A John Cage Compendium: Music (Last modified 1 January 2024)
[Untitled]
Medium: any instruments having specified ranges
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Date: 8 August-13 September 1931
First performance: none (never performed)
Sources: Paris?, estate of Don Sample
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1961h, 234-235; Cage 1991c, ***; Cage/Duckworth 1989, 16.
[Untitled]
Medium: unknown
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Date: 1934?, while studying with Henry Cowell in New York
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
[Untitled]
Description: exercises in counterpoint for no specific instruments
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Date: between 1935-1937
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 7, folder 4; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 18; Vienna, Arnold Schoenberg Institute
Publication: facs. of one exercise in Begegnung mit Arnold Schönberg, ed. Margret Jestremski, Ernst Hilmar. Duisburg: Stadt Duisburg, 1993, 26.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment (possibly belonging to Marriage at the Eiffel Tower)
Medium: percussion
Date: between 1935-1943
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 903.
[Untitled]
Medium: two violins, viola, and violoncello
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Date: 1936
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Boehmer 1967b, 173.
[Untitled]
Description: music for an aquatic ballet
Medium: instrumentation unknown, but including water gongs
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Commission: University of California, Los Angeles, Physical Education Department
Date: prior to 2 July 1938
First performance: 2 July 1938
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1961h, 86.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment (possibly belonging to Marriage at the Eiffel Tower)
Medium: two pianos
Date: circa 1939
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 47.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: two prepared pianos
Date: between 1944-1948, unfinished
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 904.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified notes (possibly belonging to Three Dances)
Medium: two prepared pianos
Date: between 1944-1949, unfinished
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 905.
[Unfinished]
Description: opera on the life of Milarepa (circa 1052-1135)
Date: late 1940s
Literature: Cage/Fletcher and Moore 1983.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified worksheets, possibly belonging to Williams Mix or Works of Calder
Medium: magnetic tape
Date: circa 1952, unfinished
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 906.
[Untitled]
Medium: piano?
Date: between 1951-1962, unfinished
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 908.
[Untitled]
Note: known as Black Mountain Piece; also known as Theatre Piece No. 1
Text: indeterminate
Medium: ***concerted action involving paintings, dance, three speaking voices reading poetry or lectures, dance, film and slide projections, gramophone recordings, radios, piano music
Extent: unknown
Duration: 45 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: August 1952
First performance: [16?] August 1952
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 172
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1959g; Cage 1961h, x; Cage 1993d, 243; Cage/Charles 1976, 44, 165-167; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Cage/Kostelanetz 1968; Cage/Kostelanetz 1970, 27-28; Cage/Raymond and Roberts 1980; Cage/Smith, S.S. 1992; Campbell, I. 2015, 102-108; Duberman 1972; Fetterman 1996a, 97-104; Fischer-Lichte 1997; Harris, M.E. 1987, 226, 228; Herzogenrath, W. 2012a; Goldberg, R. 1979; Kostelanetz 1988b, 103-105, 112-113; LaBelle 2012b; Laynor 2016; Miller, L.E. 2002a; Vogels 2014, 113-124; Zuber 1999a.
[Untitled]
Unidentified work for magnetic tape using feedback noise
Date: circa 1953
Sources: present location unknown
Literature: Eimert 1953.
[Untitled]
Description: unfinished composition
Medium: magnetic tape
Duration: 15 minutes and 30 seconds
Date: circa 1953
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 907.
[Untitled]
Description: unfinished composition
Medium: magnetic tape
Date: 1953?, unfinished
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073** box 1, folder 2; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 909
Literature: Pritchett 1988a, 261-271.
[Untitled]
Medium: voice
Date: 1953, unfinished
First performance: 5 November 1996
Sources: Düsseldorf, estate of Joseph Beuys; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 1075
Literature: Pritchett 1988a, 271-274, 318.
[Untitled]
Description: sound sculpture for the Lippold Room at Pan Am Building, New York
Date: 1962, unfinished
Note: since sculptor Richard Lippold refused to exhibit his golden cobweb in the Pan Am Building [now Grand Central Building] until the background music was removed, Cage designed a sound and image sculpture in which the background music was combined with the sounds of the electronic surveillance cameras; the project was cancelled, however, when the Pan Am Building authorities agreed to switch off the background music
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 910
Literature: Ericson 1962; Revill 1992, 202.
[Untitled]
Medium: harpsichord
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: for Antoinette Vischer (1909-1973)
Date: 1969 or earlier
First performance: unknown
Sources: Basle, Paul Sacher Stiftung
Publication: none.
[Untitled]
Medium: piano?
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: for Joan Miró
Date: circa 1970
First performance: unknown
Sources: Barcelona, estate of Joan Miró (fair copy)
Publication: none.
