TORZAM geht von ARMZOT bis ZAMTOR jeder RATZMO MARTOZ und TAMOZR (2010), for diskklavier and garden shed, with computer realization by Luca Spagnoletti. First performance in the Baroque park of the Schwetzingen palace, July 2010. Watch an excerpt on video.

Maritime Rites Frankfurt (2010), for sampling keyboard, rock band, and 100 acoustic musicians. First performance Frankfurt, June 2010.

Innominabile (2010), tape, for Vita Accardi's theater piece on texts from Samuel Beckett's The Unnameable, with sets by Nunzio. First performance Teatro Sala Uno, Rome, February 2010.

Oh Man, Oh Mankind, Oh Yeah (2009), for large chorus SATB, improvising children's chorus, 7 instruments, 4 bass drums, optional shofar with live electronics. First performance with the Huddersfield Choral Society, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, November 2009. Listen to an excerpt.

Living Room Music (2009), a work for radio, recorded with Jacob Burckhardt, Mike Cooper, Fred Frith, Nicholas Isherwood, Seth Josel, Susan Levenstein, Sabina Meyer, Richard Nunns, Jan Rzewski, Antje Vowinckel, Walter Zimmermann, anonymous travelling knife grinder, and anonymous Romanian brass players in an apartment overlooking the Coliseum. Duration 50'. First performance Deutschlandradio Kultur September 2009. Listen to an excerpt.

image by Pablo Cano Lahoz

Minotaurmusic (2009) for sculptural installation with video Minotaur by Paolo Buggiani and Cinzia Sarto (IN/EXIT). Duration 7'. First performance Douz and Mille Gallery (Washington, DC), June 2009.

Play As Written (2009) for piano, on the occasion of Walter Zimmermann's 60th birthday. Duration 3-5'. First performance Berlin.

VSTO version 2.5 (2009) for string quartet. First performance Arditti Quartet, Mills College, Oakland, March 2009.

Erat Verbum Johnny (2008) for string sextet and objects. Duration 7'. First performance Apartment House ensemble, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, November 2008. “Only one [piece], Alvin Curran's Erat Verbum Johnny, with its final swoop into a first world war music-hall song, came close to the humour and exuberance so important in Cage's musical personality” - Andrew Clements (The Guardian)

Shin Far Shofar (2008) sound installation, natural sounds with electronics. Duration 21:33. Commissioned and presented by Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco October 2008. Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2

The Brooklyn Bridge Speaks Yiddish (2008), solo performance on sampler and midi keyboard. First performance produced by EMF New York City, October 2008.

Boletus Edulis: Musica Pendolare (2008), for portable instruments, brass bands, choruses, boom boxes, and commuter train. Duration 8 hours. First performance May-June 2008, in and around Bologna, produced by Massimo Simonini for Take the Cage Train. Listen to excerpt.

Mumbai's Way (2008), solo performance on sampler and midi keyboard, for documentary video by Lino Greco and Gerardo Lamattina, first performance Aterforum Ferrara, June 2008

Weil Die Erde in Meinem Körper War (2008), for the dance theater work by Wanda Golonka, with the Ensemble Modern. First performance Schauspielhaus Frankfurt, April 2008.

Octograms (2008), for any instruments, in unison. First performance Guy Livingston, on piano, with video by Newt Hinton. Excerpt from video.

E Poi... (2007), for piano. Commissioned by the Network for New Music Ensemble on the occasion of Elliot Carter's 100th birthday. Duration 9:21. First performance Marilyn Nonken, Philadelphia, January 2008. Listen to an excerpt.

Malapromptus (2007), for cello and piano. First performance Arne Deforce and Daan Vandewalle, Ghent, December 2007.

wallsCAGEwalls (2007), solo performance on sampler and midi keyboard, for videos by Roberto Masotti, Duration 28 min. First performance Milano Musica November 2007.

Maritime Rites Tate (2007), for Diskklavier, cello, saxophone, tuba, brass ensemble, and 150-200 volunteer musicians on, around, and over water. Duration 46:28. First performance with Evan Parker, Anton Lukoszievze, Melvyn Poore, and the brass ensemble of the London Symphony Orchestra, London, September 2007, produced by the Tate Modern. "Aims to change our perception of sound...This beauty is elemental and bracing.” – Philip Clark (Gramophone) Watch video extract 1 extract 2

On The Roads (2007), musique concrete for radio, on and about the ancient Roman roads. Produced and first broadcast by Deutschlandradio Kultur October 2007. Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3

Conversazioni Geologiche (2007), for chorus, winds, percussion, and volcano. First performance eastern slope of Mt. Etna, July 2007, produced by the Centro Culturale Zo (Catania). “An enthralling and inspired sonic ‘dialogue”…the thrill of recognizing Apollo’s unexpected spark amidst the rocks and bushes.” - Sergio Sciacca (La Sicilia)

Shofar 3 (2007), solo performance for shofar and live electronics, with 1-5 acoustic instruments optional. First performance with brass trio, Experimental Studio SWR Freiburg June 2007.

Triadic Limbo (2007), for keyboard or any three instruments. First performance Alter Ego, Rome, May 2007. Listen to an excerpt performed by Royal Conservatory of Music composers orchestra; excerpt performed by ne(x)tworks.

Beams 2 (2007), a performance for 30 or more musicians. First performance Tel Aviv, January 2007.

Maritime Rites Kinsale (2007), for multiple marching bands, rock group, and sampler and midi keyboard. First performance with Rulers of the Planet and local bands, the port of Kinsale, Ireland.

Ninety-Nine (2006), for violin and soprano. First performance New York Miniaturist Ensemble, New York, December 2006.

