Although New World's David Tudor & Gordon Mumma pulls together a healthy and representative sampling from the prosperous collaboration involving these two giants of the avant-garde, the album is really "about"
Tudor and serves as a sort of a tribute to him. Included are historical recordings of two very early realizations of
Tudor's masterful sonic environment Rainforest, one from Rio de Janeiro (7/30/1968), and another from Cornell University (3/1969). Both of these tapes appear to originate with
Tudor's estate, and both are very well preserved and recorded. Although several realizations of Rainforest are available, these two appear not to have circulated before.
Mumma's Mographs and Gestures II for 1-4 pianos are multi-hand aleatoric miniatures first played by
Mumma and
Robert Ashley at the ONCE Festivals in Ann Arbor in the early '60s. Listening to
Tudor and
Mumma's performances, made in the late '60s, one is struck by how crisp and dynamic they are, even as most of them do not exceed a minute in length. The closing Song Without Words (in memoriam David Tudor) is presumably played by
Mumma; it is a lyrical three-minute piece reminiscent at times of the Minuet from Schoenberg's Op. 25 Suite and serves as a touching tribute to
Tudor.
Although he abandoned it by the mid-'60s,
Tudor's 15-year career as an interpreter of new music for the piano was so powerful that 40 years on he is still regarded mainly as a pianist. Although
Tudor's pursuit of composition came late in life and he worked more often with system designs than written scores, he certainly knew what he was doing; listen to how similar the two versions of Rainforest are in the way that they unfold. Those who have followed this review to this point probably won't need much more convincing to seek out New World's David Tudor & Gordon Mumma, but while others whose interest runs more specifically to industrial music will find a lot to enjoy in the two versions of Rainforest, they may not "get"
Mumma's piano pieces. Nevertheless, anyone who is interested, even in a general way, in the pioneering avant-garde of the 1960s will want to add acquiring New World's David Tudor & Gordon Mumma to their "to-do" list.