(b. 10 April 1933, The Bronx, New York, New York).
American composer, now resident in Italy, of interdisciplinary works that have been performed throughout the world; he is also active as a performer, visual artist and writer.
Mr. Corner studied composition with Mark Brunswick and musicianship and piano with Fritz Jahoda at the City College of New York, where he earned his BA in 1955, and composition with Henry Cowell and Otto Luening at Columbia University, where he earned his MA in 1959. He also studied analysis with Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris from 1955–57, where he earned a deuxième prix, and studied calligraphy with Ki-sung Kim in South Korea in 1960–61. He studied piano privately with Dorothy Taubman in New York, New York from 1961–75.
As a performer of new music, he has been active as a pianist, trombonist and vocalist. He has also played alphorn and various natural objects, including resonant metals. He was drafted into the US Army in 1959 and shipped to South Korea in 1960–61, where he introduced music by himself, as well as John Cage, Olivier Messiaen, Wallingford Riegger, Anton Webern, and other composers. He has participated in various concerts, exhibitions and festivals with the name Fluxus since 1961. He served as a resident composer and musician to the Judson Dance Theater in New York, New York from 1962–64. He co-founded with Malcolm Goldstein and James Tenney the Tone Roads Chamber Ensemble in New York, New York in 1963, a group for contemporary music that performed until 1970. He co-founded with Julie Winter the ensemble for music and ritual Sounds Out of Silent Spaces in New York, New York in 1972 and co-founded with Barbara Benary and Daniel Goode Gamelan Son of Lion in New York, New York in 1976 and often played with each ensemble, as well as with the Experimental Intermedia Foundation in New York, New York. He is featured in the book The Four Suits (1966, Something Else Press) and an overview of his life and work is presented in the book LifeWork: A Unity (1991–93, Frog Peak Music).
As a visual artist, his works have been exhibited in the Americas, Asia and Europe.
As a writer, he has written numerous articles, essays and poems. His major publications include the book I Can Walk through the World as Music (1966, unpublished; 1980, Printed Editions).
He taught piano privately in New York, New York from 1962–68 and taught secondary subjects at the New Lincoln School in New York, New York from 1966–72. He gave courses on the analysis of contemporary music and experimental composition at The New School in New York, New York from 1967–70 and taught contemporary music, music theory and world music at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey from 1972–92.
He has used the pseudonym Gwan Pok – Contemplating Waterfall on occasion. He is married to the dancer Phoebe Neville, with whom he has often collaborated.
He has lived in Italy since 1992.
His publisher is Frog Peak Music.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS (note that these works are listed alphabetically according to a general category that the composer has defined and that dates for individual works are often unavailable; though this list may be incomplete, it is as complete as possible, although it omits some music and most writings that are available in manuscript only, as well as most assemblages, calligraphy, collages, drawings, and paintings; also, new works have often been appended or old works expanded at dates later than those provided for each category)
I – CULTURE (TRADITION; ASSIMILATION), 1950–59:
Abstract Motet I (vocalise), 4 mixed voices, any number of players ad libitum (also version for 4 mixed voices ad libitum, any number of players)
Abstract Motet II (vocalise), 5 mixed voices, any number of players ad libitum (also version for 5 mixed voices ad libitum, any number of players)
The Boy and the Flute (text by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson [English translation]), mixed chorus, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon
A Concoction, 2 clarinets, 2 saxophones, trumpet, guitar, 2 violins, 2 cellos, piano, percussion
Constants 2, piano 4 hands
Constants 4 A–B, piano 4 hands
Construction for the Occurrence of Disintegration (incidental music, play by an unknown writer), any ensemble
Dialogues (suite), flute, bassoon
Different Durations, any number of players
Divertmento, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, percussion, symphonic band
Duet, violin, cello
ensemble piece, clarinet, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, violin
Étincelles, piano 4 hands
Evolving Extremities, variable orchestra (one section may be performed separately: not-yet evolved extremities, violin, cello)
Expressions in Parallel (vocalise) (dance music, choreography by James Waring), soprano, tenor, alto saxophone, cello, percussion (in audience)
Fantasy, piano, ensemble (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 French horns, violin, viola, cello, double bass) (also version for piano, orchestra)
Finale, violin, cello, piano
Flux and Form Nos. 2–17, piano/any number of pianos (its 16 sections may be performed separately or together in any order)
for the guitar, guitar
forgotten dance, violin, piano/harpsichord (also version for string quartet)
Four Choruses from Edna St. Vincent Millay (text by Edna St. Vincent Millay), mixed chorus
From the Paris Notebooks (its two sections may be performed separately: Chanson [text from an anonymous source], voice, piano; Sous le Pont Mirabeau [text by Guillaume Apollinaire], speaker, piano)
