Reimagining John Cage's Imaginary Landscapes No. 4

Hilmi, Adem ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0339-9833 (2019) Reimagining John Cage's Imaginary Landscapes No. 4. In: 26th International Conference on Auditory Display, 11 APR 2020, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.

Abstract / Summary

In 1951, Cage composed multiple pieces influenced by radio’s intermediate nature. His piece, Imaginary Landscape No. 4, uses an ensemble of twenty-four players, a conductor, and twelve radios. For this work, performers scan radio-stations by following his score. He wrote the tuning durations in conventional notation, relating to notes placed on a 5-line staff. Due to the ever-diminishing number of AM band stations, accurate performances as directed by the score, have been increasingly comprised of static rather than broadcast signal. The type of radio available to Cage would also influence the shape of tuning behaviours, and thus, influence the structure of the composition. My aim is to reimagine Cage’s work in a live performance. I will use my Digital Audio Workstation, Radiophonic Environmental Designer (RED), and online platform, Broadcast Link-Up Environment (BLUE), to realise this piece. Users can connect their mobile phone to my website hosting a composed 1950s New York inspired radiophonic environment. Cage’s score can be followed by tilting a mobile phone backwards and forwards to control volume, and side to side, for tuning. The tuned material will be produced by the website and amplified through the phone’s audio output. You can also interact with the exhibition by swiping your finger around the virtual tuning dial. In this conference, I will explore how my interpretation of Cage’s work, aims to reintroduce historical radiophonic compositions to a modern audience and celebrate radiophonic material. However, rather than accurately rebuilding the radiophonic environment Cage would have worked with, and thus, entering debates on aspects of authenticity, I will explore how broadcast material and tuning behaviours, influence the work’s structure and reception. The conference will also highlight the works development cycle , and explore aspects the creation of a custom compositional framework, interactivity through website development and analogue simulation through digital design concepts.

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