Research Catalog

Interview with Jean Erdman

Title
Interview with Jean Erdman, 1983-06-08.
Author
Erdman, Jean
Publication
June 8, 1983.

Available Online

NYPL Digital Collections

Details

Additional Authors
  • Vaughan, David, 1924-
  • Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, donor.
Found In
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
Description
2 streaming audio files (49 minutes total) : digital, stereo
Summary
  • Streaming file 1, side 1: Begins abruptly; Jean Erdman speaks with David Vaughan about Credo in us (1942), the duet she created with Merce Cunningham; performing Credo in us at Bennington College, in New York, and at the Arts Club of Chicago; they speak about the change of title for Cunningham's Renaissance testimonials (1942); they speak about the photographs taken for the Bennington Concert and the costume design drawings for Credo in us by Charlotte Trowbridge; Erdman describes a lift in Credo in us; briefly, more on their shared concerts including the opening dance, Seeds of brightness (1942), and their improvised piece, Ad lib (1942); [brief phone interruption]; Erdman continues to speak about the choreographic structure for Ad lib that was based on jazz music and improvisation; more on the music and rehearsals for Ad lib; Erdman speaks about the concert at the Arts Club of Chicago including her solo works, Transformations of Medusa (1942), Forever and sunsmell (1943) with a score by John Cage, and Creature on a journey (1945) with a score by Lou Harrison; [brief phone interruption]; Erdman speaks about Cage writing the music for Credo in us while staying at her apartment; more on Credo in us, including the relationship between the choreography and Cage's composition, and the underlying narrative; Vaughan relates the Credo narrative with Cunningham's Four walls (1944) and speaks about how Cunningham titles his works by referencing [James] Joyce; Erdman speaks about how Xenia [Cage] knew her husband Joe [Joseph Campbell] prior to all of them living in New York; Erdman briefly speaks about Cage teaching composition classes at her dance studio; Erdman tells an anecdote about the music during a performance of a series of five "Serenades" directed by Cunningham at the Museum of Modern Art in 1943; she speaks about the encouragement from Cage and Campbell to do a concert with Cunningham outside of [Martha] Graham's [Dance] Company; her enjoyment of dancing with Cunningham and his physical energy; Erdman speaks briefly about Cunningham joining the Graham Company; she speaks about Graham's choreographic process, including changes over time that allowed for dancers to add their own input of movements; she speaks about meeting Graham as a student at Sarah Lawrence College; ends abruptly.
  • Streaming file 2, side 2: Begins abruptly; Jean Erdman continues to speak with David Vaughan briefly about the dance classes and styles she was exposed to while growing up in Hawaii; she speaks about Erik Hawkins teaching the first ballet classes at the Martha Graham [Dance] studio; she speaks about how John Cage persuaded Merce Cunningham to not join a ballet company; briefly on the friendships and artistic conversations between herself, Joseph Campbell, the Cage's and Cunningham; she speaks about Campbell's interest in Finnegans Wake; [brief recording break]; they speak about how Campbell's interest in James Joyce's writings may have been influential on Cunningham; she speaks about the opera idea that Cage suggested to Campbell, but never completed, that marked the end of Cage's era of "expressive music" into exploring "chance"; Erdman speaks about commissioning music from Cage for her dances, including her Ophelia (1946); she speaks about introducing David Tudor to Cage; the jazz based inspiration for her Portrait of a lady (1952) and Cage's creation of an eight-track electronic piece using her jazz records, Imaginary landscape [no. 5] (1952); she tells an anecdote about a performance of Portrait of a lady at Hunter College; briefly, a current reconstruction of Portrait of a lady; Erdman speaks about working with Cage to create prepared piano music for her Daughters of a lonesome isle (1945), and the chant and percussion music for her Forever and sunsmell (1943); they speak about the score for Cunningham's Seasons (1947); ends abruptly.
Alternative Title
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Interviews.
  • Sound recordings.
Note
  • David Vaughan interviews Jean Erdman in her apartment in New York, New York, on June 8, 1983. This interview was created as research for David Vaughan's book, Merce Cunningham: Fifty years (New York, Aperture).
  • Title and date provided by cataloger based on audition and handwritten note on original container and cassette.
  • Handwritten note on original container and cassette: "1: David Vaughan: Interview with Jean Erdman ; 8 June 1983 ; New York".
  • Sound quality is good; there are some distant background sounds.
Access (note)
  • Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
Source (note)
  • Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation
Linking Entry (note)
  • Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
Call Number
*LTC-A 1443
OCLC
913959541
Author
Erdman, Jean, interviewee.
Title
Interview with Jean Erdman, 1983-06-08.
Production
June 8, 1983.
Playing Time
003125 001708
Type of Content
spoken word
Type of Medium
audio
Type of Carrier
audiocassette
online resource
Digital File Characteristics
audio file
Event
Recorded in, New York, New York, 1983 June 8.
Restricted Access
Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
Original Version
Archival original: (1 audio cassette (49 minutes) : analog) in *LTC-A 1443.
Linking Entry
Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
Local Note
Transferred from original analog cassette by George Blood Audio on March 25, 2015; two preservation files were created based on the cassette sides.
Source
Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Connect to:
NYPL Digital Collections
Added Author
Vaughan, David, 1924- interviewer.
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, donor.
Added Title
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
Found In:
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
Research Call Number
*LTC-A 1443
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