Frozen Motion, any ensemble of instruments capable of producing Klangfarbenmelodien
Fugue, 2 pianos 8 hands, ensemble ad libitum (flute, 2 French horns, trumpet, timpani)
'A Funny Trio', any 3 instruments
Glissandi, any number of players
Homage to Couperin, harpsichord, fixed media/any noises
Mixed Instruments, any number of players with single tones
Movements and Impulsion (its two sections may be performed separately: Movements, string quartet; Impulsion, string quartet, double bass ad libitum)
dipus Rex (text by Sophocles [English translation]), male chorus, clarinet, French horn, cello, piano
148 Equal Measures, any 4 players
Pensive: Prelude and Fugue, string orchestra (also version for string quartet, double bass)
Piano Suite Intended for Dance, piano/any other instrument (also version of some sections as Sense Structure Feel, piano/any other instrument)
Pieces for String Instruments Nos. 2–8, any number of strings (its seven sections may be performed separately or various sections may be performed together to make a larger work)
Poem of e. e. cummings (text by E. E. Cummings), voice, piano
Pot Piece, violin, viola, cello (with conductor [+ pots])
Rondo in B minor, trombone, piano
Scherzo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon
Seven Joyous Flashes, piano
Short Piano Pieces (its 13 sections may be performed separately)
Sonata I–II, orchestra (its two sections may be performed separately)
Sonorous Piece, 5 trombones
Stücke, flute
this is it...this time, orchestra
Trio, violin, cello, piano
Two-Part Monologues, any bowed string instrument, any keyboard instrument
Variations on 'Home on the Range', 2 pianos
II – THE WORLD (GRAPHIC INNOVATIONS AND INDETERMINACY), 1960–75:
aaah/mmm, any number of breathing voices
accompanied by..., any number of noisemakers (1 player)
Air Effect (vocalise), any small number of voices, any small number of winds
An anti-personnel CBU-Type cluster bomb unit will be thrown into the audience (performance consists of announcing the cancellation of the performance)
Arrangement with Direction, any large ensemble (with conductor)
as pure to begin, amplified piano (+ any number of objects)
attempting whitenesses, any homogeneous ensemble capable of sustained tones
BELLS, any number of small bells/handbells (any number of players)
Bev's Circus Tape (dance music, choreography by Beverly Schmidt Blossom), fixed media (realised with technical assistance from James Seawright)
Big Trombone, improvisational trombone, fixed media
Birds and Crickets (imitations of natural sounds), any number of players
Borderline Music, any number of percussion instruments (+ any number of instruments, any number of objects) (1 or more players)
BReaTH-E-s (compositions especially concerned with uses of the breath)
Breath and Breath-he (ideas for "singing" without voicing), any number of voices
C Major Chord, any number of available instruments
CarrotChewPerformance (audience-participation piece in a loft setting)
Celebrations – The Image of this Traditional Winter, any number of voices ad libitum, any number of instruments ad libitum, organ (also versions for any number of voices ad libitum, organ; any number of instruments ad libitum, organ)
Certain Distilling Processes, any number of players (with any number of dancer–conductors)
Chirographic (vocalise), any chorus/ensemble
Chopin Prelude I, 'The V9 chord which begins the Chopin D Major Prelude...as a revelation', piano (+ any large number of instruments)
Chopin Prelude II, 'The F# section in the middle of the D Major Prelude of Chopin...as a revelation', piano (+ any small number of instruments ad libitum)
Choral Chord Constant (imitations of environmental sounds), any number of voices
Chorus Centers Separate (vocalise), any number of voices, any number of players (with conductor)
Coldwater Basin 1, fixed media
Coldwater Basin 2, fixed media
Complements I, 1 or more bowed string instruments capable of low pitches, piano/any other instrument of accompaniment
Complements II, any 2 or more instruments capable of glissandi/fixed media
composition with or without Beverly (dance music, choreography by Beverly Schmidt Blossom), piano/percussion ad libitum, fixed media
Concert (vocalise), any number of voices, any number of instruments
Concerto for Housekeeper, piano (+ dust rag)
Crash Actions, any number of percussion (may be performed with in intimacy – pulsation)
'Do' (for) (with) Max-Feed, electronic gadget (by Max Neuhaus)/other apparatus
Drum Ball, any number of handheld drums (+ any number of large bouncing balls) (any number of players)
Education Events (texts reporting on listening exercises and experiences at the New Lincoln School)
Enough! Or Too-much!, any number of percussion instruments (+ any number of noisemakers) (any number of players)
eruptions, piano
Everything Max Has, any large number of percussion instruments (1 or more players), amplification ad libitum (may be performed with Beforehand or Afterward/Intermission)
The Finales – 2; 3; 4, any number of voices/players (with actions) (its three sections may be performed separately)
Flares, any ensemble, slide projections (by the composer), light installation (also version as Flares – the electronic element, fixed media)
For Two Trombones No. 2, 2 trombones
Fountain, fixed media
Friendly Low B-flat for Ruth Emerson, bass trombone
From 'Thaïs' (dance music, choreography by Yvonne Rainer), fixed media
From Years ago at Dick Higgins' Loft, any number of objects (any number of players)
GONG!, 1 or more tam-tams/any other gong-like instruments (any number of players)