[Untitled]
Medium: organ
Date: unknown, unfinished
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 902.
Unidentified fragment
Medium: ensemble?
Date: circa 1972-1984
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 919.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment for orchestra
Date: circa 1972
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 911.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: presumably magnetic tape
Date: circa 1972
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 912.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: unknown
Date: between 1972-1985
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 913.
[Untitled]
Choreography: Charles Atlas and Merce Cunningham, Westbeth
Medium: piano?
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Date: fall 1974
First performance: 14 February 1975
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
[Untitled]
Medium: violin, possibly belonging to Chorals
Date: between 1977 and 1980
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 916.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment possibly belonging to Freeman Etudes
Medium: violin?
Date: between 1977 and 1989
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder *** (notes, 1 leaf, 28 cm, white paper, pencil, colored pencil, and ballpoint).
[Untitled]
Description: contribution to Miloslav Černý, Wisdom Is Passing, Stupidity Is Eternal
Medium: flute
Date: after 26 March 1979
Sources: Kyjov, collection Miloslav Černý
Publication: none.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: presumably piano
Date: circa 1988-1989
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 920.
[Etudes]
Medium: recorder
Dedication: for Pete Rose (1942-2018)
Date: circa 1980
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 915
Literature: Cage/Fletcher and Moore 1983; Cage/Harrison 1980, 6; Rothstein 1981a.
[Untitled]
Medium: at least 8, possibly 12 sound systems (lp playbacks with at least 12 records of good dance music [popular, rock, etc.], amplifiers, loudspeakers) arranged around the stage and to be operated by the dancers
Date: 19 May 1982
First performance: 6 November 1982
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: Cage 1982LETTER
Literature: none.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: unknown
Date: between 1982 and 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 1076.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: flute, clarinet, piano, two violins, viola, two violoncellos
Date: circa 1984?, unfinished
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 918.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: unknown
Date: circa 1984?, unfinished
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 926.
[Untitled]
Medium: installation in empty S.N.C.F. [French railways] container with amplified sounds from outside the container
Note: possibly identical with Silent Environment
Date: prior to 21 March 1985
First performance: 21 March-20 May 1985
Sources: present location unknown
Literature: Declerq 1985.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: presumably voice
Date: between 1988 and 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 921.
[Untitled]
Description: “PIAGGS” (list of three-, four-, and five-piano aggregates used in various late piano compositions)
Medium: piano
Date: ca. 1989
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 922.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified fragment
Medium: possibly recorders
Date: between 1989 and 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 923.
[Untitled]
Description: unidentified sketch
Medium: trombone and percussion?
Date: between 1991 and 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 924.
[Untitled]
Medium: piano
Commission: Yvar Mikhashoff, Anthony De Mare, and Stephen Drury (to be funded by the National Endowment for the Arts)
Date: 1992, never begun.
Sources: none
Publication: none.
0'00"
Medium: a performer using amplification to present any disciplined action
Note: alternative title: 4'33" No. 2; third of a group of works of which Atlas Eclipticalis is the first and Variations IV is the second; nearly identically included in Song Books as Solo for Voice 8; 0'00" No. 2 and 0'00" No. 2B are Solos for Voice 23 and 26, respectively
Extent: six sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Yoko Ono and Toshi Ichiyanagi
Date: 24-25 October 1962
First performance: 24 October 1962
Sources: present location unknown, private collection; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 285
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1962 (Peters; 6796); draft (private collection) in Wortlaut, ed. Christel Schüppenhauer. Köln: Galerie Schüppenhauer, 1989, 94
Literature: Bormann 2005; Cage 1964b, 143; Cage/Bodin and Johnson [and Deborah Hay] 1965BANDINTERVJU/1988, 69-70; Cage/Charles 1976, 210-211; Cage/Retallack 1996, 199; Deufert 2001; Fetterman 1996a, 84-90; Gresser 2004b; Griffiths, P. 1981a, Cage, 39, 43; Daniels, D. 2022; Daniels, D. and Arns 2012; Fowler, M. 2020b; Kostelanetz 1970d, 143; Kostelanetz 1988b, 69, 193; La Motte-Haber 2012; Maier, T.M. 2001a; Pearlman 2012; Pisaro 2011; Pritchett 1993, 138-140, 144, 146-149, 150, 153, 155-156, 167; Pritchett 2012; Rivest 1996a, 96-114; Schröder, J.H. 2012b; Vogels 2014, 98-99; Yang, S. 2017.
0'00" No. 2
Medium: two or more performers playing a game on a playing area (table or board) amplified with contact microphones
Extent: 1 sentence
Duration: indeterminate
Date: 1968
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: as “Solo for Voice 23.” In John Cage, Song Books. New York: Henmar Press, 1970, 87 (Peters; 6806a)
Literature: Fetterman 1996a, 90-92.
