The Relache Chronicles
THE RELACHE CHRONICLES is a podcast about musicians residing in what we call “the Margins of American Music.” In these 30-to-45-minute episodes, we’ll play recordings – primarily by The Relache Ensemble from Philadelphia - of complete musical works plus commentary by composers, performers, and others with insight to the music. Throughout the podcast, we’ll discuss the guest composers’ processes, how they utilized current and past technologies and how the acoustical properties of a given space informed the creation and performance of a musical work. Finally, we will discuss how the composers’ relationship with the musicians brought the music to life. Episodes feature music by John Cage, Robert Ashley, Joe Kasinskas, Pauline Oliveros, Guy Klucevsek, Eve Beglarian, Fred Ho, Phill Niblock, Romulus Franceschini, Bill Duckworth, and an overview of New Music America Festival 1987 - Philadelphia. THE RELACHE CHRONICLES is produced, directed, and edited, by Arthur Stidfole with Joseph Franklin, Joe Kasinskas, and Arthur Sabatini. Throughout their careers, they have been performing musicians, composers, executive and artistic directors, university teachers, radio hosts and authors, dedicated to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Relache Chronicles
Episode Ten - Guy Klucevsek's "Polka from the Fringe" NMA 1987 Philadelphia (2 of 3)
Episode 10 is the second of three episodes of music and commentary from the New Music America Festival 1987 in Philadelphia, produced and presented by the Relache organization. This episode is one of our favorites. It features the premiere performance of accordionist-composer Guy Klucevsek’s “Polka from the Fringe,” a terrific investigation of Polkas in all their glory. Virtuosic, whimsical, outrageous, Guy’s performance at a funky bar in Olde City Philadelphia is a must-hear for all “new music” fans. In some ways these polkas deconstruct the genre. They keep alive the inventiveness inherent in the music of a variety of contemporary composers, with a keen sense of humor. As you will hear, Guy dedicated the performance of “Polka from the Fringe” to Charles Mingus’s remark, “Let the white man develop the polka.” In that spirit, Guy turns the table on this much beloved genre of dance music.
