JOHNSON, DENNIS - November

First recording of Dennis Johnsons 5-hour minimalist masterpiece, November.Until recently, one of the most substantial and signi-ج¨¬Åcant pieces of the minimalist repertoire was virtually unknown. Written in 1959 by Dennis Johnson, November was purportedly six hours long as originally conceived. La Monte Young, who knew Johnson while at UCLA in the late 50s, credited the piece for inspiring The Well-Tuned Piano. November anticipated many trends in minimalist music in addition to its prodigious duration: diatonic tonality, additive processes, and repetition of small motives. It is beautiful, slow-paced, and introspective, and was nearly lost entirely. Penultimate Press and Irritable Hedgehog are proud to announce the -ج¨¬Årst ever release of this historically signi-ج¨¬Åcant and thoroughly engaging work.Kyle Gann rescued November from obscurity, reconstructing the piece from the only existing materials: a hiss-ridden, 112-minute cassette recording played by Dennis Johnson himself (which Gann received from La Monte Young) and a rough score he received from Johnson. The score, such as it is, consists of several pages of short musical ideas, meant to be improvised upon as desired by the performer. Flexible instructions are also given for the order of the material to be performed.Pianist R. Andrew Lee has established himself in recent years as one of the foremost interpreters of theminimalist piano repertoire and has boldly embraced the challenge of this monumental work. UtilizingGanns reconstructed score, he has recorded a sublime interpretation which -ج¨¬Ånally documents one of the most important lost works in the 20th century canon.At once highly listenable, melancholic, warm and unique, Dennis Johnsons November is a work of immense historical signi-ج¨¬Åcance that will appeal to those with a taste for 20th century repertoire, minimalism, exploratory piano works, and substantial and haunting works of art.November comes in a deluxe box with 4 cds in individual slipcases and a 20 page booklet featuring reproductions the original score (and Johnsons later annotations) along with an essay on the work by noted critic Kyle Gann and anecdotal essays by Andy Lee, David McIntire and Mark Harwood."- Penultimate Press.