0'00" No. 2B. See Song Books, Solo for Voice 26.
1'1/2" for a String Player. See 26'1.1499" for a String Player.
1'5 1/2" for a String Player. See 26'1.1499" for a String Player.
1'14" for a String Player. See 26'1.1499" for a String Player.
1'18" for a String Player. See 26'1.1499" for a String Player.
4'33"
Note: title changes to be that of the actual time-length of the performance
Note: earlier conception as Silent Prayer, never realized
Medium: any instrument or combination of instruments (environmental sounds); various notations; various versions: different number of movements; without instruments (1971-1972 and 1986***)
Extent: instructions for performance (4 sentences); I (1 system); II (1 system); III (1 system) [conventional notation]; version in proportional notation***
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Irwin Kremen [1925-2020]
Date: August 1952
First performance: 29 August 1952
Sources: Durham, North Carolina, estate of Dr. Irwin Kremen; Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 4; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 171
Publication: proportional notation: in Source: Music of the Avant Garde 1, no. 2 <no. 2> (July 1967), 46-54; repr. New York: Henmar Press, 1993 (Peters; 6777a); repr. in Austin, L. and Kahn 2011, 68-76; conventional notation: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6777); in Kuhn, R. and Kreutz 1991, 142-143; proportional notation, conventional notation plus David Tudor’s reconstruction of the original version in metric notation: Centennial ed. New York: Henmar Press, 2012 (Peters; 6777c)
Literature: Aeberhard 2017; Anderson, D.L. 2011; Anderson, Vi. 2013; Baldwin, P. 2014; Bauer, J. 2002; Benson, S. 2012; Bertinetto 2012; Betz 1999; Bormann 2005; Borum 1982-1983; Brooks, W. 2007; Brooks, W. 2009b; Cage 1961h, 98n; Cage 1962e, 25; Cage 1970d, 118; Cage 1990f, 19-27; Cage 1991c, 67; Cage 1993d, 43, 52, 109, 155, 243; Cage/Duckworth 1989; Cage, Kremen, and Tudor/Austin 1967; Cage, Shattuck, and Gillmor 1982, 24; Cage/Charles 1976, 210; Cage/Duckworth 1989, 21-22; Cage/Goldberg 1976; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Cage/Kobler 1968?CHECK/1988, 65; Cage/Kostelanetz 1970, 12, 20; Cage/Raymond and Roberts 1980; Cage/Retallack 1996, 77, 112, 136; Cage/Reynolds 1962; Cage/Sweeney-Turner 1991; Cage/White, R. 1978; Campbell, Mark R. 1992; Charles 1983a; Daniels, D. 2012a; Daniels, D. 2012b; Daniels, D. 2022; Daniels, D. and Arns 2012; Davies, S. 1997; De Visscher 1989b; De Visscher 1992b; Deufert 2001; Duckworth 1972, 99-101, 113, 115, 116; Edmeades 2013; Emmerik, P. van 1998b; Erdmann 1993f, 51-52; Ewing 2010; Fetterman 1996a, 69-84; Fielding 2014; Fischer-Lichte 2004; Fiumara 2003; Fowler, M. 2019a; Fricke, S. 2004; Gann 2010; Gann 2012; Gentry 2011; Gerszewski and Beuger 2017; Gligo 1971; Gligo 1998; Goehr, L. 1992, 264-265; Gresser 2004b; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 1, 28, 33, 36, 45; Gutmann 1999; Henck 1985b; Herzogenrath, W. 2012a; Hilberg 2013; Jones, C.A. 1993; Joseph 2000d; Kahn, D. 1997a; Karl, A. 2012; Katschthaler 2016; Kepler 1982, 18-34; Kim, C.E. 2018; Kim-Cohen 2009; Kostelanetz 1969c; Kostelanetz 1970d, 20, 118; Kostelanetz 1988b, 65-67, 81-82, 100, 105, 188, 206, 216; Kotz 2001; Kotz 2007; Kotz 2009; Kresky 1994; Kromhout 2010; LaBelle 2006; LaBelle 2012a; Larson 1999; Leal 2020; Lu and Tan 2021; Lunberry 2012b; Mâche 1988; Maier, T.M. 2001a; Maier, T.M. 2002; Maier, T.M. 2012a; Mauceri 1997; Metzger, H.-K. 1998; Miller, T. 1999; Montague 1982; Naglia 1989-1990; Nyman 1974, 2, 3, 22-23, 29, 41, 51; O’Grady 1981; Orem 2000; Palmowski 2016; Pearlman 2012; Pires and Jorge 2015; Pisaro 2011; Pritchett 1993, 2, 25, 59-60, 69, 145, 206n11; Pritchett 2009; Pritchett 2012; Pritchett 2018; Rebhahn 2012c; Rebhahn 2012d; Rivest 1996a, 96-114; Roselt 2009; Scherer 1990; Schmidt, D. 2008a; Shaw-Miller 2002; Shultis 1995; Solomon 1998; Sontag 1969a; Tan 1989; Tan 2015; Thoben 2012a; Thoben 2012b; Tielebier-Langenscheidt 1979; Tinkle 2015b; Toop, R. 1968, 10-11; Toop, R. 2012; Tudor/Oehlschlägel 1997, 69-70; Vaes 2009, 755; Vanel 2008; Veselinović-Hofman 1998; Villasol 1992; Vleugels 2014; Wagner, M. 1982; Weagel 2002; Weagel 2010; Wierzbicki 2016.
