New York 1963-09-09 & 10
Performing Vexations
Cale is one of the eleven performers of Vexations, a composition for piano by French composer Eric Satie, who wrote these instructions about playing this piece:
"In order to play this piece 840 times, the performer should prepare beforehand in deep silence, and serious immobility."
Cale is up at four different time slots. Each one lasts 20 minutes.
He was invited by his mentor John Cage to be one of the performers. The performance at the Pocket Theatre in New York started on Monday September 9 and lasted for 18 hours and 40 minutes.
The show made headlines in the New York Times and a photo of Cale and Cage was printed with the review of the show.
"Time meant nothing, and the listener floated in a suspended animation as seconds flowed into minutes with the idiot repetition of beat after beat. Nirvana? Shanti, shanti, shanti."
Appears on "I've Got A Secret"
He is interviewed briefly and plays through the piece just once on the TV show I've Got A Secret, September 16, 1963.