ABSTRACT
November 2002, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. The composer James Saunders and myself bring together two groups of students from the universities of Huddersfield and Sheffield for a performance of Christian Wolff’s Burdocks (1970-71). The composer is present for the performance and rehearsal. Each of us has rehearsed with our students separately with only a little discussion concerning the selection of movements and the structure of the performance. At the rehearsal on the morning of the concert it transpires that James and I have interpreted the instructions for one of the movements, and consequently rehearsed it with our separate groups, differently. Approaching the composer, we somewhat defensively ask him which of us has interpreted the instructions correctly. ‘Does it mean this…?’ one of us asks. ‘Yes, it could do’, the composer confirms. ‘Surely it means this…?’ the other of us inquires. ‘Yes, it could do’, Wolff responds.
