John Cale - I've Got a Secret

John Cale was the guest on this September 16, 1963 episode of I've Got a Secret. His secret centered around his participation in an 18 hour 40 minute piano performance, the first full length presentation of Erik Satie's "Vexations" held at the Pocket Theater. (Not mentioned, pianists John Cage, David Tudor, Christian Wolff, Philip Corner, Viola Farber, Robert Wood, MacRae Cook, David Del Tredici, James Tenney, Howard Klein (the New York Times reviewer), Joshua Rifkin, with two reserves, and with Cale all took turns playing the piece that is three lines long, the required 840 times on September 9, 1963, from 6 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. the following day. John Cage was the fifth of the many pianists who followed after John Cale who was, of course, the fourth. More importantly, Cage arranged for the entire performance having been introduced to this music while in Paris in 1949. A sheet of the piece was lent to him by Henri Sauguet, and Cage kept a photostat of it with him then, finally performing it 14 years later. I read of this in David Revill's book "The Roaring Silence.") Seated also on the I've Got a Secret stage was Off Broadway actor, Karl Schenzer, who's secret was that he was the only person to stay for the entire piano concert.

***

Lolan Pole Dancing School in Beijing

Students taking a lesson at Lolan Pole Dancing School in Beijing. The school has five studios and plans to open six more this year.

(Photo: Shiho Fukada for The New York Times).

Piano Music of Salonen, Stucky and Lutoslawski

The Mudboy (2007)

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

BMW S1000RR

Kobe Girls

David Hockney by Bern Schwartz

Stockhausen Interview

Mimi S.

Glenn Gould's passion for his piano

A new book looks at how his beloved Steinway grand was the idiosyncratic pianist's constant recording and concert companion.

It's hard to believe a 9-foot-long black object weighing 1 1/2 tons can sit in the spotlight at centre stage and not get noticed.

We all know a concert grand piano when we see one, but the attention is always on the person playing it.

Those of us sitting in the audience, or listening to the CD, may take the instrument for granted, but it can make or break an artist's performance. Especially in the case of Canadian piano legend Glenn Gould, who died in 1982.

His lifelong quest to find and then obsessively maintain the right piano has all the qualities of a passionate love affair. [Additional story here].

***

ECM Records