Paul Sharits (1943-1993)

STUART LIEBMAN

30 E. NINTH ST. #6CC

NEW YORK, N.Y. 10003

May 13

Dear Mr. Sharits,

            I caught your wonderful show at Millennium yesterday, and since discussion launched on Steve Reich’s music, I thought I’d send this recent interview I did with him.. Much is personal history, opinion on shop talk (which you may or may not be interested in). But I thought you might like to consider his own opinions about the listening process—which in no way imply listener hypnosis or anything like it. Rather, he is concerned with his audience’s conscious and cognitive choices of sound patterns—in way that paralleled your own interest in color grain patterns (redirection of their flows through conscious attention, etc.) in your “Film grain Analysis.” In any case, take the possible parallelism for what you will…I find thinking about Reich’s music this way more fruitful than surrendering to trance.

            I would also like to ask you about the price of a print of “Film Grain Analysis.” I’m not really a “collector”—I own only a few 8mm Brakgage songs, but your film—in direct, unsophisticated language—overwhelmed me, and I wonder if you’d consider selling a print to me.

            Thanks for your consideration—and again for your marvelous work.

                                                                                                Sincerely, Stuart Liebman