Shofar 2 (2006), for shofar and electronics. First performance Tel Aviv, January 2007. Listen to an excerpt.

Inner Cities 13 (2006), adapted and expanded from Saltando in Padella, for piano. Duration 25'. First performance Daan Vandewalle, Rimini, July 2007.

Oh Brass On The Grass Alas (2006), for 300-500 brass band musicians. Duration 40'.  First performance Donaueschingen Festival, October 2006. Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3 excerpt 4 excerpt 5 Watch video trailer at "listen" page.

TransDadaExpress 2 - Extraordinary Renderings (2006), musique concrete for radio.  Duration 32'.  Produced and first broadcast by SWR2, Baden-Baden. Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2.

Gardening with John 1.1 (2006), sound installation for small garden shed, two iPods, flat panel loudspeakers, and dried mushrooms.  Commissioned by Zerynthia for sonambiente 2006 in Berlin. Listen to an excerpt.  Video with interview.

Odes of Roba (2006), for chorus SATB (featuring bass) and instruments, on texts by Giacinto Scelsi and Clark Coolidge. Duration 25'.

Gardening with John (2005), sound installation for small garden shed, walk-on switches, iPod, flat panel loudspeakers, and dried mushrooms.  Commissioned by the Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, for the show Playing John Cage, curated by David Toop.

Passing Notes (2005), for percussion and cello.  First performance William Winant and Joan Jeanrenaud, Santa Cruz, January 20, 2007.

TransDadaExpress (2005), solo performance for sampler and midi keyboard.

Saltando in Padella (2005), suite for chamber ensemble honoring the 100th birthday of Giacinto Scelsi.  First performance Alter Ego ensemble, Rome.

Vindobona Blues (2005), a sound portrait of the contemporary art/music scene in Vienna, featuring the voices of Mia Zabelka, Olga Neuwirth, Franz Hautzinger, Erdem Tunakan, Attwenger, Andrea Sodomka, Georg Nussbaumer, Bernhard Leitner, Diether de la Motte, Christian Fennesz, Uli Fussenegger, and Robert Adrian.  Musique concrete, produced by Kunstradio, ORF. Duration 40'.  First performance Tonspur, MuseumsQuartier, Vienna, September 25, 2005.  Listen in full on the Web.

Nora Sonora (2005), a symphonic pageant for 100-300 musicians performing in and around a beautiful archaeological site on portable acoustic instruments and voice.  First performance Nora, Sardinia, July 30th, 2005, in collaboration with the Conservatory of Cagliari.

Acts of Providence (2005), sampler and midi keyboard performance with live reading by poet Clark Coolidge. First performance Providence, R.I., May 4, 2005. Listen to an excerpt.

Inner Cities 12 (2005), for piano, in memory of Helen Carter. Duration 30:00. First performance Daan Vandewalle, Flanders Festival, Brussels, September 2005. Listen to an excerpt.

Pozzulana (2005), structured improvisation for 10 laptop computers, 2 drumsets, electric bass, 4 voices, and 12 acoustic instruments.  First performance June 7th, 2005, conducted by A.C. in celebration of 40 years of music making in Rome, for the program Battiti, RAI Radio, produced by Pino Saulo. Listen to an excerpt.

Beams (2005), performance for 35 mobile musicians including chamber ensemble, 2 brass ensembles, mixed chamber chorus, and A.C. soloist (on shofar, chair, tin can, live electronics, and sampling keyboard).  Duration 2 hours. First performance April 30th, 2005, by Zeitkratzer Ensemble (Berlin) and others for Donaufestival, Krems, Austria.

I Dreamt John Cage Yodeling in the Zurich Hauptbahnhof (2005), musique concrete for radio.  Duration 55:18. Produced and first broadcast by Südwestrundfunk, Baden-Baden.  Special Prize of the Jury, Phonurgia Nova 2005. (program notes) Listen to an excerpt.

Alowys Bucher - photo Margareta Peters

Ritratto ABO (2004), musique concrete; sound portrait of Achille Bonito Oliva. CD to accompany the book, Lezione di boxe: Dieci round sull'arte contemporanea, by Achille Bonito Oliva. Luca Sossella publishers, Rome, 2004. See discography.

Ritratto ABO: l’arte della boxe (2004), permanent sound installation for CO.RE., the upcoming museum for contemporary art of the Campania region. Inauguration at the Certosa di Padula. June 18, 2004. Listen to an excerpt.

Playing House (a/k/a Six Tall Stories, a/k/a Quinto Piano (2004), for voice, piano, double bass, recorders, electric guitar, trombone, clarinet, violin, percussion. Duration 34:37. First performance Maarten Altena Ensemble, Bimhuis, Amsterdam, November 18, 2004.  Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3

Arnold Meets Steve at the Five Spot (2004), for piano. First performance Hague Conservatory, 2007. Score page 1 page 2; listen to an excerpt

Someone to Watch Over What (2003), for live electronics. Duration 12:07. First performance Alvin Curran and Domenico Sciajno, 2003. See Our Ur CD, discography; Listen to an excerpt

Rue de la Gare 76 (2003), for live electronics. Duration 3:57. First performance Alvin Curran and Domenico Sciajno, 2003. See Our Ur CD, discography.

Inner Cities 11 (Aglio Olio Peperoncino Blues) (2003), for piano; for Frederic Rzewski. First performance Daan Vandewalle, April 5, 2003, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes. Duration 14:47. Score sample page. See discography; Listen to an excerpt

Inner Cities 10 (2003), for piano. First performance Daan Vandewalle, April 5, 2003, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes. Duration 51 min. See discography. Listen to an excerpt.

