Play for Today: Cornelius Cardew

About

Composer Cornelius Cardew (1936-81) is one of the giants of British avant-garde music, most famous for his role in the Scratch Orchestra founded in 1968. In the 70s he dedicated himself to the Communist Party of England, repudiating avant-gardism and embracing protest culture. He remains a powerful influence and our final weekend centres on a sympo-sium built around his work. Saturday features discussions and performances reflecting on Cardew's legacy, including contributions from musician and Cardew collaborator John Tilbury, curator Grant Watson, writer Adrian Rifkin and artist duo the Otolith Group. Sunday begins with a performance of Cardew's Autumn '60 (1960) and two paragraphs of The Great Learning (1968-71). These scores consist of written instructions and graphic notations, demanding an individual response from each performer. The afternoon proceeds with discussions and presentations from writers and lecturers Dr Andrea Phillips and Marcel Swiboda, and artist Beatrice Gibson.