Carny cannibalizes mouthfuls of previously existing piano music. In turn, the introduction to Carny cannibalizes the rest of the piece. Like a CD player on fast forward, the music zips past unrelated chords ripped from the body of the work. The piece is informed by modern technology. The violent lurching from style to style is reminiscent of nothing so much as zapping from channel to channel on cable TV, and Zorn's use of quotation is closer in spirit to rap music than to Ives.
Art is always ahead of theory.
Obviously, the more knowledge a listener brings to a piece of music, the more rewarding the listening experience. But I have performed Carny from Manizales, Colombia to Missoula, Montana to enthusiastic audience response. They grasp the meaning of the piece, its gestures and attitudes. I have performed Carny now over a dozen times, and I expect it will be picked up by a great number of pianists as it becomes available. True musical complexity is not measured by the number of notes but by the number of fronts on which a piece of music encounters its audience.