4'33" No. 2. See 0'00".
25 Ballets in 1 Act for a Solo Dancer
Medium: unknown
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: unknown
Date: 1939
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: none.
26'1.1499" for a String Player
Note: incorporates five short works composed in 1953: 57 1/2" for a String Player, 34-38, 1'5 1/2" for a String Player, 39-43, 1'1/2" for a String Player, 44-48, 1'18" for a String Player, 49-53, and 1'14" for a String Player, 54-58
Medium: violin, viola, violoncello, or contrabass ad libitum with auxiliary instruments***[list]; may be performed in whole or part, with or without 27'10.554" for a Percussionist, 31'57.9864" for a Pianist, 34'46.776" for a Pianist, and 45' for a Speaker [text], as a solo or ensemble for any combination of up to two pianists, five string players, percussionist, and speaker; the title to be appropriately changed to indicate the length in minutes and seconds and decimal fractions of the latter, and the performers involved
Extent: 85 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for June Herman (57 1/2" for a String Player), Broadus Erle (1'5 1/2" for a String Player), Matthew Raimondi (1'1/2" for a String Player), Seymour Barab (1'18" for a String Player), Walter Trampler (1'14" for a String Player) and to Harold Coletta (26'1.1499" for a String Player)
Date: May 1953 (57 1/2" for a String Player) and 14 June 1953 (1'5 1/2" for a String Player), 28 June 1953 (1'1/2" for a String Player), 29 June 1953 (1'18" for a String Player), 30 June 1953 (1'14" for a String Player) and August-September 1955 (26'1.1499" for a String Player)
First performance: 15 October 1955
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 193-195, 954-955
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6779)
Literature: Cage 1961e, 147n; Cage 1961h, 146-147, 156-157; Cage 1962e, 26; Cage 1979c, 8-9; Cage 1993d, 55, 56, 119, 156; Cage/Charles 1976, 34, 50; Charles 1970a; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 30-33; Pritchett 1988a, 242-261, 285-290; Rosenholtz-Witt 2016; Zomer 2017.
27'10.554" for a Percussionist
Note: earlier title 7'7.614" for a Percussionist
Medium: percussionist using any instruments from the categories metal, wood, skin, others; pre-recorded tape may be used to assist in the performance
Note: may be performed in whole or part, with or without 26'1.1499" for a String-Player, 31'57.9864" for a Pianist, 34'46.776" for a Pianist, and 45' for a Speaker [text], as a solo or ensemble for any combination of up to two pianists, five string players, percussionist, and speaker; the title to be appropriately changed to indicate the length in minutes and seconds and decimal fractions of the latter, and the performers involved
Extent: 109 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: completed 14 January 1956
First performance: 2 February 1962
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 211-213, 957
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6778)
Literature: Cage 1961h, 146-147; Cage 1962e, 26; Cage 1979c, 8-9; Cage 1993d, 55, 56, 119; Cage/Charles 1976, 34, 50; Charles 1970a; Cudd 1998; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 30-33; O’Connor, G.A. 1966; Pritchett 1988a, 291-301; Ranta 1969.
31'57.9864" for a Pianist
Medium: prepared piano and indeterminate sound sources (whistles, vocal noises, percussion instruments)
Note: may be performed in whole or part, with or without 26'1.1499" for a String-Player, 27'10.554" for a Percussionist, 34'46.776" for a pianist, and 45' for a Speaker [text], as a solo or ensemble for any combination of up to two pianists, five string players, percussionist, and speaker; the title to be appropriately changed to indicate the length in minutes and seconds and decimal fractions of the latter, and the performers involved
Extent: 69 systems
Duration: indeterminate between *** and maximum 31 minutes and 57.9864 seconds
Date: late 1954
First performance: 17 October 1954
Commission: Donaueschinger Musiktage
Dedication: for Paul Williams and Vera Williams
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 4-5, 940073** rolls 4-6; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 201
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6780)
Literature: Cage 1959h/1970, 76; Cage 1961h, 146-147, 153, 156; Cage 1962e, 26-27; Cage 1973d, [vii]; Cage 1979c, 8-9; Cage 1993d, 54, 119; Cage/Charles 1976, 43; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Charles 1970a; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 30-33; Jeong 2019; Pritchett 1988a, 274-285.
