John Cage
American composer, philosopher, writer and printmaker. He was educated in California and then made a study tour of Europe (1930-31), concentrating on art, architecture and music. On his return to the USA he studied music with Richard Buhlig, Adolph Weiss, Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg; in 1934 he abandoned abstract painting for music. An interest in extending the existing range of percussion instruments led him, in 1940, to devise the 'prepared piano' (in which the sound is transformed by the insertion of various objects between the strings) and to pioneer electronic sound sources.
American composer, philosopher, writer and printmaker. He was educated in California and then made a study tour of Europe (1930-31), concentrating on art, architecture and music. On his return to the USA he studied music with Richard Buhlig, Adolph Weiss, Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg; in 1934 he abandoned abstract painting for music. An interest in extending the existing range of percussion instruments led him, in 1940, to devise the 'prepared piano' (in which the sound is transformed by the insertion of various objects between the strings) and to pioneer electronic sound sources.
The Perilous Night / Four Walls
1991 release ** How well early, full notated, Cage is standing the test of time, especially the works for prepared piano and for percussion. The Perilous Night is a 12-minute prepared piano piece completed two years before Cage started his classic Sonatas and Interludes. The Perilous Night, which uses fairly elaborate preparations, is nothing like so well known, although included on Jeanne Kirstein's important 1970 CBS double LP. The connection between Cage and Jasper Johns was re-emphasized whe…
Singing Through
1990 release ** "Beautifully performed pieces from 1942 to 1985 by vocalist Joan LaBarbara with piano and percussion. Contains: A Flower (1950), Mirakus (1984), Eight Whiskus (1984), The Wonderful Widow of 18 Springs (1942) for voice and closed piano, Nowth upon Nacht (1984), Sonnekus (1985), Forever and Sunsmell (1942), Solos for Voice (from the Songbooks) #'s 49, 52, 67 (1970), Music for Two (by One) (1984)."
Violin Works
Modern music－especially American music, with its tendency to invite various traditions to share the same compositional space－can be a generous art, an art which welcomes inclusivity. Here are works by John Cage (b 1912), Yehudi Wyner (b 1929), John Harbison (b 1938), and Stephen Hartke (b 1952)－four American composers from different generations with different sensibilities, representing very different approaches to writing for the violin. Yet however much these works represent various facets of …
Chamber Works 1943-1951
"There is something quite ephemeral and special about the prepared piano – it’s mostly to do with how every instrument responds differently to these treatments but also that it’s not very exact, even if, in the case of Cage, is quite precise. His instructions seem quite prescriptive: although, unless you know actually piano model he was using and the objects he was talking about, you’re always making adjustments. The preparing is just like other notation – there is quite a bit of interpretation …
Diary: How To Improve The World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse)
2025 stock The acoustic publication of this "Diary" by and with John Cage represents an impressive document, spoken by an extraordinary voice, produced by one of the great artists of the 20th century. The new design of the 8-CD set includes a 64-page booklet in a presentation box (digi-box, carton). The booklet contains several photographs taken in John Cage's loft and during the recording in 1991.
“I began the Diary optimistically in 1965 to celebrate the work of R. Buckminster Fuller, his con…
Études Pour Piano (- Premier Livre -) / Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jésus (Sélection)
2025 stock The significance of the seven pieces brought together here is that they both generate a striking panorama of the intelligence of the material presented, over a period of four years, from 1939 to 1943, by the composer whom the critic Fred Goldbeck described as “the greatest Giraudouxian of our age”, and clarify in an extraordinarily oblique manner the prehistory of this “automation” of the creative act, towards which one can detect the perpetual temptation in the young Cage.
