ArtistInfo
Anthony Braxton
For Four Orchestras
Album US 1978 on Arista label
Classical (Contemporary)
Four 39-piece orchestras from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. {Comp. 82} (dedicated to the historian-writer-educator Eileen Southern) 114:30 Recorded at Hall Auditorium, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, on May 18 and 19, 1978 from Braxton's notes in the booklet: "Composition {82} is the first completed work in a series of ten compositions that will involve the use of multiple-orchestralism and the dynamics of spacial activity. This work is scored for 160 musicians and has been designed to utilize both individual and collective sound-direction (in live performance). Each orchestra is positioned near the corners of the performing space, and the audience is seated in both the center and sides of the space (around and in between each orchestra). The resulting activity has been constructed to fully utilize every area of the room--which is to say, each section of the performing space will give the listener a very different aspect of the music. The science related to how this multiple use of space is utilized, will also open another chapter in multi-orchestra activity, and hopefully this work will be viewed as a positive contribution to transitional multi-orchestralism--as we move to the next cycle.The nature of how {Comp. 82} extends the dynamic possibilities of multi-orchestra activity has to do with its use of spaciality--involving both the nature of how information is transferred from orchestra to orchestra (where the listener of this record can hear the actual movement of activity change speakers) with the addition of 'trajectoral-activity' (where, in a live performance, the listener can experience the route of a given transfer). More so, this composition has also been constructed to include the actual change of performance direction as well. In other words 'information' in {Comp. 82} would also involve how the rotation of a given ensemble (as that ensemble is playing) changes the actual direction of the group making the music. This has been accomplished by having all of the performers (with the exception of the percussionist and the harpist) in rotating chairs--where even the direction of the music is calculated. Thus, the nature of spaciality in this composition would encompass an additional dynamic inclusion, for the spacial implications of environment would thus take on added dimensions. Because, in fact, to experience the realness of this composition is to experience a living and breathing universe. ***The actual composing of {Comp. 82} took place in July of 1977, lasting until the middle of May, 1978 (with sequence corrections up until August). The piece is scored for 160 musicians and each orchestra is made up with the same individual components. The make-up of each orchestra is as follows: two flues (one doubling on piccolo), oboe, English horn, two clarinets (one doubling on soprano clarinet), bass clarinet, bassoon, two trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, harp, five first violins, five second violins, five violas, four cellos, three basses, and three percussion. The original floor plan of the composition was not able to be used for this recording as the space requirement it necessitated exceeded what was possible for us, so an alternate seating arrangement was utilized. The actual recording of {Comp. 82} took place in May, '78, on the campus of Oberlin College and involved four intensive sessions in two days. For this reason, the composition was recorded in sequence-patches, rather than in sectional areas. The total material would also exceed two hours and a half and as such, I have taken out about thirty minutes of the music in order to preserve the sound quality of this record. There have also been other adjustments as well, for the problem of time and economics in a project like this has to be taken into account--but what is documented here is an excellent version of the 'essence' of the piece. The placement of activity in this project has been designed to totally utilize the spacial dynamics of the quadraphonic technology--each orchestra will be heard coming from a separate speaker, and the mixture of events in a given section should give the sense of sound movement through space--and this will also be apparent (though to a somewhat lesser extent) to stereo record players as well."
Musicians
 | Anthony Braxton as, *1945 US composed by, liner notes, album by |
 | Arthur Kell b, US bass |
 | Daniel Savage b, bass |
 | David Seckinger b, bass |
 | Jeffrey Hill bass |
 | Jeffrey Soule b, bass |
 | Leon Dorsey b, *1958 bass |
 | Mark Shapire b, bass |
 | Matthew McCauley b, bass |
 | Michael Talbert b, bass |
 | Mikkel Jordahl b, bass |
| Robert Adair bass |
 | Suzanne Tarshis b, bass |
 | Carol Robinson cl, US bass clarinet |
 | Cynthia Douglass , bass clarinet |
 | David Ballon , bass clarinet |
 | Mark Gallagher , bass clarinet |
 | Allen Smith tr, 1925-2011 bassoon |
 | Ann Kosanovic b, bassoon |
 | Deanna Kory b, bassoon |
 | Mark Gross as, *1966 US bassoon |
 | Aaron Henderson vc, cello |
 | Carol Elliott vc, cello |
 | Carole Stipleman vc, cello |
 | Daniel Kazez vc, cello |
 | Dawn Wilder vc, cello |
 | Elizabeth Knowles vc, cello |
 | Elizabeth Warren vc, cello |
 | Kathy Kelly vc, cello |
