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Out of stock
Best of 2013

Dennis Johnson

November

Label: Penultimate Press

Format: CDx4 Box

Genre: Compositional

Out of stock

RRRrestocked!! This is a recording of a major work that has been lost to history for fifty years, as well as one of the most substantial and significant pieces of the minimalist repertoire. Written in 1959 by Dennis Johnson, November was purportedly six hours long as originally conceived. La Monte Young, who knew Johnson while at UCLA in the late 50s, credited the piece for inspiring The Well-Tuned Piano. November was the magnum opus of a heavily abbreviated career, but one that left a largely uncredited mark on the development of minimalist composition. La Monte Young credited Dennis Johnson's 1959 piece November with inspiring The Well Tuned Piano, but no transcription of it existed until now. The only recording was a hiss-filled 100 minute long cassette (of a piece Young said could "theoretically" be six hours long). Kyle Gann has now constructed a score from the original cassette recording, which requires the performer (in this case pianist R Andrew Lee) to improvise against several pages of Gann's short musical score.
Pianist R. Andrew Lee has established himself in recent years as one of the foremost interpreters of the minimalist piano repertoire and has boldly embraced the challenge of this monumental work. Utilizing Gann’s reconstructed score, he has recorded a sublime interpretation which documents one of the  most important lost works in the 20th century canon. At once highly listenable, melancholic, warm and unique, Dennis Johnson’s November is a work of immense historical significance that will appeal to those with a taste for 20th century repertoire, minimalism, exploratory piano works, and substantial and haunting works of art.
'November' comes in a deluxe box with 4 cd's in individual slipcases and a 20 page booklet featuring reproductions the original score (and Johnson's later annotations) along with an essay on the work by noted critic Kyle Gann and anecdotal essays by Andy Lee, David McIntire and Mark Harwood.  All orders come with a download code to allow for continual playback.
Pianist R. Andrew Lee has established himself in recent years as one of the foremost interpreters of the minimalist piano repertoire and has boldly embraced the challenge of this monumental work. Utilizing Gann’s reconstructed score, he has recorded a sublime interpretation which documents one of the  most important lost works in the 20th century canon.

At once highly listenable, melancholic, warm and unique, Dennis Johnson’s November is a work of immense historical significance that will appeal to those with a taste for 20th century repertoire, minimalism, exploratory piano works, and substantial and haunting works of art.

'November' comes in a deluxe box with 4 cd's in individual slipcases and a 20 page booklet featuring reproductions the original score (and Johnson's later annotations) along with an essay on the work by noted critic Kyle Gann and anecdotal essays by Andy Lee, David McIntire and Mark Harwood.  All orders come with a download code to allow for continual playback.

Details
Cat. number: IHM007M/PP6
Year: 2013