Hear It! (vocalise), any number of voices, any number of percussion, any number of players (with noisemakers), fixed media ad libitum
Heavy Lines, any number of ensembles (around hall)
High Contrast, organ
Homage to Revere, any number of resonant kitchen utensils (any number of players)
The Identical Lunch (report in book form) (realisation of proposal by Alison Knowles)
If and When it Will Ever Again Be Possible to Write a Piece for Symphony Orchestra, variable orchestra
"Im-press"ions (drawings), piano
Imminences (vocalise), any number of voices, any number of players (with noisemakers), fixed media ad libitum
Impulses to Realize (modules), any number of players
in intimacy – pulsation, any number of percussion (may be performed with Crash Actions)
Ink Marks for Performance, piano
Inner Ear, string orchestra
Insects, and nonsongbirds miscellany (transcriptions of natural sounds), any number of percussion
Intermission (any purposeful activity with percussion instruments), player, amplification ad libitum (also expanded version as Beforehand or Afterward, percussion; either version may be performed with Everything Max Has)
is that what that sound is supposed to sound like? (vocalise), any number of voices
Ives and Thoreau with specifics for these times (lecture, texts by the composer, Charles Ives, Henry David Thoreau), speaker
Keyboard Dances (performance proposals), 1 or more pianos (any number of players)
Lecture from Sunday Performance (text by the composer), speaker (+ any number of instruments)
Lesson from the East 'Perfection Is Not Exactness', any number of players
Loud Music for Large Space, any ensemble, amplification ad libitum
Lovely Music, any number of voices/instruments capable of sustained pitch
Lucinda's Pastime (dance music, choreography by Lucinda Childs), fixed media
Made, by underhanded notes (behind my back), any 1 or more keyboard instruments (1 or more players) (also version for any ensemble)
Memories: Performances, fixed media
Metal Meditations (collection), any number of metal objects (any number of players, audience)
metronomes (vocalise), piano (+ voice, any number of metronomes, any number of objects)
Mississippi River South of Memphis, any heterogeneous ensemble of pitched instruments
Mouth Pieces (ongoing collection of ideas for private and public performances concerning food)
Moving Piece, any portable bowed string instrument
The Mozart Material, piano/harpsichord
The Muse..., from lines and curves (rubbing of any surface by any number of players) (also realisation as Sonata bianca [IV])
Music Radio, radio (any number of operators)
Music, reserved until now, any ensemble
A New Way for Radios, any number of radios (any number of operators)
Of things which have no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today (vocalise), any number of voices, any number of moving players, light installation ad libitum
Old Bells' Towers, carillon
OM: be at the beginning (collection of structural workings with one note), any number of voices/instruments
OM Emerging, any 1 or more instruments capable of sustained tones
OM Entrance, any mixed ensemble (also version as Circle [IV])
OM 'pot' (breath–rhythm constant achieved by one person blowing across a ceramic vessel)
Omni Oms – or 45 OM essences (proposals for improvisation), any player (also version for any number of voices/players)
Or You Could Just Throw Ink on the Page, piano (also version for any number of drums/gongs/any other instruments)
Oracle, an electronic cantata on images of war, fixed media
Organ OM (vocalise), mixed chorus, organ (also versions for mixed chorus; organ)
Outbreak on the Dance Floor, clarinet, any saxophone, trumpet, trombone, double bass, piano, improvisational drum kit
outburst expressive of energetic vocal ejaculations, any number of breathing voices
OVERT (OPEN)-ture, piano/any small ensemble
Passionate Expanse of the Law, any large ensemble (with conductor)
peace in a tone, any number of players
PeopleVoiceSpace (vocalise), any 1 or more untrained voices
Persimmon: Love Duet (persimmon eaten by 2 players)
Philip Corner's Piece for Malcolm Goldstein by Elizabeth Munro (long-line score drawn by Elizabeth Munro), violin
Piano Activities, piano (any number of players)
Piano Work (destruction of a piano by any number of players) (also version as Piano Work: concert suite, piano [1 or more players with extreme yet non-destructive actions])
Pieces of (Acoustic) Reality or Pieces of Reality: Rhythm (collection of live actions with sound-making possibilities, with fixed media ad libitum)
plans for a ubiquitous tone, any number of players (also version for piano)
Play a Party (amplified party at a radio station)
Playing with the Elements, fixed number of natural objects (1 player) (its three sections may be performed separately: Breath: Rubbing Rock; Boiling Water; Terra Cotta-Heated Stone)
Politics, Who Could Love It? (ongoing collection of 'relevant' statements, letters and special versions of compositions)
Pond, selected noises (any small number of players)
PoorManMusic, any number of small percussion instruments (any number of players)
Popular Entertainments, any number of folk instruments
Pronouncements (vocalise), any chorus
Pulse, any player
Pulse: a 'Keyboard Dance', piano
(pulse) (no pulse), any instrument capable of microtones/fixed media (also version as GAMELAN Delicate Computations [III])
Pulse Polyphony (collection of possibilities), any ensemble
Punkt (staccato sounds), any number of players
Quiet Work of Destruction (delicate dismantling and represtining of a superannuated piano by any number of players)
