AVANT GARDE

AVANT GARDE

Imagine the scene. It's 1952 and you are very excited to be attending a concert of new music. Firstly, there are some pieces by Stravinsky and Milhaud, which are enjoyable. Next on the programme is something called 4minutes 33seconds by John Cage. Curious, you pay close attention. To your utter surprise, no one plays a note. The entire piece is complete and utter silence. The audience is outraged. Some even boo. How could this be music? Welcome to the world of the avant garde!

Avant-garde, a French phrase meaning "vanguard" or (literally, "advance guard"), describes movements or individuals at the forefront of innovation and experimentation in their fields. Implicit in the term are the rejection of the status quo, a critique of popular convention and taste, and a striving for originality that can be intentionally provocative or alienating. There is considerable academic debate about the origins of its application to the arts, but in popular understanding, it usually refers to anything that general audiences might consider outrageous, such as Erik Satie's 1893 Vexations, which instructs the performer to play a theme 840 times, or Pauline Oliveros' 1964 Duo, scored for accordion and bandoneon players riding a seesaw, with optional mynah bird obbligato.

But on this programme I’ve selected 10 pieces of music which although not quite as extreme as John Cage, could be described as challenging, unorthodox, creative and stimulating. You won’t hear any of this music bothering too many youtubers or spotifyers and it’s unlikely to be found on the playlists of conventional pop enthusiasts – but it’s certainly worth hearing and it may even lead you into further exploration of more inventive music.

Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2021