49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs

This is still underway. The post is old. It will all happen.

On April 26 at 3 pm (rain date April 27), Twiceband will stage what is most likely the second performance ever of John Cage's 49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs. Documentation of the event will be posted after the fact (check back for details). The complete score is below, and is published in Waltzes by 25 American Composers, published by C.F. Peters in 1979. We thank Peters for their support of this project.

49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs
For Performer(s) or Listener(s) or Record Maker(s)
John Cage, 1977

The addresses below are transcribed from Cage's original, handwritten score. Some street names may have changed, or disappeared, in the ensuing three decades. In some instances, Cage didn't note what borough they are in; I'm working on filling those gaps. Text in yellow was added by me. Text in red marks an address already taken (and the other two have been deleted). All "Richmond" locations are on Staten Island.

I
McDonald St. btw Washington and Sunset (Richmond);
Center St. (Douglaston, Queens);
114th Pl. (South Ozone Park, Queens)

II: Jeffrey Herman (record-maker)
52nd Ave. near 108th St. (Queens);

III: Bill Bahng Boyer (record-maker)
Madison Avenue between 70th and 71st Sts. (Manhattan);

IV
St. Paul Ave (Bronx); Between Hutchinson River Pkwy and Westchester Ave., crossing 196th St.
Cooper Terrace (Richmond);
Sheldon Ave. between Walker Pl. and Powell St. (Richmond)

V: Emily Gertz (record-maker)
45th St. and 14th Ave. (Borough Park, Brooklyn);

VI: David Herman (record maker)
37th St. at Nautilus Avenue (Coney Island, Brooklyn);

VII: Linden Renz (performance)
Cherry St. (Manhattan);

VIII: Andrew Farrell (record-maker)
500 Block on 48th St. (Brooklyn);

IX: Richard Kamerman (performer)
60th St. between Fifth and Madison Aves. (Manhattan)

X: Joshua Convey (performer)
31st St. at Tenth Ave. (Manhattan)

XI: Michael Andre (performer)
Trinity Place at James St. (Manhattan);

XII: Sarah Galloway (performer)
21st St. btw 10th & 11th Ave (M);

XIII: Donna Blicharz (listener)
Carteret St. and Billop Ave. (Richmond)

XIV: Roberta Friedman, Arleen Schloss and Anja Kostler (listeners)
Warren St. between Broadway and Church (Manhattan);

XV: Pixies of Doom (performer)
86th St. and Fifth Ave. (Manhattan);

XVI: Bryan Eubanks (performer)
Broad and Stone Sts. (Manhattan)

XVII: Phil Zampino (record-maker)
Loring Place between Fordham Rd. and West 183rd St. (Bronx)

XVIII: cis-AB (performers)
Evergreen Ave. and Grove St. (Brooklyn)

XIX: Dan Bodah (record-maker)
Ditmas Ave. and E. 18th St. (Flatbush, Brooklyn);

XX Michael Shanley (performer)
St. Andrews Rd. at Lighthouse Ave. (Richmond)

XXI: Len Siegfried (record-maker)
186th St. between Amsterdam and Audubon Aves. (Manhattan);

XXII: Robert Hardin (record-maker)
83rd St. near Cooper Ave. (Queens);

XXIII: Michelle Nagai
2700 block on 23rd Ave. (Queens);
Burgher Ave. & Richmond Rd. (Richmond);
Ten Eyck St. near Varick Ave. (Brooklyn)

XXIV: Russell Scholl
42nd St. & 7th Ave. (Manhattan);
157th St. btw Memorial & 59th Aves. (Queens);
69th Pl. near Garfield Ave. (Queens)

XXV: James Ilgenfritz
Riverdale Btw Bristol and Chester Sts. (Brooklyn)

XXVI: Brian Olewnick (listener)
Katan and Ridgewood Aves. (Richmond);

XXVII: Kirk Knuffke (performance)
30th Ave. at 34th St. (Queens);

XXVIII: Mary Campbell
Klondike Ave near Bridgetown St. (Richmond)

XXIX: Marc Thorman (record-maker)
8th Ave btw 133 & 134 (Manhattan);

XXX: Kurt Gottschalk (listener)
Macombs Rd. at Featherbed Lane (Bronx)