Rationalize Outside Sounds (music for an event by Carolee Schneemann), subtle environmental sounds (any number of players) (outside hall)
re-cords (transcriptions of outdoor sounds), piano
Ritual Pieces, piano 4 hands/2 or more pianos
Round Sound, any number of brass/other resonant instruments (any number of players)
Sang-teh – Situations, any number of voices ad libitum, any ensemble
Ser-e-al Musik, fixed media
Sketch for a musical composition based on the Hebrew letter SHIN, any number of whispering voices
Soft Materials (environmental piece for small sounds), any number of players
Solo Music and More, piano/any number of other instruments
Solo with..., cello/any other instrument (with actions) (also version by Ferdinando Buonanno for piano [with actions])
Soloist Piece, any player (also version as Many-Soloist Piece, any number of players)
Some Hard Edges, mixed chorus ad libitum, any number of percussion instruments (any number of players) (with conductor), fixed media ad libitum
Sounds, austere, for elegant rooms, any large number of sound sources
s p r o u t i n g (original title Punishment Piece), any instrument capable of continuous glissandi
Stepped from another dance, this time for Sally (dance music, choreography by Sally Gross), piano (1 or more players) (also version for harp/lyre/cimbalom/piano/timpani [struck with hard objects])
straight, any 4 or more winds, any 4 or more strings (with conductor)
a system for Music Touches, any plane surface
This takes utterance as the start of conscious procedures for extending spontaneities purposefully, any number of voices
3 for Phyllis for Some Things (choreography by Phyllis Lamhut), dancer, any noises (1 player)
time time time time, any number of players (with metronomes) (also version for piano [any number of players])
To Play the Room (invisible animations of the hall)
12 Tone, any ensemble (also versions for any player; any number of players)
2 Melodic Motions (its two sections may be performed separately: Lyric Lines; Lines lightly)
up to 7 juxtaposed, and... (any texts from 'relevant' politics), speaker (+ piano, any number of objects)
Vocalize, any number of voices (around hall)
Worded Music (text by the composer), any small number of voices/speakers/instruments
Wowunupo – Grizzly Bear Hiding-Place (text from a book about Ishi; after text is read, darkness follows, for sound imagining in silence), speaker
Xpressions (calligraphic expressions; vocalise), any 1 or more voices (with actions ad libitum)
III – MIND (INSTRUCTION PAGES WITH EXAMPLES; PRECISIONS ADDED TO FREEDOM), 1972–89 (note that the series Gamelan contains more than 500 works, only some of which have been realised and are thus listed below; 463 works from this series are currently available; all works in the series Gamelan may be performed by instruments other than those mentioned):
Askings and Answerings (responses to some questions posed by Udo Kasemets)
Battutosso (Bone Pulse), set of bones (1 player)
Belementronum (metronome swinging between two bells)
Belum, gamelan in mixed tunings (also versions for any ensemble in mixed tunings; any mixed Western–multicultural ensemble)
counterpoint.s (répertoire of 3-part canons, text from the syllables of solfège), any number of voices/players (also versions for symphonic band [with 2 conductors]; brass band; version as counterpoint.s: winter holiday [V])
Democracy in Action, any player, voting audience
Ear Journeys: Water (invitation to listen in various ways to fountains and streams)
elementals, any number of players
Gamelan I, gamelan
Gamelan I Second(s), piano, metronome
Gamelan II, 'Number Measure Increase Downwards', gamelan (also versions for any number of saron panerus [metallophones from Indonesia]; any number of gambang [xylophones from Indonesia]; any ensemble; any number of voices [vocalise]; any actions [any number of players]; applause [any number of players]; automatic piano; version as Gamelan II [b–], 'Number Measure Decrease Upwards', gamelan; version as Rainbow Rhythmic Polyphony [time/space/colour structure]; version by Lou Harrison for any keyboard in just intonation; version by Rupert Kettle as ...after a fashion, expanded drum kit)
Gamelan III, 'ten second-center'd cycles', gamelan/other resonant percussion instruments
Gamelan IV, 'extents of magnifying', gamelan
Gamelan V, gamelan
Gamelan VI, gamelan
Gamelan VII, gamelan
Gamelan VIII, gamelan
Gamelan IX, 'evening of evennesses' (players march), any number of hubcaps/kenong (large gongs from Indonesia) (any number of players) (also versions for clappers [any number of players]; any voice [vocalise]; any actions [any number of players]; applause [any number of players]; any chorus [vocalise]; version as Gamelan IX-P, 'Polarities, Their Proliferation', gamelan)
Gamelan X, gamelan
Gamelan XI, gamelan
Gamelan XII, 'quiet 12s', tuned telephone bells (1 player), any number of players
Gamelan XIII, gamelan
Gamelan XIV, gamelan
Gamelan XV, 'I/Increments', gamelan
Gamelan XXXI, 'Angelheart I', gamelan
Gamelan LXV, gamelan
Gamelan ADAGIO, prepared piano, 4 angklung (set of bamboo tubes from Indonesia), slide projections (by the composer)
Gamelan ANTIPODES, violin, gamelan
Gamelan ARPA, harp
Gamelan The Barcelona Cathedral, 1st, gamelan (also version for piano 4 hands)
Gamelan BB RR OO SS AA, gamelan/any homogeneous ensemble
Gamelan BK, gamelan/piano
Gamelan BROSSA, piano/any plucked string instrument
Gamelan BROSSA ACADEMICA, piano
Gamelan BROSSA BROSSA BROSSA, gamelan/any ensemble of Western instruments
Gamelan BROSSA EXOTICA, gendèr (metallophone from Indonesia)