 | Mattew Wexler vc, cello |
 | Michele McTeague vc, cello |
 | Sarah Binford vc, cello |
 | Steven Drake vc, cello |
 | Steven Harrison vc, cello |
 | Steven Wise vc, cello |
 | Suzanne Wijsman vc, cello |
| Tom Rosenberg cello |
 | Bela Schwartz , clarinet, eb |
 | David Bell , clarinet, eb |
 | David Hostetler , clarinet, eb |
 | James Colbert , clarinet, eb |
 | John Guest , clarinet, eb |
 | Marta Schworm , clarinet, eb |
 | Marty Rossip , clarinet, eb |
 | Michael Zakim , clarinet, eb |
 | Gene Young , US conductor |
 | Kenneth Moore vn, conductor |
 | Murray Gross , US conductor |
 | Robert Baustian , US conductor |
 | Adam Kuenzel , US flute, alto |
 | Carol Goodwillow , flute, alto |
 | Joel Karr , flute, alto |
 | Wendy Tarnoff , flute, alto |
 | Cynthia Mowery hrp, US harp |
 | Nancy Lendrim , harp |
 | Naomi Markus , harp |
 | Susan Kelly , harp |
 | Bernard Gabis , oboe |
 | Cameron McClusky , oboe |
 | Carolyn Hove ob, eh, GB oboe |
 | Claudia Patton , oboe |
 | Giselle Lautenbach , oboe |
 | James Hois , oboe |
 | Michael Harrison , oboe |
 | Pamela Hill , oboe |
 | Andre Whatley perc, percussion |
 | Andrew Collier perc, percussion |
 | Charles Wood perc, US percussion |
 | David Wiles perc, percussion |
 | Derek Davidson perc, percussion |
 | Galen Work perc, percussion |
 | Gregg Linde perc, percussion |
 | John Gardner perc, percussion |
 | John Kennedy perc, s-g, cwb, wb, US percussion |
 | Philip Seeman perc, percussion |
 | Stephen Pascher perc, percussion |
 | Victor Thomas perc, percussion |
 | Betsy Adler , piccolo flute |
 | Celeste Johnson , piccolo flute |
 | Leonard Garrison fl, US piccolo flute |
 | Virginia Elliott , piccolo flute |
 | Ann Mondragon tb, trombone |
 | Bradley Cornell tb, trombone |
 | Brian Campbell tb, trombone |
 | David Fogg tb, trombone |
 | David Stocklosa tb, trombone |
 | Eileen Jones tb, trombone |
 | Erik Johnson tb, trombone |
 | Kadie Nichols tb, trombone |
 | Mark Adams , FR trombone |
 | Mark Kaiser tb, trombone |
 | Richard Ruotolo tb, trombone |
 | Robert Asmussen tb, trombone |
| Alan Campbell trumpet |
 | Chris Kerrebrock tr, trumpet |
 | Dave Rinaldi tr, trumpet |
 | David Driesen tr, trumpet |
 | James Kirchenbauer tr, trumpet |
 | John Bourque tr, trumpet |
 | Thomas Gotwals tr, trumpet |
 | William Camp tr, trumpet |
 | Barry Jenson , tuba |
 | Brian Bailey , tuba |
 | John Lomonaco , tuba |
 | Steven Box , tuba |
 | Alex GuroffIgor Polisitsky vl, viola |
 | Amy Leventha vl, viola |
 | Beth Thorne vl, viola |
 | David Rogers voc, viola |
 | Dee Ortel vl, viola |
 | Helen McDermott vl, viola |
 | James Thomas vl, viola |
 | Jeffery Durachta vl, viola |
 | Kathleen Elliott vl, viola |
 | Nanci Severance vl, viola |
 | Naomi Barlow vl, viola |
 | Norin Saxe vl, viola |
 | Rachel Yurman vl, viola |
 | Sarah Bloom vl, viola |
 | Theodore Chemey vl, viola |
 | Audrey Hale vn, violin, first |
 | Barry Sargent vn, violin, first |
 | David Wilson vn, violin, first |
 | Diane Cooper vn, violin, first |
 | Edward Shlasko vn, violin, first |
 | Francine Swartzentruber vn, violin, first |
 | Judith Bixler vn, violin, first |
 | Karin von Gierke vn, acg, violin, first |
 | Lilyn Graves vn, violin, first |
 | Lorraine Adel vn, violin, first |
 | Mary Bolling vn, violin, first |
 | Monique Reid vn, violin, first |
 | Pamela Stuckey vn, violin, first |
 | Peter Jaffe vn, US violin, first |
 | Robert Scarrow vn, violin, first |
 | Shelley Fowle vn, violin, first |
 | Stanislav Branovicki vn, violin, first |
 | Steven Schuch vn, violin, first |
 | Susan Demetris vn, violin, first |
 | Zabeth Oechlin vn, violin, first |
 | Alison Feuerwerker vn, violin, second |
 | Amorie Robinson vn, violin, second |
 | Andra Marx vn, violin, second |
 | Elizabeth Welch vn, violin, second |
 | Ellen Ziontz vn, violin, second |
 | Jane Moon vn, violin, second |
 | Jennifer Doctor vn, violin, second |
 | Jennifer Steiner vn, violin, second |
 | Johnathan Dunn vn, violin, second |
 | Julie Badger vn, violin, second |
 | Kathy Blackwell vn, violin, second |
 | Lauri Gutman vn, violin, second |
 | Lori Fay vn, US violin, second |
 | Lynda Mapes vn, violin, second |
 | Marcus Woo vn, violin, second |
 | Margaret Morgan vn, violin, second |
 | Marriane Smith vn, violin, second |
 | Sally Becker vn, violin, second |
 | Shannon Simonson vn, violin, second |
 | Susan Brenneis vn, violin, second |
Producers
| Howard Fritzson design, art direction |
| John Pace engineer, editing |
| Arthur Stokes engineer, recording |
| Steve Backer executive-producer |
| Linda Harris photography by |
| Barbara Mayfield photography by, orchestra photos |
| Michael Cuscuna producer |
| William Wittman remix |
| Tom Bethal technician, technical director |
Composers
| Anthony Braxton |
Album Tracks 
| No | |
Title | Artist | Composer | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | For Four Orchestras - Composition {82} | Anthony Braxton | 20:10 | |
| 2 | For Four Orchestras - Composition {82} | Anthony Braxton | 18:52 | ||
| 3 | For Four Orchestras - Composition {82} | Anthony Braxton | 16:14 | ||
| 4 | For Four Orchestras - Composition {82} | Anthony Braxton | 19:29 | ||
| 5 | For Four Orchestras - Composition {82} | Anthony Braxton | 20:25 | ||
| 6 | For Four Orchestras - Composition {82} | Anthony Braxton | 19:20 |
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