33 1/3
Note: title also encountered as 33 and 1/3
Medium: installation consisting of at least twelve turntables, twelve stereo amplifiers, twelve pairs of loudspeakers, and any 300 records, potentially to be operated by the audience
Extent: 8 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: [prior to 21 November] 1969
First performance: 21 November 1969
Sources: Budapest, collection András Wilheim
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1973h, xiii; Cage 1980b; Cage/Charles 1976, 169-170; Cage/Helms 1972; Dinwiddie 1970; Fetterman 1996a, 142; Hosokawa 1993; Zeller 1978, 116.
34'46.776" for a Pianist
Note: title to be appropriately changed to indicate the length in minutes and seconds and decimal fractions of the latter, and the instrumentalists involved
Medium: prepared piano and indeterminate sound sources (for example whistles, vocal noises, percussion instruments)
Note: may be performed in whole or part, with or without 26'1.1499" for a String-Player, 27'10.554" for a Percussionist, 31'57.9864" for a Pianist, and 45' for a Speaker [text], as a solo or ensemble for any combination of up to two pianists, five string players, percussionist, and speaker; the title to be appropriately changed to indicate the length in minutes and seconds and decimal fractions of the latter, and the performers involved
Extent: 174 systems
Duration: indeterminate between *** and 34 minutes and 47 seconds
Commission: Donaueschinger Musiktage
Dedication: for Paul Williams and Vera Williams
Date: late 1954
First performance: 17 October 1954
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 1-3, 940073** rolls 1-3; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 201-202
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6781)
Literature: Cage 1959h/1970, 76; Cage 1961h, 146-147, 153, 156; Cage 1962e, 26-27; Cage 1973d, [vii]; Cage 1979c, 8-9; Cage 1993d, 55, 119; Cage/Charles 1976, 43; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Campana 2001; Charles 1970a; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 229-245; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 30-33; Jeong 2019; Kostelanetz 1970d, 76; Kostelanetz 1988b, 67, 108; Pritchett 1988a, 274-285; Pritchett 1993, 100-102, 109.
49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs
Medium: any number of performers or listeners or record makers
Note: transcriptions may be made for other cities (or places) than New York by assembling through chance operations a list of one hundred and forty-seven addresses and then, also through chance operations, arranging these in forty-nine groups of three
Extent: 147 addresses plus map
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: on the occasion of the move of Rolling Stone to New York
Date: completed 22 November 1977 (addresses); and prior to 6 October 1977 (map)
First performance: 21 November 1977
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 547-551
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66735d) (addresses); in Waltzes by 25 Contemporary Composers. New York [etc.]: C.F. Peters Corporation, 1978, 15-17 (Peters; 66735) (addresses); Rolling Stone no. 249 (6 October 1977), 39 (map)
Literature: Feisst and Paine 2021.
52/3
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Landrover
Medium: indeterminate music for three musicians performing in succession
Extent: unknown
Duration: 52 minutes
Date: 1972
First performance: 1 February 1972
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Miller, L.E. 2002a, 165; Vaughan 1997, 182-183, 295.
57 1/2" for a String Player. See 26'1.1499" for a String Player.
59 1/2" for a String Player
Medium: violin, viola, violoncello, or contrabass, to be used as a solo or ensemble for any combination of pianists, string players, [percussionists] and ***45' for a Speaker
Extent: 5 systems
Duration: 59.5 seconds
Dedication: for Claus Adam (1917-1983)
Date: 2 July 1953
First performance: presumably 7 May 1962
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 193-194, 196, 956
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6776)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 26; Cage 1993d, 54; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 30; Metzger, H.-K. 2012f; Pritchett 1988a, 242-261.
