda. This leads up to the climax of John Cage's 'Second Construction' by the percussionists of the Antwerp Conservatory.