Wolfings (2003), sound and video installation, with artist Kristin Jones. Cloister of University of Rome, S. Pietro in Vincoli, June 14, 2003.

Romulus And Remus Make A Ruckus (2003), musique concrete, with recorded sampled musics (primarily wolf calls). Commissioned for Taktlos CD, November 2003. See Lost Marbles CD, discography; Listen to an excerpt

Sinking Piano (2003), sound installation by Alvin Curran with video by Domenico Sciajno. At and commissioned by the Taktlos Festival, Bern, Switzerland.

Inner Cities 4 (2003), for piano, In Memoriam Lou Harrison. First performance Daan Vandewalle, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, April 2003. Duration 20:10. Score sample page See discography; Listen to an excerpt.

Inner Cities 7.5 (2003), for piano. First performance Daan Vandewalle, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, April 2003. Duration 3:30.  See discography. Listen to an excerpt.

Pharmacopaiea (2003), sound installation for sampler and midi keyboard, two speaking voices, ambulance. First performance façade of the Palazzo degli Esposizioni, for Le Notti Bianche, Sept. 27, 2003, Rome.

O Carlo Quanto Gesualdo Sei (2003), moving sound installation for instruments, chorus, brass band, electronics. First performance with 150 local musicians, Teatro Carlo Gesualdo, Avellino October 19, 2003. “Space becomes the score” - Renato Nicolini (tuttoteatro.com)

La Traversa (2003), for violin, trombone and accordian. Duration of concert version 24:16. First performance for Nancy Karp Dance Co., San Francisco. Listen to an excerpt.

Fried Dice (2003), musique concrete for video. First performance Galleria El ALEPH, Rome, September 2003.

Enigmas (2003), for improvising voices. First performance The Living Theatre, Museo Castello di San Martino, Naples, September 26, 2003.

Un Altro Ferragosto (2002), musique concrete for radio. Duration 55'. Produced and first broadcast by Deutschlandradio Kultur. (program notes) Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3

Genetically Altered Radio (2002), for two interactive computers and live radio. See Lost Marbles CD, discography; Listen to an excerpt

The Milhaud Chair (2002), for brass, 2 harps, 2 timpani, accordian, samplers, amplified chair, in collaboration with artist Seth Koen. First performance, with dancer Alyssa Wilmot, Mills College, April 2002. (program notes)

The Alvin Curran Filharmonia (2002), for voice, cello, guitar, percussion, powerbook, piano and keyboards. First performance with Joan Jeanrenaud, Shelley Hirsch, Domenico Sciajno, Fred Frith, William Winant, Taktlos-Bern, September 2002. See Lost Marbles CD ("Return to Sender"), discography. Listen to an excerpt.

The Alvin Curran Filharmonia

Brute Beat Brut Bruit (2002), for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, cello, percussion, speaking voice, live electronics. First performance Alter Ego and rapper Frankie Hi NRG, Festival delle Nazioni, Citta’ di Castello, Italy. (program notes) Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3.

Maritime Rites Artship (2002), for conch shell, shofar, ship's trimmings; spontaneous performance with Cenk Ergün on the Artship in Oakland. 20:12. Listen to an excerpt

Goodbye to All That (2002), for 3 voices or instruments. For Ben Piekut.

Toto Angelica (2001), for sampler and midi keyboard. First performance Angelica festival Bologna May 2001.  See discography; Listen to an excerpt

The Last Dance (2001), for tape, big band, solo drum set. First performance with George Yoshida's big band for the June Watanabe Dance Co., San Francisco, April 28, 2001.

The Last Dance

Spare Ribs And Short Circuits (2001), solo performance for sampler and midi keyboard. On Oasis: Music from Mills 2001. CD004. Oakland, 2001. See discography; Listen to an excerpt

May I Now (2001), cello, electric guitar, percussion: Walkin Base, Unisono Grosso, Era Ora, Isteria, Hoedown, Folk U, Choral Reefs. Duration 63 min (suite version 38 min). First performance Jean Jeanrenaud, Fred Frith, William Winant for Margaret Jenkins Dance Co., Theater Artaud, San Francisco.  "A major new score...Dvorak on ecstasy" –- Ottavio Roca (SF Chronicle) Finalist, Izzy Award 2001-2002.  See discography. Listen to excerpt 1  excerpt 2 excerpt 3  excerpt 4 excerpt 5

Inner Cities 9 (2001), for piano solo. First performance Reinier van Houdt, Rotterdam 11/2001. Duration 28 min. Score sample page See discography.

Four Flukes (2001), recorder quartet (2 tenor, bass, contrabass), percussion. First performance Apsara recorder quartet, Louvain Music Festival.

Al Forno Al Sugo Al Pesto Al Vino (2001), for two saxophones, violin, cello, flute, live electronics. First performance Stefano Zorzanello and the Playground Ensemble, Angelica Festival, Bologna May 2001. Listen to an excerpt (performed by ne(x)tworks).

Weft Warp And Purl (2000), solo performance for sampler and midi keyboard. Duration 12:54. First performance Knitting Factory NYC, Jan 2000. "One of the festival's highlights…- a focused, powerful perspective on the Knit's history" - Douglas Wolk (Village Voice); Listen to an excerpt

Under The Fig Tree II (2000), for alto flute, bass flute, piccolo, mezzo soprano, harp, piano, sampling keyboard, electronics, percussion, whistling teakettle, Balinese whirley-gig, jump rope toy, child's drum machine. Duration 30:56. First performance Wireworks, Muenster, October 2000.

Balinese whirley-gig - photo S. Levenstein

Rose of Beans II (2000), for violin, cello, flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion. First performance eNsemble, St. Petersburg 2009. Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2.

