Walter Marchetti and Zaj

Walter Marchetti’s music began its present course after meeting Juan Hidalgo and Bruno Maderna in 1956 and befriending John Cage in 1958. He spent much of the 1960s-70s in Spain as part of the avant-garde formation, Zaj, founded in Madrid by Hidalgo and Marchetti. Zaj staged concerts, performances and interventions, published and exhibited in Madrid and Europe. Much of Marchetti’s practice has been dedicated to “visible music.” His chamber music confounds the distinctions made between composer, player and listener. This show presents: musical scores for La Caccia (Quartetto No. 2) / The Hunt (Quartet No. 2), 1965; two recent scores for birdcalls; and chamber music installations conceived and theorized as musical works including Chamber Music No. 19 in which the viewer “plays” the piece by walking over a gallery floor covered with 20,000 pounds of course, white salt. Chamber Music No. 293 will be performed by Marchetti at the opening.

Zaj invitations from the Kenneth Coutts-Smith Archive

Part of Zaj’s activities took the form of mailers which were pieces in themselves. Marchetti’s mail-out compositions are contained in the gallery’s archival holdings — the Coutts-Smith Archive contains the only set in Canada. We present 10 Zaj cards which are “scores” by Walter Marchetti from the 1960s.

Walter Marchetti and Zaj  invitations from the Kenneth Coutts-Smith Archive