This week’s Relevant Tones focuses on composers who have tried to step outside the box, redefine their definitions of music, and start over without limitations. We’ll be examining the works of Alvin Lucier, Chris Preissing, James Tenney, Lou Harrison, and more.
Starting from Scratch

Playlist
I am sitting in a room, by Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier
Cellogram, by James Tenney
William Jason Raynovich, cello
Cornish Lancaran, by Lou Harrison
Musicians of the Gamelan Si Betty; Berkeley Chamber Singers
Tabuh-Tabuhan, Toccata for Orchestra, by Colin McPhee
Eastman/Rochester Symphony Orchestra; Howard Hanson, conductor
Delusion and the Fury: A Ritual of Dream and Delusion, by Harry Partch
Pales, by Christopher Preissing
Angela DiOrio, clarinet
Indigenous instruments, by Steve Mackey
Eighth Blackbird