Ritorno Alla Città (2000), for improvising ensemble and electronics. First performance with Stefano Zorzanello, Paolo Angeli, Daniela Cattivelli, Pierangelo Galantino, Olivia Bignardi, and musicians from the Banda Roncati, for an multimedia installation by Umberto Bignardi, Bologna, November 2000.

Ritorno alla Città

Inner Cities 8 (2000), for piano solo. First performance Eve Egoyan, Other Minds Festival, San Francisco, March 2001. Duration 43:13. (program notes) Score sample page See discography; Listen to an excerpt

Erat Verbum John (2000), a sound portrait of John Cage. Created and first broadcast as a radio work at Westdeutscher Rundfunk January 2000, 20'. First performed as a live solo for sampler and midi keyboard Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco, September 2000. See discographyListen to an excerpt

Totodonaueschingen (1999), installation and live performance for multiple sound sources located in park and on castle façade. First performance Donaueschingen festival, October 1999. (program notes) Listen to an excerpt.

Three Flukes (1999), for flute trio. First performance Karen Levine Flute Trio, Musica Nova, Munich November 1999.

Strum City (1999), for five electric guitars. Duration 6:21. Arranged by Dan Joseph. First performance Mills College, spring 1999.  Score sample page; listen to an excerpt See discography.

Inner Cities 6-7 (1999), for piano solo. First performance Jed Distler, Mills College, February 1999. Duration 36 min. (program notes) Score sample page (1) sample page (14) sample page (15) See discography.

Inner Cities 5 (1999), for piano solo. First performance Daan Vandewalle, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, April 2003. Duration 3'. See discography.

Inner Cities 3 (Light Flowers Dark Flowers II) (1999), for toy piano or piano. First performance Daan Vandewalle, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, April 2003. Duration 7'. Score sample page See discography.

Hear Wiesbaden Here (1999), sound portrait-installation of the city of Wiesbaden, in three locations. Produced by Matis Hönig and Dorothee Lottmann-Kaeseler, Wiesbaden.

Charlie's Park (1998), for sampled natural sounds and midi keyboard. Duration 14:38. See discography.

Theme Park x 4 (1998), for percussion quartet. Duration 32:54. First performance, featuring William Winant, Herbst Hall, UC Berkeley, April 1999. Score sample page; See discography; Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3 excerpt 4

Kaboom (1998), sound installation for multiple taped sources in an open field, in collaboration with artist Melissa Gould. Earmarks exhibit, Mass MoCa, July 1998.

Jon's Nancy (1998), for any 4 instruments or solo piano.

Erat Verbum Finale (1997), for sampler, midi keyboard and four percussion. First performance Koeln Triennale, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) May 1997. 40'.

Everybody Dreams Their Own Music (1997), installation for beds and multiple sound sources with recorded loops. First realization Opera Paese, Rome, July 1997.

Erat Verbum Echo (1997), radio work for sampler, midi keyboard, and percussion. Performed live with Manos Tsangaris. Created and first broadcast at Westdeutscher Rundfunk. 20'.

Footprints of War (1997), for tape, string quartet, bass, banjo. First performance Bang on a Can All-Stars, Bang on a Can Marathon, Alice Tully Hall, NYC, May 1997.  Yoshiko Chuma's Footprints of War performed at the Kitchen, 1999. Listen to an excerpt

Pittura Fresca (1997), for violin solo and violin, piano, electric guitar, bassoon, two percussion. First performance David Abel with the Paul Dresher Ensemble, Theater Artaud, San Francisco, May 1998. (program notes) Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2

Rose of Beans (1997), for accordion, tuba, violin, piano, viola, percussion. Duration 35:34. First performance The San Francisco Chamber Players; April 1999. (program notes) Score sample page - Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2

Endangered Species (1997), solo performance for midi grand piano, sampler, computer (max). First performance Akademie der Kunste, Berlin. “As a pianist, Curran is comparable to no other.” - Mark Swed (Los Angeles Times) (program notes) See discography; Listen to an excerpt

Fault (1996; also known as A Phault is a Fault is a Falt), for tape and percussion. Duration 12:25. First performance with William Winant for the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Zellerbach Playhouse, Berkeley, CA.  "Suggestive soundscape" - Allan Ulrich (SF Examiner) See discography; Listen to an excerpt

Fault, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company

Land Im Klang (1996), for four percussion, Midi grand piano, electric violin, multiple projections (by Ulli Sigg). First performance at Der Klangturm, St. Poelten, Austria, November 1996.

Music Is Not Music (1996), for chorus SATB; optional: chimes, bowed vibraphone, bowed piano strings, trumpet, tuba. Duration (version with instruments) 31:03. First performance Choral Academy of the Pacific, Mills College, April 1997. (program notes) "like a sonic vine that grows over a listener…...powerfully new and unforgettable" - ” Mark Swed (LA Times). Listen to an excerpt. Score sample page

My Body In The Course Of A Dream (1996), for chorus SATB. Duration 17:37. First performance Choral Academy of the Pacific, Mills College, April 1997. (program notes)

In Hora Mortis (1996), for chamber orchestra (25 instruments). Duration 1 hour 11'. First performance Radio Symphony of Stuttgart for Achim Freyer's Freyer-Ensemble, Schwetzingen Festival, May 1996. Listen to an excerpt

Theme Park x 1 (1995), for solo percussion. Duration 32:48. First performance William Winant, Mills College, Oakland1996. (program notes) See discography.

Mo Era Ora (1995), for two pianos and percussion quartet. First performance Ars Ludi and Alter Ego ensembles, Ferrara, Italy.