1O1
Note: title is to be spelled with capital “O”
Medium: orchestra consisting of piccolo, two flutes, alto flute, three oboes, English horn, three clarinets in B flat, bass clarinet in B flat, three bassoons, contrabassoon, six horns in F, four trumpets in C, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, four percussionists playing bullroarer (player 1), bullroarer and seven angklungs (player 2), bullroarer and piano (player 3), bullroarer and four contrabass marimbas (player 4), timpani (medium, small), piano, harp, eighteen violins I, sixteen violins II, eleven violas, eleven violoncellos, eight contrabasses
Extent: instructions for performance (40 sentences); piccolo (2 systems), flute 1 (4 systems), flute 2 (2 systems), alto flute (7 systems), oboe 1 (2 systems), oboe 2 (2 systems), oboe 3 (2 systems), English horn (2 systems), clarinet 1 (7 systems), clarinet 2 (2 systems), clarinet 3 (6 systems), bass clarinet (2 systems), bassoon 1 (2 systems), bassoon 2 (2 systems), bassoon 3 (2 systems), contrabassoon (2 systems), horn 1 in F (2 systems), horn 2 in F (2 systems), horn 3 in F (2 systems), horn 4 in F (2 systems), horn 5 in F (2 systems), horn 6 in F (2 systems), trumpet 1 in C (2 systems), trumpet 2 in C (2 systems), trumpet 3 in C (2 systems), trumpet 4 in C (2 systems), trombone 1 (2 systems), trombone 2 (2 systems), bass trombone (2 systems), tuba (2 systems), percussion 1 (1 system), percussion 2 (2 systems), percussion 3 (2 systems), percussion 4 (2 systems), timpani (2 systems), piano (12 systems), harp (12 systems), violin I-1 (1 system), violin I-2 (10 systems), violin I-3 (7 systems), violin I-4 (5 systems), violin I-5 (8 systems), violin I-6 (8 systems), violin I-7 (4 systems), violin I-8 (8 systems), violin I-9 (6 systems), violin I-10 (5 systems), violin I-11 (5 systems), violin I-12 (1 system), violin I-13 (5 systems), violin I-14 (2 systems), violin I-15 (6 systems), violin I-16 (7 systems), violin I-17 (5 systems), violin I-18 (7 systems), violin II-1 (5 systems), violin II-2 (5 systems), violin II-3 (7 systems), violin II-4 (5 systems), violin II-5 (7 systems), violin II-6 (1 system), violin II-7 (3 systems), violin II-8 (9 systems), violin II-9 (6 systems), violin II-10 (4 systems), violin II-11 (7 systems), violin II-12 (5 systems), violin II-13 (5 systems), violin II-14 (7 systems), violin II-15 (1 system), violin II-16 (4 systems), viola 1 (7 systems), viola 2 (7 systems), viola 3 (5 systems), viola 4 (3 systems), viola 5 (8 systems), viola 6 (9 systems), viola 7 (4 systems), viola 8 (5 systems), viola 9 (3 systems), viola 10 (6 systems), viola 11 (6 systems), violoncello 1 (6 systems), violoncello 2 (5 systems), violoncello 3 (5 systems), violoncello 4 (8 systems), violoncello 5 (1 system), violoncello 6 (9 systems), violoncello 7 (6 systems), violoncello 8 (8 systems), violoncello 9 (5 systems), violoncello 10 (2 systems), violoncello 11 (2 systems), contrabass 1 (4 systems), contrabass 2 (7 systems), contrabass 3 (8 systems), contrabass 4 (2 systems), contrabass 5 (3 systems), contrabass 6 (7 systems), contrabass 7 (5 systems), contrabass 8 (7 systems)
Duration: approximately 12 minutes
Commission: Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University
Dedication: none
Date: between 3 July-November 1988
First performance: 6 April 1989
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 779-780, 1070-1071
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1989 (Peters; 67265)
Literature: Cage, John 1988-1989; Cage 1993d, 197-199, 246; Curran/Bernstein 2010, 175; Dyer 1989a; Erdmann 1992e; Swed 1993a.
103
Medium: orchestra consisting of four flutes (flute 3 doubling on piccolo, flute 4 doubling on alto flute), four oboes (oboe 3 and 4 doubling on English horns), four clarinets in B flat (clarinet 4 doubling on bass clarinet), four bassoons (bassoon 4 doubling on contrabassoon), four horns in F, four trumpets in C, four tenor trombones (tenor trombone 4 doubling on bass trombone), tuba, two percussionists (each using any nine instruments), two timpani players, violins I, violins II, violas, violoncellos, and contrabasses (strings in any number of each kind but totalling seventy players); may be performed with One11 [film]
Extent: instructions for performance (17 sentences, 1 table); flute 1 (42 systems), flute 2 (45 systems), flute 3 (42 systems), flute 4 (45 systems), oboe 1 (44 systems), oboe 2 (40 systems), oboe 3 (37 systems), oboe 4 (46 systems), clarinet 1 (39 systems), clarinet 2 (39 systems), clarinet 3 (38 systems), clarinet 4 (47 systems), bassoon 1 (44 systems), bassoon 2 (40 systems), bassoon 3 (35 systems), bassoon 4/ contrabassoon (44 systems), horn 1 (38 systems), horn 2 (33 systems), horn 3 (32 systems), horn 4 (47 systems), trumpet 1 (38 systems), trumpet 2 (39 systems), trumpet 3 (38 systems), trumpet 4 (38 systems), trombone 1 (35 systems), trombone 2 (41 systems), trombone 3 (36 systems), trombone 4 (40 systems), tuba (36 systems), timpani 1 (81 systems), timpani 2 (78 systems), percussion 1 (84 systems), percussion 2 (77 systems), violins I (80 systems), violins II (82 systems), violas (85 systems), violoncellos (78 systems), contrabasses (85 systems)
Duration: between 89 minutes and 30 seconds and 90 minutes
Dedication: for Henning Lohner, Wolfgang Becker-Carsten and the Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
Date: September 1991
First performance: 19 September 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 878-882
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67433)
Literature: Cage 1992d; Cage 1992f; Cage 1993d, 202; Cage/Retallack 1996, 192; Frobenius 1999; Metzger, H.-K. 1992d; Tamayo 1992.
