49 Waltzes for Five Boroughs

On April 26 at 3 pm, Twiceband staged 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. 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. 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);
Pelham Pkway at Mickle Ave. (Bronx); East of Eastchester Rd.
Sideview and Carter Aves. (Richmond)

III: Bill Bahng Boyer (record-maker)
Hermany Ave. Between Pugsley and Olmstead (Bronx); South of the Bruckner Expwy and East of White Plains Rd.
Madison Avenue between 70th and 71st Sts. (Manhattan);
Winant Pl. (Richmond)

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);
Popham Ave. (Bronx);
Alexander Ave. and E. 141st St (Bronx)

VI: David Herman (record maker)
37th St. at Nautilus Avenue (Coney Island, Brooklyn);
Beacon Pl. and Roma Ave. (Richmond);
Story Ave. between Olmstead and Castle Hill Ave. (Bronx)

VII: Linden Renz (performance)
Cherry St. (Manhattan);
99th St. at Harbor Ct. (Brooklyn);
Lincoln Ave. between Sutter and 133rd Avenues (Brooklyn)

VIII: Andrew Farrell (record-maker)
148th St. between Morris and Park Aves (Bronx);
500 Block on 48th St. (Brooklyn); at 5th Ave., Sunset Park
Dongan Hills Ave. between Quincy and Patterson Aves. (Richmond)

IX: Richard Kamerman (performer)
41st St. between Tenth and Eleventh Aves. (Manhattan);
Union Turnpike at 188th St. (Queens);
60th St. between Fifth and Madison Aves. (Manhattan)

X: Joshua Convey (performer)
Narrows Ave. between 70th St. and Mackay Pl. (Brooklyn);
Bruckner Expressway at Griswold Ave. (Bronx);
31st St. at Tenth Ave. (Manhattan)

XI: Michael Andre (performer)
Trinity Place at James St. (Manhattan);
Caldwell Ave. between 69th Lane and 70th St. (Queens);
166th St. between 76th Rd. and 77ths Ave. (Queens)

XII: Sarah Galloway (performer)
21st St. btw 10th & 11th Ave (M);
Morgan Ave at Division Pl (Q)
166th St bt 76th Fr & 77th Ave (Q)

XIII: Donna Blicharz (listener)
Bloomfield and Bengal Aves. (Richmond);
Bronx Zoological Garden;
Carteret St. and Billop Ave. (Richmond)

XIV: Roberta Friedman, Arleen Schloss and Anja Kostler (listeners)
Arden Heights (Richmond); Roberta Friedman
Warren St. between Broadway and Church (Manhattan);
157th St. between Sanford and 43rd Aves. (Queens)

XV: Pixies of Doom (performer)
86th St. and Fifth Ave. (Manhattan);
Vernon and Throop Aves. (Brooklyn);
Abingdon and Katan Aves. (Richmond)

XVI: Bryan Eubanks (performer)
Hamilton Pl. (Queens); Crosses the Queens Midtown Expwy between 55th Ave. and Grand Ave.)
57th Ave. and 43rd St. (Queens);
Broad and Stone Sts. (Manhattan) financial district

XVII: Phil Zampino (record-maker)
Ave. X and E. 70th St. (Brooklyn);
72nd St. between West End and Broadway (Manhattan);
Loring Place between Fordham Rd. and West 183rd St. (Bronx)

XVIII: cis-AB (performers)
Turner St. and Crabtree Ave. (Richmond); NW of Woodrow and Bloomingdale Roads, Woodrow/Hugenot
109th and Manhattan Ave. (Manhattan);
Evergreen Ave. and Grove St. (Brooklyn) One block off Bushwick Ave. north of Pelham Ave. in Bushwick

XIX: Dan Bodah (record-maker)
Ditmas Ave. and E. 18th St. (Flatbush, Brooklyn);
E. 18th St. and Ave. S (Brooklyn);
Astoira Blved. and 111th St. (Queens)

XX Michael Shanley (performer)
St. Andrews Rd. at Lighthouse Ave. (Richmond); south of LaTourette Park and Golf Course, between Richmond Road and Rockland Ave.
70th St. at 86th Dr. (Queens);
Neponsit Ave. between Beach 145 and Beach 146 Sts. (Queens) Rockaway Park

XXI: Len Siegfried (record-maker)
Four Corners Rd. near Todt Hill Rd. (Richmond);
186th St. between Amsterdam and Audubon Aves. (Manhattan);
Penn Ave. near Tarring St. (Richmond)

XXII: Robert Hardin (record-maker)
Spencer St. and Chelsea Rd. (Richmond);
83rd St. near Cooper Ave. (Queens);
Bowne St. betw 45th & Holly Aves (Queens)

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

XXIV: Andrew Rodriguez
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); One block off Rockaway Ave., north of Linden Blvd., Brownsville
Midland Ave. at Richmond Rd. (Richmond); near Moravian Cemetery and Richmond County Country Club, New Dorp/Dongan Hills
North Conduit Ave near 123rd St. (Queens) near Belt Pkwy and Lefferts Blvd, South Ozone Park

XXVI: Brian Olewnick (listener)
Katan and Ridgewood Aves. (Richmond);
89th between Park and Lex (Manhattan);
42nd West of 11th Ave. (Manhattan)

XXVII: Kirk Knuffke
30th Ave. at 34th St. (Queens);
Linden Blvd at King's Highway (Brooklyn);
Bloomfield Ave. near Chelsea Rd. (Richmond)

XXVIII
28th Ave. at 216th St. (Queens);
Klondike Ave near Bridgetown St. (Richmond); between Rockland Ave. and Richmond Hill Rd., New Springville
161st Ave & 97th St. (Queens)