Black Flag (1994) – Sound installation in collaboration with artist Stephen Faulk for the CAPP Street Project, Old Glory New Story: Flagging the 21st Century, San Francisco.

Endangered Species (initially titled Inner Cities 5; 1994-96), for piano. First performance Alvin Curran, c. 1995. “Moody, audaciously lovely reflections” - Kozman (SF Chronicle) Score sample page

A Beginner's Guide To Attracting Birds (1995), musique concrete for radio. Duration 27:30. Commissioned and first broadcast by New Radio and Performing Arts Inc. (program notes) Listen in full on the web.

The Twentieth Century (1994), for Diskklavier (midi grand piano). First performance Donaueschingen Festival, October 1996. (program notes); Listen to an excerpt

Via Delle Terme Di C. (1994), tape piece for radio, produced by Audiobox. First broadcast RAI, Rome.

Inner Cities 2 (1994), for piano solo. First performance Alvin Curran, Hessischer Rundfunk. Duration 26'. “Like a unification of all musics. In other words, honest joy.” - Harry Rolnick “Luminous and desolated beauty, in obstinate search of the Absolute” - Denis Philippe (program notes) Score sample page (1) sample page (9) See discography. Listen to an excerpt

Electric Rags III (1994), solo performance for live keyboard electronics. First performance Mills College, Oakland. See discography and program notes Listen to an excerpt

VSTO long version (1993), for string quartet. First performance Soldier string quartet, City Center, NY, with Trisha Brown Dance Co. (Another Story as in Falling) - "The exuberance of a cat's yowl and the jumbled sound of our scrambled world" - Anna  Kisselgoff (NY Times)

When My Feet Felt The Path That My Eyes Could Not See (1993), for chorus SATB; optional: chimes, bowed vibraphone, bowed piano strings, trumpet, tuba. First performance Mills College, Choral Academy of the Pacific, April 1997. Duration (version with instruments)15:25. "Simple but not simplistic" - Alex Ross (NY Times) (program notes) Score sample page (1) sample page (5)

Walls of Jericho (1993; now titled Shofar), solo performance for shofar and computer. First performance Roulette, New York. "'Walls of Jericho' did not evoke the military operation so much as the mystical world from which the shofar draws its power. Mr. Curran's blasts...grew into a torrent of chaotic, powerful timbres." - Allan Kozinn (NY Times)

Inner Cities 1 (1993), for piano solo. First performance Alvin Curran, Hessischer Rundfunk. Duration 29'. Score sample page See discography. Listen to an excerpt

One Story as in Falling (1992), for sampling keyboard. First performance Montpellier, for the Compagnie Bagouet with choreography by Trisha Brown. "Geometric gestures that are as spare as Alvin Curran's electronic sound-score is evocative" - Jennifer Dunning (NY Times)

One Story as in Falling

Erat Verbum Delta (1992), radio work, morphing of human speech with electronic sound, in collaboration with The Hub, Mills College. Duration 18:22. Created and first broadcast at Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Listen to an excerpt

For M.G.: The Movie (1991; earlier version: One Step Too - “Amiable, nostalgic and loose-limbed…plenty to engage the ear” - Joshua Kosman, SF Chronicle), for piano and tape. First performance with the Trisha Brown Dance Co., L'Hippodrome de Douai, Douai, France, November 8, 1991. "A beautiful rewrite of Satie overlaid with graffiti" - Joshua Kosman (SF Chronicle)  Listen to an excerpt

For MG: The Movie - photo Neil Hanna

Erat Verbum Charlie (1992), radio work for alphabetic codes and live electronics. Created and first broadcast at Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Duration 20:47. Listen to an excerpt

Just This As If It Had No What (1992), for chorus SATB. Recorded by the Vokalensemble of the SWR radio, 2002. Listen to an excerpt

Schtyx (1992), for piano, violin, and percussion. Duration 38:08. First performance Abel Steinberg Winant trio, Mills College, Oakland, 1993. "Equally nonsensical and exuberant...surprisingly moving" - Mark Swed (LA Times) (liner notes) Score sample page (4) sample page (17) sample page (18) sample page (20) sample page (23) Available from New World Records; see discography; listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3   Video trailer.

Why is This Night Different From All Other Nights (1992), for violin, tuba, accordion, tape, prepared piano, optional percussion. Duration 33'. First performance San Francisco Contemporary Chamber Players Series. (liner notes) See discography.

Animal Behavior (1992), for sampler and midi keyboard and optional percussion. Duration 18'. First performance Alvin Curran and William Winant, Mills College, Oakland. (liner notes) See discography; Listen to an excerpt

Notes From Underground (1991), sound installation for tape (collage of voices) in Floor Plan by artist Melissa Gould. Ars Electronica Festival, Linz.  Listen to an excerpt.

Erat Verbum Bravo (1991), radio work for human and animal language with live electronics. Created and first broadcast at Westdeutscher Rundfunk. 20'.

First Octave (1991), for clarinet and electronics. First performance David Keberle and Alvin Curran. Duration 12:45. See discography; Listen to an excerpt.

His Hymn (a chorale for Dieter Schnebel) (1990)

Beatles Arrangements (1990), for piano solo. First performance Aki Takahashi. See discography. When I'm Sixty-Four score sample page, listen to an excerpt; From Eleanor Rigby (duration 6:32): score sample page, listen to an excerpt

Call To Prayer (1990), for chorus, church bells, synthesizers, shofar, tape. Duration 23:04. First performance Montreal, New Music America 1990.

Shofar (1990), first version, for rams' horns, computer live electronics, accordion, soprano clarinet. Duration 37:24. First performance Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Music of Our Time, Cologne. Listen to an excerpt.