Gamelan CLASSICAL, any number of melody instruments, any patterned accompaniment
Gamelan COL T. J. I, piano 4 hands (collaboration with Tom Johnson)
Gamelan COL T. J. II, piano 4 hands (collaboration with Tom Johnson)
Gamelan Concert! O, harpsichord, gambang ad libitum, gamelan (also versions for variable rock band; 1 or more pianos; version as Toccata [vocalise], voice, guitar, percussion/2 percussion [timbales, marimba])
Gamelan CORN, violin
Gamelan DD, 'Doubles', piano 6 hands
Gamelan DELICATE COMPUTATIONS, computer (version of [pulse] [no pulse] [II]; collaboration with Phil Burk, Larry Polansky)
Gamelan EVERCHANGE, gamelan
Gamelan EVERYDAY (INDOORS) (pianists also count aloud), 2 pianos/piano 4 hands
Gamelan EVERYDAY (OUTDOORS), any number of found objects (any number of players)
Gamelan The Flight of the System, piano (also version for 2 cellos)
Gamelan The Gold Stone, violin/cello
Gamelan GONG, 4 Preludes and a Durchführung (for the class of Gertrud Meyer-Denckmann), any number of gongs (any number of players)
Gamelan HOURS, gamelan (section of Gamelan NEA, a collaboration with Barbara Benary, Daniel Goode, Peter Griggs; may be performed separately)
Gamelan ICE, EIS, IJS, ÍS (vocalise; vocalists also throw stones into water), any number of voices
Gamelan IRIS, gamelan/any player (also expanded version by Iris Brooks for transverse flute [+ suling (bamboo flute from Indonesia), shakuhachi (bamboo flute from Japan)], gamelan)
Gamelan ISSIMO, gamelan/any other homogeneous ensemble (also version for piano)
Gamelan Italy Revisited I, gamelan
Gamelan Italy Revisited II, gamelan
Gamelan Italy Revisited III, 'regolato', gamelan (also version for piano/prepared piano, any number of percussion)
Gamelan LY, 'Lyra', clarinet, erhu (violin from China), gamelan (also version for prepared piano)
Gamelan MASS (outdoor piece), any number of percussion, gamelan
Gamelan MED I AN, kendang (two-headed drum from Indonesia), gamelan
Gamelan MIX, 'Mixing Up Everything', any number of plucked instruments/struck instruments/objects (around hall; any number of players), gamelan
Gamelan MOBILE, piano (with keyboard template by Beth Laurin)
Gamelan MOBILEL, piano
Gamelan MU (vocalise; verbalised sound images), any voice, any sounds ad libitum
Gamelan NEP.AL I (TEMP.EL)...morning, any number of struck resonant instruments (any large number of players)
Gamelan NEP.AL II (TEMP.US)...night, any number of struck resonant instruments (any large number of players)
Gamelan NORWAY TO COLORADO, piano
Gamelan OB (Order breaks.not.broken), piano
Gamelan ·O (On–Off), any number of small objects (1 player), metronome
Gamelan ONE NOTE ONCE EACH, gamelan
Gamelan ONE NOTES ONCES, gamelan
Gamelan P, 'La Pasionaria', flute, piano
Gamelan P. .C (Prelude and Conclusion), gamelan
Gamelan PHASESHIFT, gamelan
Gamelan PIECES OF REALITY – RHYTHM, any number of moving players (with noisemakers) (also version for fixed media)
Gamelan PLANET-PLANES (PLANETEN-EBENEN) (theatre piece), any number of players
Gamelan PRO-CESSION (ritual march), any number of handheld suspended bells (any number of moving players) (also versions for flowerpots [any number of players]; any chorus [vocalise])
Gamelan PRO-GRESSION, gamelan
Gamelan QUASI, dancer–conductor, gamelan (also version for piano)
Gamelan RICEFIELDS, any number of handheld noisy instruments (any number of players)
Gamelan Rite Right, gamelan/piano (any number of players)
Gamelan RO RY RX 6, gamelan
Gamelan RO RY RX 7, gamelan
Gamelan RO RY RX 8, gamelan
Gamelan RO RY RX 9, gamelan
Gamelan SANTO, piano
Gamelan S–D (Space Density Time Synch), piano 4 hands
Gamelan SKIN, any number of membranophones/human bodies (1 or more players) (also version for live painting, including on the body/bodies)
Gamelan SOUND/SILENCE MEDITATION I, piano (also versions for violin, viola, cello; cello)
Gamelan SOUND/SILENCE MEDITATION II, piano
Gamelan SOUND/SILENCE MEDITATION III, piano
Gamelan SOUND/SILENCE MEDITATION IV, piano
Gamelan SOUND/SILENCE MEDITATION V, piano
Gamelan SOUND/SILENCE MEDITATION VI, piano
Gamelan SP(A)RK-S, any instrument capable of microtones
Gamelan SPECS (computer-generated score), any ensemble
Gamelan SPKL, cello (tuned in microtones)
Gamelan STEINN, any number of stones from Iceland/similar-sounding objects (any number of players)
Gamelan T (Techniques), piano
Gamelan THINGS, any number of objects (any number of players) (also version by Alison Knowles for fixed number of objects [1 player])
Gamelan TWO IN THAILAND (both players also dance), handheld cymbal, handheld gong
Gamelan TWO TOO, any ensemble of pitched instruments
Gamelan VOX (vocalised polyrhythmic mnemonic exercise), any number of handheld bells (+ body slaps) (1 player) (also versions [vocalises] for any voice, any ensemble; preacher, congregation; any voice; any speaking chorus; any mixed ensemble; gamelan [players also whisper]; any number of marching players; any number of speaking–singing players; fixed media; version by Jon Child for film)
Gending AUSTRALOJAVACUS, gamelan
Gending in the Western Manner, gamelan (tuned in pelog)
Hljoð – White Sound/Silence (installation: a lit-up empty room)
The Iceland Pieces (collection of scores and texts), any number of players
Lancaran, 'A Good Laugh for a Glad Heart', any number of voices ad libitum, gamelan (tuned in pelog)
The Mandukya Upanishad as a Lesson in Solfeggio (ear-training class)
Metelementus (edition of stones cast in bronze as handbells)
La Musica per il Gusto del Colore (9 sets of recordings of food preparation; music for performances of Colored Dinners by Rosanna Chiessi), fixed media
