John Cage - Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano [1/5]

John Cage (1912-1992)
Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano (1946-48)

Boris Berman, piano

Sonata I 0:32
Sonata II 3:42
Sonata III 6:15
Sonata IV 8:42
First Interlude 10:48

Sonata V
Sonata VI
Sonata VII
Sonata VIII
Second Interlude

Third Interlude
Sonata IX
Sonata X
Sonata XI

Sonata XII
Fourth Interlude
Sonata XIII

Sonata XIV and XV "Gemini" (after Richard Lippold)
Sonata XVI

The American composer John Cage had a seminal influence on the American avant garde and on music throughout the world. His interests in Zen Buddhism, the I Ching and in Hinduism were reflected in his innovative and experimental music in which he extended the musical vocabulary to include elements of noise and chance.
"Sonatas and Interludes", written between 1946 and 1948, is a set of pieces for prepared piano, an instrument into which objects have been inserted - screws, bolts, plastic and rubber, to give various percussive effects. The work reflects Cages approach to the use of unusual sounds and his interest in Hinduism, with its distinction between 'white' and 'black' emotions, set around central tranquillity.

Painting: "Delaware Gap" (1958) by Franz Kline

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  Music

[NorseGodFimbulthulr1]

Fun Fact: John Cage was trying to imitate the sounds of Balinese Gamelan music in this piece. While eurocentric minds might proclaim this music as barbaric and an offense against music, the truth is that Cage really does an excellent job of imitating the sound of the Gamelan.

[Max Dzikowski]

When an ancient Chinese composer writes a sonoristic piece for a quqin - we call it profound taste.

When a modern Western composer writes a sonoristic piece for a piano - we call it noise.

[Gerry Aire]

27 people weren't prepared for this

[RodaSmash]

I wanna slap you right on your label.

[Rangasoup]

If you listen closely you can hear 4'33" playing in the background

[דניאל גולדשטיין]

The Residents on piano.

[Duran Bubnick]

Who gives a shit about musical theory? To me this is music that is pure human expression which is why Cage's music is so powerful. Yes he may not be a "composer" because he transcends it outright.

[ExcessiveSpareTime]

Now it's tumblrites and other such slactivist who would dig him up to fake a public execution because he was white and Balinese people aren't.

[FoxyFleets]

High-art is dead, my friend. nobody holds that opinion anymore.

[David Yang]

They are rather different instruments. A note plucked on a guqin resonates longer than a note pressed on a piano, even if it's pedalled. A sonoristic piece played on the piano tends to sound a bit more like isolated notes than a slow piece played on the guqin, and your typical Beethoven piece on the guqin sounds like someone forgot how to pedal a piano properly, and that's just how the instruments work.

That said, this particular piece ain't half bad.

[JoeTownley]

Too tonal for my tastes.