Maritime Rites Sydney (1990), for drummers, aborigine musicians, 10 conch shell players on barges; ship whistles and horns on moving boats; keyboard. First performance in front of the Opera House, Sydney.

Tufo Muto (1990), for tape, four percussion, rock group, two wind ensembles. First performance in the stone quarry of Matera, Italy. Listen to an excerpt

Erat Verbum (1990-97), multi-part radio work for natural sounds and live electronics (see Erat Verbum Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Finale, John). Produced and first broadcast by Westdeutscher Rundfunk. See discography; Listen to excerpts from alpha charlie delta John

Erat Verbum Alpha (1990), radio work for human language and live electronics. 20'. Created and first broadcast at Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Listen to an excerpt

Electric Rags II (1989), for saxophone quartet and optional electronic interludes. Tracks: continental shelf-dance, wonder bread, loot and lime, major space, field it, dust bowl, general cluster, before "at Egypt", from four or more, one and, BLOW-HOLE, List 1º and IIº, walking bases, scusame, I walk alone, Z train, Little Him - Lo Main, harmony circus, grandma's quilt, when in but out but, Diana's Quilt and Mirror, other brothers, cords of would, protein wrappers, solar beans, amino acids, prehistory, corny island, for Giacinto, Jurassic Times. Duration 66 min. First performance Rova Sax Quartet, Life on the Water, San Francisco. Score sample page (3) sample page (7) sample page (18) See discography Listen to excerpt 1 (Scusami I Walk Alone) excerpt 2 (Other Brothers)

Seven Articles (1989), for violin, piano, percussion, cello, bassoon, saxophone, clarinet. Duration 32:13. First performance Relache Ensemble. Listen to an excerpt

Bottled Aires (1989), for keyboard or two instruments. Incorporated into Pittura Fresca.

Variations on a Scene (1989), for tape, flugelhorn, piano. Music for Joan Jonas's theater work. First performance Alvin Curran, Wave Hill, New York. "Characteristically haunting" - John Rockwell (NY Times)

Variations on a Scene, Vassiviére-en-Limousin, 1993

VSTO (1989), for string quartet. Duration 17:52. First performance Silesian String Quartet, Berlin. Available from New World Records; for CD see discography; Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2

Crystal Psalms (1988), radio concert for six choruses; six sextets each including a quartet (violas, cellos, bass clarinets, bass flutes, trombones, tenor sax/tuba) plus accordion and percussion; tape. Duration 53:20. Produced and first broadcast by a consortum of six European radios with coordination from RAI, Rome. Used as music for Nancy Karp's dance piece, Kristallnacht, 1993: "Extraordinary...a great American score" - Octavio Roca (SF Chronicle). See discography and liner notes; Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2

Edible Weeds (1988), for piano, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, trombone, percussion. Duration 42:32. First performance Group 180, Budapest. Listen to an excerpt

Eleven Schtetl Settings (1988), for piano solo. First performance Yvar Mikhashoff. Score sample page

For Julian (1988), for voices or chorus, shofar, saxophone. First performance Curran, Steve Lacy, Judith Malina, and the Cäcilien-Chor directed by Manfred Niehaus, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Cologne. WDR Ars Acustica International Prize 1988.  31 minutes. See discography and program notes Listen to an excerpt.

Schtetl Variations (1987), for piano solo. Duration 38:40. First performance Yvar Mikhashoff. (liner notes) See discography. Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2

Maritime Rites Philadelphia (1987), for imported ship horns, brass and percussion ensembles on boats, produced by Relâche Ensemble. First performance Philadelphia.

Waterworks Linz (1987), for shiphorns, brass ensemble, tape, fireworks, in collaboration with fireworks artist Pierre-Alain Hubert. Ars Electronica Festival, Sound Cloud, Linz. Listen to an excerpt.

Sing (1987), environment for mixed voices. First performance Warsaw.

Oif dem Weg Schtaeit a Boim (1987), for chorus, violin, and Curran solo. First performance with Jon Rose and Ensemble Zeitklänge (Mirjam Sohar), Akademie der Kunste, West Berlin.

Maritime Rites Wasserkorso (1987), for live shiphorns on shore. First performance Berlin. Listen to an excerpt

Amazing Cage (1986), for piano, violin, bass drum. First performance Alvin Curran, Robin Schulkowski, Jon Rose, Westdeutscher Rundfunk program Cologne: CageNachtTag. See discography.

Cartoline Romane (1987; also known as Metropolis Rom), musique concrete for radio. Duration 54:53. Produced and first broadcast by Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Cologne. Listen to an excerpt.

Little Pearls (1987), for piano solo. First performance Ivar Mikhashoff, Buffalo.

Era Ora (1986), for piano duo. First performance Ursula Oppens and Anthony Davis, New York. See discography.

For Four Or More/Four or Five (1986), for electrically enhanced string quartet and computer-controlled synthesizer (early version of VSTO). First performance Kronos Quartet, Darmstadt.

The Walk/Walkman Berlin (1986), for tape, created for Willem de Ridder and Cora's Walkman tour of West Berlin, March 1986.

Electric Rags I (1985), solo performance for midi grand piano. Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) Cologne. “Fiendish keyboard technique… like the cantus firmus running slowly along beneath a large piece of Renaissance polyphony” – Joshua Kozman (SF Chronicle) (program notes)

Last Acts of Julian Beck (1985), for piano solo. Sections: Julian Steps Out for a Cappuccino, He Meets His Maker on Upper Broadway, Walks Into Paradise Now. First performance Frederic Rzewski, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Cologne. Duration 21 min. Score sample page See discography; Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2

Lenz (1985), original music for the film Small Circles Great Plains, by Molly Davies/Sage Cowles. First performance with Curran and Barbara Heller for a live multimedia performance at the Centre Pompidou, Paris. See discography.