Old Shoe Room (installation: a pristine room with shoes in the center, approachable via white stones)
One Note Once (collection of variations on the same principle), any number of players (also version for piano)
Orgasms (ongoing collection of drawings)
Outer Ear: Birds in Tree, any small ensemble
Peace, Be Still (round for meditation, text from the words "peace, be still"), any chorus/participating audience
Pendopo, any number of mixed gamelan–multicultural ensembles
'perfect', any number of objects with round bottoms (wobbling on the strings of a piano/other resonant surface) (1 or more players)
Petali Pianissimo, piano (with flower petals falling on keyboard/strings) (may be performed as a public interactive installation)
Pictures of Pictures from Pictures of Pictures, piano
A Reverence to the Piano, piano (also expanded versions as Japan Honoring Version, piano/other instrument; Reverence to Your Instrument, any player)
Rhythmic Minstrels (exercises in rhythm), any number of players
Rounds: – the rest of them (collection, texts by the composer, "hallelujah", Gertrude Stein), any chorus/private vocal group
Saluti a Tutti (invitation for an audience to breathe with a leader [also English, German, Japanese, Korean translations])
Some Silences (ongoing collection of sentences spoken at meditation sessions)
Sounds, Austere, for Elegant Rooms, any number of players
Through the Mysterious Barricade, improvisational piano/harpsichord (also versions for improvisational piano/harpsichord, any ensemble of Western instruments ad libitum, gamelan; improvisational piano/harpsichord, any number of drums)
Two French Tritone Dominants, any small ensemble (also version of second movement as Two Chords of the Rose + Cross by Satie...as a revelation [IV])
Uhhm (after a deep and Tibetan image) (chant), any amplified voice, fixed media
X-tone tunes (collection of 'dodeca'phonic structures linked to singable melodies), any number of pitched instruments (two of its sections may be performed separately: Variation 'XII': Picture of a Small Main-stream with Music Department, piano; Omnitonalita, any number of pitched instruments)
IV – BODY (BREAKTHROUGH TO CONSCIOUS SPONTANEITY), 1989–99:
Bellway (structured walk through hanging bells from various parts of the world)
Book non-burning (action/installation), reading player, audience
Buns in Bangkok (action duet, choreography by Phoebe Neville), dancer (on the piano), out-of-tune piano
ChorusDream (dream #523) (vocalise), any number of voices
Circle, any mixed ensemble (version of OM Entrance [II])
Ear Papers
EarthBreath, improvisational alphorn
Das ewig Weiblich (series of calligraphic drawings in rainbow colours of text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in English, German, Italian)
Four Withinstascys (for Paulette Sears), dancer, piano
Gong/Ear, dancer, tam-tam (may also be performed as Ear/Body, Cymbal/Ear and other titles)
just another 12-tone piece, any ensemble (also version as 12x tone Fluxus from flux anew [V])
Louis in C, dancer ad libitum, improvisational piano
A Modern Meditation (series of objects consisting of a cushion placed before a highly-lacquered circle in which an image of oneself is reflected)
passages from the material to the spiritual, and back (list of meaningful verbs chosen by the composer), speaker (+ any number of handheld sound objects)
Piece (in the Form) of a Pear, piano/any 1 or more other instruments
Rainbow Bell (installation: an audience-approachable church bell with coloured drapes)
River Song, piano (also version [vocalise] for any number of voices, any ensemble)
La Scala della Montagna (sound installation with participatory performance structure made of cowbells)
Self-crucifixion in the Modern World (ongoing collection of arches coloured with automobile lacquer and a life-size cross set as a mirror)
Several Sexuelementos (love scores for private performances)
Sonata bianca, film (by the composer) (realisation of The Muse..., from lines and curves [II])
Sound Scenes (collection of 31 scores), any number of players, environmental sounds
Suite in Series, any ensemble (its four sections may be performed separately: By Chance!...a tone-row; Row/Row/Row; THIS SERIOUS SERIES; exPression conStruct)
Summing-Up: a miscellany for musicians from 1999–2002 (collection), any number of players
Symphysies (collection of erotic writings)
Tantric Star of David (neon sculpture) (a light sequence may also be programmed as Sinfolumina)
3 Sight-Sound Set-ups, mixed media (its three sections may be performed separately: Invisible Illumination; Silent Crescendo; The Emergence of Clarity)
Two Chords of the Rose + Cross by Satie...as a revelation, piano (version of second movement of Two French Tritone Dominants [III]; also version for electric guitar, cello, piano, vibraphone; version as radio play for fixed media)
Two Hallelujahs (4-part canon), any chorus, unison chord
Two Microtonal Memories, any 2 instruments capable of glissandi
Understanding (trance-induced actions preferably projected onto an electronic keyboard), electronic keyboard (+ piano, any number of percussion instruments ad libitum), technical assistant
Voce di corno/voce di uomo (texts from "hallelujah", round for meditation "peace, be still, be wrapped in perfect peace"), Alpine male chorus, alphorn
V – SPIRIT; SOUL (INTEGRATION AND SYNTHESIS), 1999–:
À la manière de Philip Corner by Nam June Paik / In the Manner of Nam June Paik by Philip Corner (including 'Several Celebrated Symphonies, shortened'), piano
