Folio and Four Systems (1953)

...Ne(x)tworks is a compelling advocate for Mr. Brown's music.

...Folio and Four Systems [is] a collection of inventive graphic scores created between 1952 and 1954. [Joan] La Barbara offered whoops, ululations and gargles in a lively account of "December 1952," the score of which resembles a Mondrian painting. The trombonist Chris McIntyre employed growling multiphonics and recorded urban noise in "November 1952," and Stephen Gosling applied fingers, a percussion mallet and a drum brush to piano strings in "1953."

In a mesmerizing rendition of "Four Systems," the harpist Shelley Burgon collaborated with Miguel Frasconi, who rubbed sonorous goblets and produced chiming tones on shards of glass. The concert ended with a reprise of "December 1952" featuring the entire ensemble. That the second version was similar in detail and duration to La Barbara's earlier solo account, despite the volition of eight additional performers, neatly illustrated Mr. Brown's uncanny knack for focusing the energies of freewheeling performers.