XXXI: Steven Koplin (listener)
Columbus btw 96th and 97th Sts. (Manhattan)

XXXII
153rd. St. near LI Expressway (Queens);
E. 96th St. btw Ave N and Seaview Ave. (Brooklyn); one block off Rockaways Pkwy, Canarsie
Arthur Kill Rd. btw Drumgoole Blvd & Outerbridge Crossing (Richmond) at Richmond Ave. in Greenridge

XXXIII: Bryce Kretschmann (performer)
221st St. and 38th Ave. (Queens);

XXXIV
Pratt Ct. (Richmond); west of South Shore Golf Club, just south of Arthur Kill Rd.
Liberty Ave. and 121st St. (Queens); between Van Wyck Expwy and Lefferts Blvd.
Cartledge and Dean Aves (Richmond)

XXXV
Cloverdale Blvd. at Horatio Pkwy (Queens); traffic circle at 49th Road, north of the LIE, west of Cross Island Pkwy, Oakland Gardens
Balsam Pl. and Rossville Ave. (Richmond); west of South Shore Golf Club, Rossville
Robinson and Harding Aves. (Bronx) East of Ferry Point Park and the Hutchinson River Pkwy, south of 295

XXXVI: Doug Chang and Paula Puhak Chang (performers)
140st St. btw 7th and 8th Aves. (Manhattan);

XXXVII: Flaming Tulip Family Circus (performers)
Claremont Ave. btw BQE and Myrtle Ave. (Bklyn)

XXXVIII: Debra Levine and Noemie Solomon (record-makers)
5th Ave. at Prospect Pl. (Brooklyn);

XXXIX: Carrie Stern (listener)
Baruch Dr. (Manhattan)

XL: Brett Laurence
47th Ave. & 59th Pl. (Queens);
98th St. btw Jamaica & 89th Aves. (Queens);
Fieldstone Rd. & Oliver Pl. (Richmond) west of Arlene St., north of Victory Blvd., Bloomfield

XLI: Tonino Miano (record-maker)
First Ave btw 87th and 88th Sts. (Manhattan);

XLII: The Evan Gallagher Reading Ensemble: etg; Conductor and Provider of Page Turns, David Watson, Andrea Pryor, Michael Attias, Joe Gallant, Dan Barret, Frank Keeley, members of CPAC II at NYU and of the 1214 IDMI and Polyphonics Music Club at Polytech of Broolyn; readers (or not) - plus unannounced and/or unaware others. (performer)
59th St. near Amsterdam (Manhattan)

XLIII: Teri Tynes (record-maker)
Jane St. btw Greenwich and Washington (Manhattan);

XLIV: John Carnes (record-maker)
69th and Second Ave (Manhattan)

XLV
Forrestal Ave. (Richmond);
W. 225th St. & Berry (Bronx);
Main St. btw Craig Ave. and Ambrose Rd. (Richmond)

XLVI: Sam Meyer (record-maker)
International Arrival at JFK International Airport (Queens);

XLVII: Billy Gomberg (record-maker)
Kane St. btw Court and Jay (Brooklyn);

XLVIII: Reid Gray with Dory Bergman and Karen Ruelle (performers)
First Ave & E. 11th St. (Manhattan)

XLIX: Michael Evans and Bill Bowen (performers)
Columbus Ave in Park West Village (Manhattan, W. 98th St.);

What is Spearmint Music?

The most exciting music in the world has always been innovative. Charlie Parker, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, John Cage, John Lee Hooker, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, Karleinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, The Residents, Derek Bailey, Christian Marclay, AMM, John Fahey, Jon Rose, Brian Eno, The Slits, The Sex Pistols, Gang of Four, The Ex, Talking Heads, Guns 'N' Roses, Fela, P-Funk, Prince, Kahil El'Zabar, William Parker, Ikue Mori, Otomo Yoshihide, People Like Us: all of them and many, many more are infused with the excitement of the new. They're all, in one way or another, "experimental."

My favorite music often gets called "experimental," and while it's probably the most apt of the many terms bandied about, it's also clinical and ugly. I like to think of it as "spearmint." Refreshing. New.

I haven't decided what I'll do with this blog yet. I might write about music, but I already do that enough. I might just complain about petty things that happen to me day to day, or I might make up lies. But that's why I named it what I did.