Act-Ons (large collection of verbal bases for improvisation; players also use their bodies and sing), any number of untrained players (with any number of objects), participating audience
Amigo Carles Santos Bravo (controlled improvisation for a performance of "easygoing virtuosity"), piano/any similar instrument
Another Listen to Beauty (graphic and verbal score), any large ensemble (also versions for any large chorus; any large chorus, any large ensemble)
Canzonetta Spiritual sopra alla nanna (after Tarquinio Merula)
Certain Statistics ('Systems of Bound Freedom'), any player/ensemble
Cool Clear Clusters, piano/any similar instrument
counterpoint.s: winter holiday (3-part canons with themes derived from various musics for Christmas from throughout the world), any chorus, organ/any ensemble (version of counterpoint.s [III])
The Country Feast-Peroushka, piano (version of work by Modest Mussorgsky)
Dialog between Rationality and Emotions, any number of players
Dick Higgins' '1000 Symphonies' (performing versions of Symphony No. 163; Symphony No. 177; Symphony No. 342; Symphony No. 357; Symphony No. 609; 1968 Sample Page), any large ensemble (with conductor)
Dodecatet, any 12 heterogeneous instruments/any 12 homogeneous instruments
During This Concert the Hall will be bombed – or blown up (performance consists of announcing the cancellation of the performance)
An EarthBreath Trilogy, any wind instrument (+ voice)
Emily Listening (text by Emily Dickinson)
Few gaa (procedures to construct a fugue), any chorus/ensemble
First Travels in the New Millennium (glissando study), any player, drone
Fistic Music ?, piano
5 Pieces Before the Beginning of 2005, any number of players
flux anew (its four sections may be performed separately: Flux to non-Flux, string quartet/any other ensemble; 12x Tone Fluxus, any number of players [version of just another 12-tone piece] [IV]; flux rows, any noises [1 or more players]; Dodecaspeech [players also speak and sing the names of the notes used in the piece], any number of players)
the Form and the Flux, improvised-on (based on the principle of Flux and Form No. 2), any number of pianos (also versions for any number of harps/guitars/other plucked instruments capable of long vibrations; any number of bowed strings capable of long vibrations/pitched metallophones/appropriate live electronics)
formulation for a free solo, piano/any other instrument
Four Preludes, piano (its four sections may be performed separately: A.Prelude [also incorporated into Scelsi's Test]; And Another Prelude; The Third Prelude; Prelude Number Four)
from midsummer (collection of short scores from 2009)
Harmonic Entities, any number of players
Higher Order Unities (in memoriam James Tenney), any number of players
in extremis, organ (also version for any large ensemble)
Italian Folk Song: 'La Domenica andando ala Messa', female chorus/mixed chorus/male chorus
Jewish Prayer as a 12-Tone Tune (various settings for all kinds of instrumental and vocal combinations of an ancient melody with modern harmonisations)
Like a Gong (2 pieces), piano
limits of the limitless (collection for large ensembles, including chorus)
Lingering Random Chords (After William Faulkner), 7 strings
Lingering Random Chords for Peace After War (its two sections may be performed separately: Lingering Random Chords for Peace After War, piano; Chords, Even More Random and Lingering, guitar/any portable multi-string instrument)
Memories (are made from things like this) (14 days of notated improvisations based on a principle [written] of provoked spontaneity)
Miserable? or Marvelous?, any number of voices
More Intimate Musics (large collection of verbal bases for improvisation), any small ensemble (six of its sections may be performed separately: La Bella Infinità [choreography by Phoebe Neville], dancer, any small sounds [1 player]; Enterance [visual music]; One Note Once or One Note[s] Once[s] or X Notes X Times or Once Each, etc., any number of dancers, any number of players; When They Pull the Plug, any number of instruments [played with rough, non-musical objects] [any number of players]; extents of the Possible – a development section, any number of pitched instruments; Memory of Arlene, Rothlein, any number of dancers, any number of improvisational players)
MusicDance and Theatre (composition–improvisation proposals from various collections whose realisations may involve physical as well as acoustic potential)
Music for Drips, any small number of players, dripping water (with amplification ad libitum)/fixed media, any number of amplified sound sources/fixed media
Music Muse, any number of players (also version [text by the composer] for soprano, viola, piano, vibraphone, slide projections [paintings by Theo van Doesburg])
Music Muse: Ciaccio, metallic percussion instruments (any number of players)
Music Muse: Miró (interpretation of paintings by Joan Miró), piano, slide projections (paintings by Joan Miró)
NeWerKs, 2003.....2007 (collection of short scores)
November 2006, any player/ensemble
One More 11* – Tone (& Times , Feelings , Silences) Piece, any ensemble of pitched instruments (also version for any number of pitched instruments)
One Note, more than once, any number of pitched instruments (also version as One Note, more than once......smooth)
One Self-Expression Once, sound artist/action artist (also expanded version as A Self-Expression Series)
The Opening Motive of Varèse's Density 21.5...as a revelation
Other Orchestras (collection of pieces appropriate for large groups of instruments)
P. Ludus (prelude), piano
Passacaglia, piano (version of work by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber)
