Peter Gena: Beethoven in Soho and Other Works, by Peter Gena

Peter Gena: Beethoven in Soho and Other Works

by Peter Gena

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1.	Chopin's Catarrh cf2 - canon mensurabilis (Cystic Fibrosis CFTR 508delF mutation) 08:14	info	buy track
2.	John Henry 12:28	info	buy track
3.	Dihydrotestosterone 07:55	info	buy track
4.	Beethoven in SoHo 09:51	info	buy track
5.	For Morton Feldman 10:37	info	buy track
6.	Red Blood Cells 10:07	info	buy track
7.	Vaccinum: Covid-19 spike protein (SARS-coronavirus 2 Vaccine) 06:41	info	buy track

about

It could be said that Peter Gena’s (b. 1947) music has been a combination of three primary influences: Feldman, with his emphasis on sonority and non-linear continuity; algorithmic computer composition; and later, the minimalism of Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and others (Julius Eastman included), which swept through the new-music world in the 1970s.

The present disc documents all three of these influences, the dominant one being the algorithmic sonification of data. That is, some outside source is translated numerically into musical notes. Having previously employed other types of data, in the 1990s Gena started working with DNA as a result of his friendship with geneticist/pediatrician Dr. Charles Strom. Four of the works here — Chopin’s Catarrh, Dihydrotestosterone, Red Blood Cells, and Vaccinum — are based on DNA chains, fed into formulas (through the object-code language MAX/MSP) which convert the genetic material into long melodies.

John Henry (1986) is based on the oft-recorded eponymous folk song about the mythical figure who died after successfully competing with a steam-powered rock drilling machine in building a tunnel. The piece opens by additively building up the theme of the folk song and then going into a motoric continuum of repeated notes (reminiscent of a machine) based on the notes of the tune. Then the process starts again, leading to thunderous repeated chords that run through the blues harmony in slow motion.

Beethoven in Soho (1980) resulted from a conflict between two opposing ideas in music of the 1970s: information theory and minimalism. There was much excitement at the time about what information theory could help theorists understand about musical style. In a class, Gena was given an exercise to go through Beethoven’s Op. 31/3 Piano Sonata and edit out repeated (i.e., redundant) phrases and sequences to see what was left. Several years later, he decided to make a similar attempt with the second (final) movement of Beethoven’s Op. 54 Sonata and turn it into a quasi-minimalist piece by delaying expectations through repetition.

For Morton Feldman (1988) is a memorial to Gena’s teacher, who had died at only 61 of pancreatic cancer the previous year. The floating chords and slowly changing sonorities make a clear reference to Feldman’s musical style with one crucial exception: Feldman’s pitch language was almost always dissonantly chromatic, while Gena’s draws a more restful atmosphere in E-flat major, with (at first) only the pitches E-flat, F, G, B-flat, C, and D.

credits

released October 6, 2023

Liner/Track Notes: Kyle Gann

Producer: Judith Sherman
Engineer: Charles Mueller
Assistant engineer and editing assistant: Jeanne Velonis
Piano technicians: Kazuya Tsujio and Michael Jurewicz

Beethoven in SoHo, John Henry, For Morton Feldman, and Vaccinum: Covid-19 spike protein were recorded April 21 & 22, 2023 at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, NY.

Digital mastering: Paul Zinman, SoundByte Productions Inc., NYC
Design: Brian Brandt

John Henry published by Edition V © 1986 Verlag „pläne” GmbH, Dortmund.

All the other compositions are published by the composer (BMI).

This recording is dedicated to Lejaren Hiller Jr. (1924–1994) in honor of the centenary of his birth, February 2024.

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New World Records Brooklyn, New York

Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc., which records under the label New World Records, was founded in 1975.

We are dedicated to the documentation of American music that is largely ignored by the commercial recording companies.

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