TONY CONRAD: TIDING OVER

TIDING OVER, a performance by Tony Conrad



As far as we can make out from the new meticulously dated audio files recently released on Music and the Mind of the World, Tony Conrad played (and recorded himself playing) piano every day at Hallwalls from January 15–February 5, with the exception of the nine days January 26–February 4, and this performance took place on Friday, January 26th. Were the 10 days leading up to this performance rehearsal for it, or was the performance something completely different?

~ Ed Cardoni, March 13, 2017

David Kulik: "I'm afraid I don't have much light to shed, Ed. I think I was at Tony's performance on the 26th, but I might actually be remembering a different one—it's hard to be sure.

"In any case, I don't have any recollection of these recording sessions, but I THINK the performance I saw also involved some vocalizing along with the piano. Not singing, but maybe speaking and/or shouting while playing. If this can be confirmed, it probably argues for these sessions not being rehearsals per se, but since it's all piano improvisation I'm not sure the concept of rehearsal is even that relevant.

"Here's another data point: The archive listing for Tony's performance of Tiding Over at Artspace in Peterborough on April 25 of that year says it featured 'slides and sounds,' and was 'First presented at the Kitchen Center, New York City, December 29, 1977.' About 2 weeks before the Kitchen performance, on Dec. 13, he is listed as doing a performance at Hallwalls as part of the 'Continuing Retrospective Series.' No further details are provided, but I wonder if that was what became Tiding Over when he performed it at The Kitchen."

"I hope Anne [Turyn] can clear this up" (March 13, 2017).