Perhaps I Have Already Done It: I and II (sustained tonality centered in total dynamic soundspace)
Philharmonia, any number of multicultural voices/players (sitting in a large circle)
Philo 2008 (all pieces in short score written during 2008)
Piano Works & Piano Plays (collection of pieces in 3 volumes: Philosophical Etudes; Action-Concepts; PianObjectvd), piano
Pieces of an Event, piano, any number of players, any other sounds
Pieces of Piano, 1 or more pianos
La Plata (4 pieces), guitar
Political Pieces (scores and documents about social concerns)
Primal Yell (pianist also vocalises), piano
Pro Layshun. and other 21st century cannons (vocalise), any number of voices (its seven sections may be performed separately: Pro Layshun ['Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La']; Cannon Canon ['Boom']; A Round in Response to Larry; canon: The Lawless; LAW FULL; Feeling aRound; Howlin' Wolfs)
PVNCTVS CVM PVNCTVM, any 4 instruments capable of pizzicato (also version for harp, guitar, cello, piano)
Radio Realities (a number of ideas for the incorporation of sounds into radio broadcasts)
Ringing Woods (proposal for an outdoor sound installation)
Salon Ninon (hommage à Ninon de Lenclos), piano/any other instrument
A Salsa Symphony, any number of drums, any jazz/folk/popular ensemble capable of chord changes (realisation of Symphony No. 343, 'Ad Honorem Philippi' by Dick Higgins)
Scelsi's Test (lecture, with three compositions), piano (its sections may be performed separately: A.Prelude [incorporated from Four Preludes]; Scelsi's Test for Pianists; Serial System with Affinities to the Unissons of Giacinto Scelsi)
7 Meditation Realities (inspirations from the Pure Land), any number of voices/players
Silensequence (silent spectacular; various versions of 0'00" by John Cage), any chorus/orchestra (also versions for any chorus; orchestra)
Silent Sounding Symphony (situations for conductor and players)
Sonate visive (collection of tracings of cymbals from Thailand, pvonga [brass instrument from Nepal], telephone bells, daegeum [transverse flute from the Koreas], finger cymbals)
Soundsarround, Sound Cube (device by Charlie Morrow) (its five sections may be performed separately: [t]here _____; musique; straight lines pass' t ears; untitled instruments; through composed space)
SpaceShaping, any large number of voices/players (moving according to the gestures of a conductor)
Suggested Freedom Boundaries, any ensemble of pitched instruments
Systematic Limits, any number of players
Tenebres: lessons and light (Leçons de ténèbres e della luce/Studies in shadow and light), piano
Then Now and Forever (text from "sicut erat in principio"), any large chorus, instruments ad libitum
Tununity, any ensemble of pitched instruments
2009 up to summer (collection of short scores from 2009)
Two Timeless Tone Scenes (vocalise), any number of voices, any number of players (with noisemakers ad libitum) (its two sections may be performed separately: New .Points; Omnitonalità)
Unisson Details, any ensemble of pitched instruments
Well, Come Well (choral procession), any chorus, improvisational organ
What I Really Should Have Written for Band, symphonic band (also version as All the Musicians Might Play This, any player/ensemble)
Wordless : Chorale, mixed chorus
Zounds! (13 canonic concepts)
SELECT DISCOGRAPHY (cassettes, LPs and videos are excluded)
Malcolm Goldstein: Sounding the New Violin. Malcolm Goldstein, violin (¿What Next?: WN0005, 1991)
The Aerial (no. 5). (1992)
Delicate Computations. (Frog Peak Music, 1993)
Pieces of (acoustic) reality and ideality. (Alga Marghen: 013, 1997)
Resonance (vol. 7, no. 1). London Musicians Cooperative (1998)
On tape from the Judson Years. (Alga Marghen: 019, 1998)
riverrun (John Cage). (WERGO/Ars Acustica: WER 6307 2, 1999)
3 Pieces for Gamelan Ensemble. (Alga Marghen: 034, 1999)
Erratum (no. 2). (1999)
Hotsaren espazioa; Begiradaren denbora / El Espacio del sonido; El Tiempo de la mirada. (Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea [catalogue with CD], 1999)
40 Years and One: Philip Corner plays the Piano. (XI Records: XI 125, 2000)
Mob Shop 1981 – the Audio Events. (Magnús Pálsson, 2000)
Gong +. (Alga Marghen: 042, c. 2000)
Between Sound and Vision. (University of Illinois at Chicago, 2001)
Homo Sonorus. (NCCA, Kaliningrad [anthology with CD], 2001)
Fluxus. (WERGO/Ars Acustica: WER 6312 2, 2001)
John Cage. (WERGO/Ars Acustica, 2003)
The Complete Gamelan in the New World. Gamelan Son of Lion (Locust Music: 41/42, 2003)
More from the Judson Years (early 60s) – Vol. 1. (Alga Marghen: 055, 2004)
More from the Judson Years (early 60s) – Vol. 2. (Alga Marghen: 056, 2004)
DIY Canons. (Pogus Productions, 2005)
From Noise to Silence. (Yogyakarta Contemporary Music Festival: 4, 2005)
Metal Notes. Gamelan Son of Lion (Locust Music: 78, 2006)
Extreme Positions. James Fulkerson/Barton Workshop (New World Records: 80659-2, 2007)
Gong (Cymbal) Ear in the Desert. (Innova Recordings: 227, 2009)
Dick Higgins The Thousand Symphonies. (Alga Marghen, 2010)
Joy Flashings. (Die Schachtel, 2011)
Pieces from the past: by Philip Corner for the violin of Malcolm Goldstein. (Pogus Productions, 2011)
LIFE WORK: A Unity – 2. The World (Graphic Innovations & Indeterminacy) 1960–75. Pierre-Antoine Badaroux/Ensemble Hodos (Umlaut Records: UMFRCD09, 2014)
Satie Slowly. Philip Corner, piano (Unseen Worlds: UW12, 2014)
LIFE WORK: A Unity – 3. Mind (Instruction Pages with Examples; Precisions Added to Freedom), 1972–89. Pierre-Antoine Badaroux/Ensemble Hodos (Umlaut Records: UMFRCD11, 2015)