Etudes Boreales / Harmonies / 10'40.3"
2025 stock Enormous technical requirements make John Cage's "Etudes Boreales" a highly virtuosic work, which requires an extreme sensitivity of feeling for the coordination of fingers, instrument, and intellect. On this CD it is presented in versions: for piano solo and later for cello solo with piano solo. As in the sister works, "Etudes Australes" and "Freeman Etudes", Cage based the "Etudes Boreales" on a star chart. He used the chart of the northern sky that the Czech astronomer Antonín Bečv…
Music 4 Flutes
1993 release ** "Sur cette gravure, Irmela Nolte propose un beau jeu allié à une technique nécessaire quant à ce répertoire, agile, au service des œuvres regroupées ici et dont l’on n’entend pas outre mesure son souffle ni sa respiration. Un panorama intéressant, avec 2 des 4 pièces en solo (1,3) et l’autre moitié où la flûte sera aidée d’un autre dispositif (synthétiseur en 2, bande et enregistrements préalables en 4) qui diversifie les procédés et rompt une monotonie possible dans ce genre de …
Tàmmitam Percussion Ensemble
1990 release (RARE) **
Ionisation (1933) Edgar Varèse 5:58Trio (1936) John Cage 3:56Canticle (1939) Lou Harrison 4:13Polifonica Monodia Ritmica (1951) Luigi Nono 8:50Gloria E Morte (Words By Marco Luzzi) Guido Facchin 1978 11:21Concerto Da Camera(1986) Roberto Beccaci 9:43Pavone, Mulo, Volpe (1987) Saverio Tasca 5:00Il Respiro Della Notte (Liric By Elena Budini) Luigi Celeghin (1989) 3:55Omaggio A Giocando Duchamp Vinci Leonardo Alfredo Tisocco (1975)
The Best Of Nexus
1989 release **
This compact disc contains excerpts from the following releases, recorded between 1976 and 1986.
1. NEXUS RAGTYME CONCERT (UMB DD2)
2. MUSIC OF NEXUS (NE01)
3. NEXUS AND EARLE BIRNEY – 3 record set – (NE 02, 03 & 04)
4. CHANGES (NE05)
5. NEXUS PLAYS THE NOVELTY MUSIC OF GEORGE HAMILTON GREEN (NE 10273)
Actions – Remarks: John Cage’s Variations
John Cage’s Variations and the expansion of the score, sonic materials, space, and the environment. Book edited by Cat Hope and Lindsay Vickery, including CD recording of the 8 John Cage ‘Variations’ (1958–76), recorded by the Australian ensemble Decibel.
Happy Birthday, a Year from Cage
Brand new agenda spanning 16 months around John Cage thoughts and works. Still untouched!
Mozart Mix
Four-sided flyer for the sound installation of John Cage's Mozart Mix at the legendary gelbe Musik Gallery in Berlin in 1993.
Il Suono Rapido delle Cose
Very nice small photographic poster for the exhibition dedicated to John Cage during the Venice Biennale of 1993.
Europeras 3 and 4
Small two-sided flyer for a performance of John Cage's Europeras 3 and 4 at Hebbel Theater in Berlin in 1990.
Mud Book
Fun hard-bound and beautifully printed 1983 artist book on How to Make Pies and Cakes, a collaboration between John Cage and Lois Long.
Winter Music
John Cage's importance for a comprehensive aesthetic reorientation of New Music after the Second World War can hardly be overestimated. His self-discovery and compositional articulation took place particularly in the field of piano music: in the art-merging experimental laboratory of New York around the dancer Merce Cunningham, the painter Robert Rauschenberg and the congenial performer and pianist David Tudor.
It is good fortune that Sabine Liebner, who has already released several internationa…
Eine kleine Geschichte von Fluxus in drei Teilen 1: John Cage / Nam June Paik
Big two-sided invitation card to a 1983 Fluxus exhibition at daadgalerie in Berlin featuring John Cage and Nam June Paik.
Music Sound Language Theater - Etchings from Crown Point Press
1980 illustrated soft-bound exhibition catalogue with several essays on Cage, Marioni, Barry and Jonas.
View Vol.I No.1 April, 1978 - John Cage
First issue of American art/music magazine from 1978 completely devoted to John Cage.