XXIX: Marc Thorman (record-maker)
8th Ave btw 133 & 134 (Manhattan);
Roosevelt Ave. at Parsons Blvd. (Queens); south of Northern Blvd. between Main and 150th Streets, Flushing
112th at First Ave (Manhattan)

XXX: Kurt Gottschalk (listener)
East Service Rd. of West Shore Expressway near Victory Blvd. (Richmond); near Schmul Park, Travis
Macombs Rd. at Featherbed Lane (Bronx); Featherbed Lane turns into West 174th St. at either end, near the Cross Bronx Expwy and University Ave., Morris Heights/Tremont area
Northern Blvd. & 203rd St. (Queens)

XXXI: Steven Koplin (listener)
43rd St. btw Ditmas Ave. and Clarendon Rd. (Brooklyn); Ditmas Ave. is Ave. D, two blocks south of Holy Cross Cemetery, East Flatbush
115th St. btw Atlantic Ave & 91st Ave (Queens);
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)
Amboy Rd. at Kane Ct. (Richmond);
221st St. and 38th Ave. (Queens);
Boardwalk at W. 24th St. (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)
Rego Park Station LIRR (Queens);
140st St. btw 7th and 8th Aves. (Manhattan);
E. 33rd St. and Quentiri Rd. (Queens)

XXXVII: Flaming Tulip Family Circus (performers)
Cunningham Pk. near Clearview Expressway at 73rd Ave. (Queens);
Raleigh St. & Southern Parkway (Queens);
Claremont Ave. btw BQE and Myrtle Ave. (Bklyn)

XXXVIII: Debra Levine and Noemie Solomon (record-makers)
Vernon & Darlington Aves. (Richmond);
5th Ave. at Prospect Pl. (Brooklyn);
80th Rd. (Union Field Cemetery) (Cypress Ave. on the Brooklyn/Queens border. http://www.unionfieldcemetery.org/)

XXXIX: Carrie Stern (listener)
N. Bridge St. (Richmond); just north of Outerbridge Crossing and east of West Shore Expwy on the west side of the island
Baruch Dr. (Manhattan); near Mahhattan Bridge
Loring Pl. S. near West Tremont Ave., (Bronx) South of Bronx Community College, East of Major Deegan Expwy, Morris Heights

XL
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)
College Ave & E. 145th St. (Bronx);
First Ave btw 87th and 88th Sts. (Manhattan);
119th St. and 7th Ave. (College Point, Queens)

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)
Turner St (Richmond);
Ferry Point Park near Emerson and Miles Aves; (Westchester Cr, Schley, Emerson Aves, at the East River, Bronx, http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/park_info_pages/park_info.php?propID=X126)
59th St. near Amsterdam (Manhattan)

XLIII: Teresa Tynes (record-maker)
Jane St. btw Greenwich and Washington (Manhattan);
Midland Ave and Freeborn (Richmond);
164th St. at 69th Ave. (Queens)

XLIV: John Carnes (record-maker)
Crocheron and Merrill Aves; (Richmond)
Tremont Ave. East and Harding (Bronx); east of Ferry Point Park, south of 295
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);
Oakdale St. btw Holly and Acacia Aves. (Richmond);
40th Ave. btw 220th and 221st St. (Queens)

XLVII: Billy Gomberg (record-maker)
Kane St. btw Court and Jay (Brooklyn);
Pitkim Ave. & Junius St. (Bklyn);
E. 105th St. & Flatlands 4th St. (Bklyn)

XLVIII: Reid Gray with Dory Bergman and Karen Ruelle (performers)
Gerard Ave. btw E 167 and E 168 (Bronx);
White Plains Rd. & Bronxdale Ave. (Bronx);
First Ave & E. 11th St. (Manhattan)

XLIX: Michael Evans and Bill Bowen (performers)
Columbus Ave in Park West Village (Manhattan, W. 98th St.);
43rd Ave. btw 108th and 110th Sts (Queens);
Weir Creek Park (Bronx) (I believe this is what's now called Bicentennial Park at Weir
Creek)

------ Spearmint Music & Kurt Gottschalk

40 Minutes and 33 Seconds

As Allen Ginsberg was known as the Beat poet, John Cage was the Silent composer. His most famous work is 4’ 33” of Silence.

I published a lot of Cage’s writing. On the morning of 11 September 2001, I had it all in the Kinko’s on Reade Street, and was determined to make it into a book. But the building shook. I said to myself, “Gas explosion. Someone’s been careless.” I looked out the window. There were flames a couple blocks south. Damn careless! I resumed my work with greater care. Eventually there was another explosion. Parts of the World Trade Center bounced off the window. People outside were running. Only the cashier and I remained in Kinko’s. “Oh my God,” she said on her cell. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

I performed John Cage Waltz XI beginning at 3:00pm 26 April 26 2008 at the southern foot of Trinity Place and concluding at the north end of James Street at 3:40.33pm.

http://spearmintmusic.blogspot.com/

My walk or waltz was accompanied by the music of Elodie Lauten.

John Cage Waltz

Saturday I'll be doing a John Cage Waltz. See --

http://spearmintmusic.blogspot.com/

Here are my instructions from Spearmint:

- there is no written score. the whole of the score is what's on the blog. if you're performing, you can perform what you want.

- if you're performing and want to consider it a busk and put out a hat for donations, i suppose that's fine. however if getting arrested causes you to have to quit, that'd be unfortunate.

- you do not have to go to your locale alone.

- any kind of documentation you want to do is fine. i will ask everyone to write a paragraph about the experience, and for copies of recordings (preferably mp3) from all record-makers. all written pieces, recordings and photos will go up on the wfmu blog.

- the performance will be 40 minutes, from 3-3:40 on april 26. rain date is april 27.