Music From Other Minds

Program 547: Cinematic Music

KALW Broadcast Date: February 15, 2019 | Host: Mark Abramson

On this Music from Other Minds, Mark Abramson explores cinematic works by John Cage and John Zorn. The program features John Cage and Kenneth Patchen’s 1942 radio play The City Wears a Slouch Hat and John Zorn’s file card composition Spillane.

The City Wears a Slouch Hat is a radio play by Patchen, with supporting music by Cage. The work was commissioned by CBS and performed live on the air from their station in Chicago in 1942.

Spillane by John Zorn is inspired by the Mike Hammer novels written by Mickey Spillane. To create this work, Zorn used a technique called “file-card composition,” a method of combining composition and improvisation in which Zorn would write down a description of what he wanted on file-cards and arrange them to form the piece.

Program Audio

30-Second Spot