This recording (2002) captures the two instruments central to Conrad's practice at the time: his self-built Long String Instrument and his amplified violin. He performed hidden behind a large sheet, and the nature of what unfolded behind it was never disclosed to the audience.
Recorded at the construction site of the future Mudam - Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg, designed by I. M. Pei - during the Museum Night of October 12, 2002, by invitation of Marie-Claude Beaud. The concert was co-organized by Transhistorics, a co-production by Sub Rosa and Philippe Franck's Transcultures.
Conrad also performed several times in Europe alongside
Charlemagne Palestine in the following years, including the October 2005 concert
An Aural Symbiotic Mystery.
Tony Conrad (born 1940 in Concord, USA) is a
video artist,
experimental filmmaker,
avant-garde musician/composer,
sound artist, teacher and writer. Notable works include film
The Flicker (1966) which consists on a succession of black & white frames and the
Yellow Movies (1970's) a series of abstract paintings changing over time. Along with John Cale,
Angus MacLise,
La Monte Young, and
Marian Zazeela, Conrad was an early member of the Theater of Eternal Music. His most notorious musical work is a 1972 collaboration with Krautrock band Faust,
Outside the Dream Syndicate. Conrad continues to teach at the Department of Media Study at University at Buffalo.
