- Philip Corner
Philip (Lionel) Corner (born
April 10 ,1933 ; name sometimes given as Phil Corner) is an Americancomposer ,trombonist ,vocalist , andpianist .Biography
Philip Corner studied at Columbia University with
Otto Luening andHenry Cowell , later withOlivier Messiaen at theParis Conservatoire and privately withDorothy Taubman inNew York . He taught at theNew Lincoln School inNew York from 1966-1972, theNew School for Social Research from 1967-1970 and Rutgers University from 1972-1992, after which point he moved toReggio Emilia ,Italy with his wife, the dancer and choreographerPhoebe Neville .He has been associated with
Fluxus since 1961, was a residentcomposer andmusician with theJudson Dance Theatre from 1962-1964 and later with theExperimental Intermedia Foundation . He co-founded withMalcolm Goldstein andJames Tenney theTone Roads Chamber Ensemble in 1963 (active until 1970), withJulie Winter Sounds Out of Silent Spaces in 1972 (active until 1979) and withBarbara Benary andDaniel Goode ,Gamelan Son of Lion in 1976 (still active).Works
Corner became interested in
calligraphy during military service inKorea in 1960-1961 and studied it with Ki-sung Kim; it is often incorporated into his scores. While there he became enamored with Korean traditional music, particularly the "jeongak " composition"Sujecheon ", which he describes as "the most beautiful piece of music in the history of the world." [http://www.hungryghost.net/mb/corner.htm] Many of his scores are open-ended in that some elements are specified, but others are left partially or entirely to the discretion of the performers. Some employ standardnotation , whereas others are graphic scores,text score s, etc. His music also frequently explores unintentional sound, chance activities, minimalism, and non-Western instruments andtuning systems. Contact with artists in other media, especiallydance and thevisual arts , as well as a long-standing interest inEastern religion s such asBuddhism and study of the music of composers from theBaroque andPre-Baroque eras has likewise impacted his music.Representative works include the ensemble pieces "Passionate Expanse of the Law", "Sang-teh/Situations" and "Through the Mysterious Barricade", among many others. Also in his incredibly large oeuvre are
piano pieces ("perfect", "Pictures of Pictures from Pictures of Pictures"), choral works ("Peace, be still"), electronic music (the war cantata "Oracle"), and more than 400 works in the "Gamelan " series, to mention only some of his catalogue. He divides his output into five periods, each one reflective of his attitudes at the time:#
Culture , 1950s
#TheWorld , 1960s and 1970s
#Mind , 1970s and 1980s
#Body , 1980s and 1990s
#Spirit ;Soul , 1999 - presentNon-musical activities
In addition to his work as a composer and musician, he has created numerous assemblages,
calligraphy ,collage s,drawing s, andpainting s, many of which have been exhibited internationally. He has also written muchpoetry , which like some of his music, has occasionally appeared under his Koreanpseudonym Gwan Pok, meaning "ContemplatingWaterfall ".Discography
*"Philip Corner: Extreme Positions" (2007). New World Records 80659-2 (2 CDs). The Barton Workshop (James Fulkerson, director)
*"40 Years and One: Philip Corner Plays the Piano" (2000). XI 125. Performed by composer, recorded 1998.
*"More from the Judson Years, early 60s, Volume Two" Alga Marghen 056CD (includes "Everything Max Has," "Big Trombone," "Homage to Revere," "Punkt," "Passionate Expanse of the Law" and "Expressions in Parallel").
*"More from the Judson Years, early 60s, Volume One" Alga Marghen 055CD (includes "Passionate Expanse of the Law," "Air Effect," "OM Emerging," "As Pure to Begin," "Music, reserved until now," and "Composition with or without Beverly").
*"Gong +" Alga Marghen 042CD (includes "Metal Meditations with Listening Center," "Gong!" and "Pulse Polyphony").
*"Three Pieces for Gamelan Ensemble" Alga Marghen 034CD (includes "Gamelan," The Barcelona Cathderal" and "Belum").
*"On Tape from the Judson Days" Alga Marghen 019CD (includes "Lucinda Pastime," Memories:Performances," "From Thais," "Oracle, a Cantata on Images of War," "Flares" and "Circus Tape").
*"Word-Voices" Alga Marghen 4 VOC SON 010 (lp - includes "Vox," "Vocalise" and "Air Effect").
*"Metal Meditations" Alga Marghen (lp).External links
* [http://composers21.com/compdocs/cornerp.htm, Entry in The Living Composers Project] , A listing arranged with the composer of most of his musical works, also with biographical data
* [http://www.l-m-c.org.uk/texts/corner.html PHILIP CORNER: AN INTRODUCTION] by Anton Lukoszevieze
* [http://www.newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id=48vw05 Suspended Bell Gives Concert] by Tom Johnson, Originally published on December 9, 1974.
* [http://www.artpool.hu/Fluxusbibliography/Corner.html ARTPOOL'S FLUXUS LIBRARY: Philip Corner Bibliography]
* [http://www.artnotart.com/fluxus/pcorner-fluxisus.html FLUX' is us!] by Philip Corner, first published in the 2002 Fluxus Constellation catalogue
* [http://www.frogpeak.org/fpartists/fpcorner.html Frog Peak Artists: Philip Corner]
* [http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/corner.philip.html Forced Exposure Artists: Philip Corner]
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