Nineteen Eighty-Five: A Piece For Peace (1985), for speakers, 3 choruses, 3 brass bands, 3 percussionists, and cello, violin and sax soloists. Simultaneous 3-country radio concert, Venice, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, January 1, 1985. Produced and first broadcast by VPRO Hilversum, HR Frankfurt, and RAI. Prix Italia (Gian Franco Zaffrani Prize for music) 1985.  (program notes) Listen to an excerpt.

Sonic Geography (1985), open score environment for any number of instruments. First performance New Music America, Cal Arts, Los Angeles. “Peacefully beguiling” – Laura Kuhn (Perspectives of New Music)

Maritime Rites NPR Radio Series (1984), for sounds of the East Coast of the USA and soloists. Produced and first broadcast by National Public Radio. World Music (with Leo Smith) duration 10:57, Rattlesnake Mountain (with Pauline Oliveros) 10:46, Coastline (with Steve Lacy) 11:33, Mine (with Clark Coolidge) 11:09, Improvisation (with Joe Celli) 10:54, Soft Shoulder (with Jon Gibson) 10:58, From Center of Rainbow, Sounding (with Malcolm Goldstein) 11:00, Improvisation (with George Lewis) 11:08, Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape (with John Cage) 11:22, Maritime Rites (Curran solo) 23:35. See discography. Listen to excerpt 1 (Curran solo) excerpt 2 (with Steve Lacy)

Hope Street Tunnel Blues (1983), for piano solo. Duration of part II 16', part III 16'. First performance Yvar Mikhashoff. “An energy-accumulating machine that resolves into an irresistable river, a true lancinating blues” - Denis Philippe Score sample pages: part I part II part III See discography. Listen to excerpt 1 (part II), excerpt 2 (part III)

Unsafe For More Than 25 Men (also known as Unsafe For More Than 25 Men At One Time; 1983), for instruments brought by public, playing music written on the wall. First performance, with Jacob Burkhardt, the Anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge, New York.  "A gentle, Cageian sonic tapestry" - John Rockwell (NY Times)

Riverrun (1983), for chorus SATB. Duration 10' circa. First performance Budapest, 1984.

A Way, A Lone (1983), for chorus SATB. Duration 8' circa. First performance Budapest, 1984. Listen to an excerpt.

Field It (1983), for tape. For Yoshiko Chuma Dance Company. See discography.

For Cornelius (1982; revised versions 1990 [duration 13:50] and 1999 [duration 19:59]), for piano solo. First performance Ursula Oppens. “Deeply philosophical, unnerving, and serene.” – Kyle Gann "The very beautiful, song-like introduction and...a peaceful chorale...bracket a roiling maelstrom of gradually shifting harmonics" “Somber, graceful, moving music” - Brian Olewnick Score sample pages: part I part II See discography and liner notes; Listen to 1990 version excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3 and 1999 version excerpt 1 excerpt 2

Maritime Rites Amsterdam (1982), for singers in rowboats, shiphorns, foghorns. First performance Port of Amsterdam.

Trasloco (1982), for mixed instruments and voices. First performance by students from various autonomous music schools, Rome.

Monumenti (1982), for chorus, bass drums, trombone ensemble, Musica Elettronica Viva, tape. The Alter Oper. Frankfurter Festwochen.

Natural History (1982), musique concrete. Editions Giannozzo cassette, Berlin, 1982. See discography.

Bridges (1981), on themes from the Crossing, for chorus, four women soloists, piano. First performance Alvin Curran, Michiko Hirayama, Joan Logue, Maggie Nichols, Ille Strazza, students from Accademia Nazionale dell'Arte Drammatica, at the Oratorio della Chiesa Nuova, Rome.

Songs On One, Two, Three, Four or More Notes (1981), solo performance on piano, voice, and synthesizer. See discography; Listen to an excerpt

Concerto Grosso (1981), for big band. First performance RAI Big Band, RAI Sala M, Via Asiago, Rome.

Community Sing (1980), second version, on themes from The Crossing, for unaccompanied voices. First performance Rome.

Music For Every Occasion (1979), version for chamber orchestra with solo piano. First performance the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra with Alvin Curran. Denis Russel Davies, conductor, Minneapolis, 1980.

Maritime Rites (1979-2007+), for musicians, ship horns, and other maritime sounds, performed on and near bodies of water. See entries for Riti Marittimi, Waterworks Linz, and Maritime Rites Amsterdam, Kiel, Wasserkorso, Philadelphia, Sydney, Artship, Kinsale, and Tate. Other performances with musicians in rowboats in Kassel (1981), Minneapolis (c. 1981), Chicago (1982); with shiphorns on boats La Spezia (Fog Banks, 1982). See also Maritime Rites radio series and Maritime Rites installation page. Listen to excerpts from Maritime Rites Kiel Wasserkorso Artship CD (Curran soloist), CD (Steve Lacy soloist)

Riti Marittimi (Maritime Rites, 1979), for choruses in rowboats. First performance students, Accademia dell’Arte Drammatica, on the "laghetto" in Villa Borghese, Rome.

The Works (1979), version for big band. First performance RAI Big Band.

Il Bestiario (1979), songs with text by Aldo Braibanti, for Maria Monti. See discography.

The Crossing (1978), for trombone, soprano saxophone, piano, 2 synthesizers, chorus SATB, 3 female soloists, speaker/cantor.

