The Squid's Ear Magazine


Wolff, Christian / Michael Pisaro-Liu: Looking Around (erstwhile)

A fascinating collaboration from two minimalist/Wandelweiser figures: Christian Wolff on prepared piano, whistles, and stones, and Michael Pisaro-Liu on guitar, harmonica and stones, recording together in Caimbridge, MA for two extended works, "Looking East" and "Looking West".
 

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Personnel:



Christian Wolff-composer, prepared piano, whistles, stones

Michael Pisaro-Liu-Liu-composer, electric guitar, harmonica, stones


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Label: erstwhile
Catalog ID: 080
Squidco Product Code: 21902

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2016
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

A fascinating collaboration from two minimalist/Wandelweiser composers: Christian Wolff on prepared piano, whistles, and stones, and Michael Pisaro-Liu on guitar, harmonic and stones, recording together in Caimbridge, MA for two extended works, "Looking East" and "Looking West".


Artist Biographies

"Christian Wolff was born in 1934 in Nice, France, has lived in the U.S. since 1941. Studied piano with Grete Sultan and briefly composition with John Cage. Associated with Cage, Morton Feldman, David Tudor and Earle Brown, then with Frederic Rzewski and Cornelius Cardew. Since 1952 associated with Merce Cunningham and his dance company. Taught Classics at Harvard (1962-70) and Classics, Music and Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College (1971-1999). Published articles on Greek tragedy, in particular, Euripides. Writings on music (to 1998) collected in book Cues (published by MusikTexte) and in Occasional Pieces (Oxford University Press, in preparation). Active as performer, also improviser with, among others, Takehisa Kosugi, Keith Rowe, Steve Lacy, Christian Marclay, Larry Polansky, Kui Dong and AMM. All music published by C.F. Peters, New York. Much of it is recorded (Mode, New World, Neos, Capriccio, Wandelweiser, Wergo, Matchless, Tzadik, HatArt, etc.). Honors include DAAD Berlin fellowship, grants from the Asian Council, Mellon Foundation, Fromm Foundation, Meet the Composer, Foundation for Contemporary Performing Arts (the John Cage award); honorary degrees from California Institute of the Arts and from Huddersfield University (UK), membership in the Akademie der Kuenste, Berlin, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, lifetime achievement award from the state of Vermont."

-Dartmouth College (http://eamusic.dartmouth.edu/~wolff/)
4/28/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Looking East (28:10)

2. Looking West (28:10)

Related Categories of Interest:


erstwhile
Improvised Music
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
lowercase, micro-improv, sound improv
Duo Recordings
Instruments with Preparations

Search for other titles on the label:
erstwhile.


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