108
Medium: orchestra consisting of piccolo, two flutes, alto flute, three oboes, two English horns, three clarinets in B flat, two bass clarinets, three bassoons, two contrabassoons, seven horns in F, five trumpets in C, three tenor trombones, two bass trombones, tuba, five percussionists each using any four different, very resonant instruments, eighteen violins I, sixteen violins II, twelve violas, twelve violoncellos, and eight contrabasses
Note: may be performed simultaneously with One8, One9 or Two3
Extent: instructions for performance (19 sentences); piccolo (9 systems), flute 1 (13 systems), flute 2 (15 systems), alto flute (12 systems), oboe 1 (11 systems), oboe 2 (12 systems), oboe 3 (16 systems), English horn 1 (10 systems), English horn 2 (13 systems), clarinet 1 (9 systems), clarinet 2 (12 systems), clarinet 3 (13 systems), bass clarinet 1 (14 systems), bass clarinet 2 (10 systems), bassoon 1 (12 systems), bassoon 2 (12 systems), bassoon 3 (12 systems), contrabassoon 1 (12 systems), contrabassoon 2 (16 systems), horn 1 in F (15 systems), horn 2 in F (10 systems), horn 3 in F (15 systems), horn 4 in F (11 systems), horn 5 in F (14 systems), horn 6 in F (13 systems), horn 7 in F (10 systems), trumpet 1 in C (12 systems), trumpet 2 in C (11 systems), trumpet 3 in C (10 systems), trumpet 4 in C (13 systems), trumpet 5 in C (10 systems), tenor trombone 1 (13 systems), tenor trombone 2 (14 systems), tenor trombone 3 (12 systems), bass trombone 1 (11 systems), bass trombone 2 (11 systems), tuba (14 systems), percussion 1 (12 systems), percussion 2 (10 systems), percussion 3 (14 systems), percussion 4 (11 systems), percussion 5 (14 systems), violin I-1 (10 systems), violin I-2 (11 systems), violin I-3 (13 systems), violin I-4 (12 systems), violin I-5 (16 systems), violin I-6 (13 systems), violin I-7 (12 systems), violin I-8 (14 systems), violin I-9 (14 systems), violin I-10 (12 systems), violin I-11 (13 systems), violin I-12 (14 systems), violin I-13 (9 systems), violin I-14 (11 systems), violin I-15 (13 systems), violin I-16 (12 systems), violin I-17 (12 systems), violin I-18 (11 systems), violin II-1 (10 systems), violin II-2 (12 systems), violin II-3 (13 systems), violin II-4 (15 systems), violin II-5 (12 systems), violin II-6 (13 systems), violin II-7 (14 systems), violin II-8 (10 systems), violin II-9 (14 systems), violin II-10 (9 systems), violin II-11 (12 systems), violin II-12 (11 systems), violin II-13 (11 systems), violin II-14 (13 systems), violin II-15 (15 systems), violin II-16 (11 systems), viola 1 (14 systems), viola 2 (10 systems), viola 3 (11 systems), viola 4 (13 systems), viola 5 (12 systems), viola 6 (14 systems), viola 7 (13 systems), viola 8 (14 systems), viola 9 (11 systems), viola 10 (13 systems), viola 11 (14 systems), viola 12 (13 systems), violoncello 1 (12 systems), violoncello 2 (15 systems), violoncello 3 (11 systems), violoncello 4 (14 systems), violoncello 5 (13 systems), violoncello 6 (11 systems), violoncello 7 (13 systems), violoncello 8 (12 systems), violoncello 9 (11 systems), violoncello 10 (11 systems), violoncello 11 (14 systems), violoncello 12 (11 systems), contrabass 1 (13 systems), contrabass 2 (10 systems), contrabass 3 (13 systems), contrabass 4 (10 systems), contrabass 5 (12 systems), contrabass 6 (11 systems), contrabass 7 (11 systems), contrabass 8 (11 systems)
Duration: 43 minutes and 30 seconds
Commission: Süddeutscher Rundfunk
Dedication: for the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
Date: April 1991
First performance: 30 November 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 841, 855, 883-885
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67414)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 202-203; Cage/Retallack 1996, 264; Campana 2001; Gresser 1998; Gresser 2014b; Haskins 2015b; Jahn 1991.