Prairies (1977), for voice and tape.  First performance Joan Logue, American Academy, Rome. "Marvelously rich textures" - Channing Gray (The Providence Journal)

Mosaici (1977), for voice, piano, soprano saxophone, guitar. First performance with Maria Monti, Steve Lacy, Tony Ackerman, Pistoia.

Bandoneon Dream (1977), for __. Original music for Mario Ricci's production of J. J. Abrahams's play, L'uomo col magnetofono, Rome.

Canti Illuminati (1977), part I for voice, vocal ensemble, synthesizer, piano, and tape, duration 24:11; part II solo performance for voice, synthesizer, tape, duration 26:50. First performance Rome. See discography and liner notes ; Listen to an excerpt

Le Cinque Stagioni (1976), orchestral music for television series by Gianni Amico, RAI. See discography.

The Works (1976), solo performance for voice, piano and tape. First performance Rome. "Original and intensely musical" - John Rockwell (NY Times) "Enthralling" - Nicholas Kenyon (The New Yorker) See discography and liner notes Listen to an excerpt.

Locus Solus (1976), original music for a theater work by Meme Perlini

Tango N. 1 (1975), piano solo. Duration 3:58. On the theme from Meme Perlini's theater work, Tarzan. First performance Berlin. See discography; Listen to an excerpt

Grand Hotel Des Palmes (1974), original music for feature film by Meme Perlini.

Light Flowers Dark Flowers (Fiori Chiari Fiori Oscuri, 1974), solo performance for toy piano, ocarina, piano, voice, and tape. First performance Rome.  "Lovely music" - Tom Johnson (Village Voice) "Very few composers have been able to blend such disparate materials with as much success" - Robert Palmer (NY Times) . See discography. Listen to an excerpt.

Songs and Views From the Magnetic Garden (Canti e Vedute del Giardino Magnetico, 1973), solo performance for voice. kalimba, flugelhorn, synthesizer, and taped sounds. From a Room on the Piazza duration 3:30, Crystal Aires 11:00, Walked the Way Home 10:30, Gli Scariolanti 2:05, On My Satin Harp 19:55, At Harmony Ranch 4:33. First performance Rome. "A whole wonderful 90-minute non-narrative film is all there in pure sound."- Tom Johnson, Village Voice 1975. See discography ; Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2 excerpt 3

Under the Fig Tree (1972), solo performance for synthesizer or for instruments with tape. First performance Giancarlo Schiaffini and Michele Iannacone, American Academy in Rome, 1975. See discography. Listen to an excerpt.

Music For Every Occasion (1972), for any instruments. 51 monophonic pieces, including Under the Fig Tree and Walked the Way Home. See discography.

Pilgrimage (1971), for synthesizer, bockflutes, cello, trombone, piano; score for the film of the same name by Beni Montresor. Duration 95', Vistavision Color.

Collected Airs (1971), for countertenor, contralto, flute, cello, trombone. First performance Carole Plantamura and the Five Centuries Ensemble.

Community Sing (1971), for unaccompanied voices (included in the collection, Music for Every Occasion). First performance The Kitchen, New York, c. 1971.

Heart Of The Macaw (1970), for chamber orchestra. First performance Puppet Theater, Rome, with Ginnie Becker.

Summer (1970), original music for film by Rudy Burckhardt. Duration 15:30, 16 mm.

Magic Carpet (1970), brass, aluminum, and glass chimes, steel strings. Sound installation, by and with Paul Klerr. First performance Mara Coccia Gallery, Rome. See discography. Listen to an excerpt.

Max Ernst (1970), musique concrete, original music for documentary film by Lorenzo Pellizzi on the De Menil Foundation's Ernst collection.

Zabriskie Point (1970), original music by Musica Elettronica Viva for feature film by Michelangelo Antonioni

Processional (1969), for voices and portable instruments in movement. First performance Musica Elettronica Viva.

Quilt (1969), for double bass and tape.  First performance Bertram Turetsky, Hart School of Music, Hartford, Conn.

Three Illustrated Lectures (1968), Sitting Room Song (1969), Rounds (1969; listen to excerpt) “A slow-moving, full-textured vocal canonic exploration of the harmonic series. The resultant dominant 7ths, added 6ths...restored the crude untempered intonation of 'nature'." – Michael Nyman (The Musical Times), Still Life (c. 1969), open-form instruction pieces for various voices and instruments.

A Day in the Country (1968), for tape. Duration 70'. First presented at Palazzo Taverna, Rome. Listen to excerpt 1 excerpt 2

Madonna & Child (1968), for female voice and tape (of same singer). Duration 9:42. First performance Joan Logue, St. Paul's Within the Walls Church, Rome. Listen to an excerpt

His Crystal Flag (1967), for Chorus SATB and organ obbligato. First performance St. Paul's Within the Walls Church, Rome.

La Lista del Giorno (1967), for saxophone, piano, electronics, tape, speaking voice, hotplate. Duration 17:22. First performance Musica Elettronica Viva, Sala Belloch, Rome. Listen to an excerpt

Watercolormusic (1966), sound environment for tape. First presented at St. Paul's Within the Walls Church, Rome, with art exhibit by Edith Schloss.

Home Made (1965), for flute, double bass, percussion, soprano voice, and multiple small instruments. First performance The Electric Candle, London, 1970. "A quite striking through composed piece...which also exploits cleverly controlled sections of improvisation." Dominic Gill (The Musical Times)

First Piano Piece (1965), for piano solo. Duration 12:36. First performance Richard Trythall, American Academy, Rome. Listen to an excerpt

Second Trio (1962), for clarinet, violin, piano. First performance 1963, Berlin. First Rome performance Bill Smith, Joan Kalish, Cornelius Cardew, 1965, American Academy.