Pianist Zubin Kanga presents the world premiere of Answer Machine Tape, 1987, a major new work for piano and multimedia by Philip Venables, created in collaboration with dramatist Ted Huffman and programmer Simon Hendry. It focuses on New York visual artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz and the turbulent period leading up to the death of Peter Hujar – his former lover, close friend and fellow artist –  from an AIDS-related illness in 1987. The work’s focal point is Wojnarowicz’s answering machine tape from the days leading up to Hujar’s death, featuring calls from Hujar, other artists, friends and lovers, to explore not just his life, but that period of the New York art scene, queer history and the AIDS crisis.

Layers of text and narrative are woven into a musical fabric, with messages on the tape transformed into character studies and musical reflections. Using new sensor technology from the Augmented Instruments Lab, the piano functions not just as an acoustic instrument, as a typewriter to transcribe, comment on and illuminate the messages. The result is a poignant and intimate work that reflects on a devastating period of queer history.  

Supporters:

Answer Machine Tape, 1987 was commissioned by Zubin Kanga with the support of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, Royal Holloway, University of London and The Marchus Trust; Time of Music (Finland) November Music (Netherlands) and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK) with the support of Sounds Now and Creative Europe; and Festival d’Automne à Paris (France).