Ad Lib
Choreography: Merce Cunningham and Jean Erdman
Note: the music for this choreography was originally written by Gregory Tucker (1942), and later replaced with the music of Cage
Medium: piano
Extent: 98 bars
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 14 February 1943
First performance: 14 February 1943
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 92-94
Publication: in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, pp. 12-16 (Peters; 68030)
Literature: none.
Address
Medium: for three groups of musicians performing Erik Satie’s Musique d’ameublement, five performers at a conference table, each operating a cassette machine and any number of pre-recorded cassette tapes (this constitutes the composition Cassette), as well as twelve record-players and any number of records to be operated by the audience (this constitutes the composition 33 1/3), and an electric bell
Extent: unknown
Duration: 45 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: [presumably November] 1977
First performance: 7 December 1977
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Hamm et al. 1980; Rushefsky 1977b.
All Sides of the Small Stone
Note: ascribed to Cage; of doubtful authorship
Medium: indeterminate
Model: Erik Satie, Trois Gymnopédies (1888), introductory vamps (bars 1-4)
Extent: 1 bar
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for James Tenney and Erik Satie (“All Sides of the Small Stone, for Erik Satie and (Secretly Given to Jim Tenney as a Koan)”)
Date: July 1978
First performance: 7 April 2016
Sources: Santa Clarita, California, James Tenney Estate; will be housed in Toronto, Ontario, York University
Publication: none
Literature: Riefe 2016; Swed 2016.
Alla ricerca del silenzio perduto
Medium: prepared train
Subtitle: three excursions in a prepared train; variations on a theme by Tito Gotti (with the assistance of Walter Marchetti and Juan Hidalgo)
Extent: 30 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Dedication: for Tito Gotti
Date: December 1977
First performance: 26-28 June 1978
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 543
Publication: (unauthorized ed.) Cage 1979a
Literature: Block 1980SUMME; Cage 1979a; Cage 1979q; Cage/Anonymous 1977; Cage/Degli Esposti 1977; Charles 1978a; Farabet 1978; Gotti 1979; Gotti/Monastra and Veggi 1979; Hosokawa 1985; Monastra 1979; Piekut 2014b; Prato 2003; Rubini and Simonini 2008.
Allemande
Medium: clarinet in B flat
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: late summer 1934
First performance: spring 1935
Sources: present location unknown (presumably lost)
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1961h, 234; George, W.B. 1971, 47; Kopp 1981, 145.
America Was Promises
Text: Archibald MacLeish, 1939
Choreography: Bonnie Bird
Medium: narrator and (presumably) piano four hands (or two pianos)
Extent: 1. Of Voyage; 2. Of Discovery; 3. Of The Land; 4. Of Corruption; 5. Of Westward Movement; 6. Of Building; 7. Of Restlessness; 8. Of Realization; 9. Of Declaration
Duration: 40 minutes
Date: 1940
First performance: 7 May 1940
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Amores
Medium: prepared piano and three percussionists using three graduated tom toms, three graduated woodblocks (player 1); three graduated tom toms, pod rattle, two graduated woodblocks (player 2); three graduated tom toms, two graduated woodblocks (player 3)
Note: the title derives from e.e. cummings [Edward Estlin Cummings], Tulips and Chimneys, 1923, section ‘Amores’ (XI poems); (3) incorporated [with modifications] from third movement of Trio (circa 1936)
Extent: I. Solo (15 bars); II. Trio (100 bars); III. Trio (33 bars); IV. Solo (100 bars)
Duration: approximately 9 minutes
Dedication: for Rue Shaw
Date: January-February 1943
First performance: 7 February 1943
Sources: New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, Mary Flagler Cary Collection, Cary 311; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 95-97, 936
Publication: in New Music: A Quarterly of Modern Compositions 16, no. 4 (July 1943), 1-12; repr. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6264); New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6264p) [pocket score]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 15, 33; Cage 1982r; Cage 1993d, 9, 39, 40, 67, 68; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; DeLio 2002; DeLio 2009; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 4, 20; Fischer, R.K. 1974; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 160-175; Kostelanetz 1988b, 59, 108; McPhee 1943-1944; Minor 1977; MM 1978 or after; Moore, T.D. 1987; Parris 1962; Pritchett 1993, 22, 24, 27; Schick 1995; Welsh 1987-1988; Williams, B.M. 1990, 28-61.
And the Earth Shall Bear Again
Choreography: Valerie Bettis
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 112 bars
Duration: approximately 3 minutes and 15 seconds
Dedication: for Valerie Bettis
Date: November 1942
First performance: 6 December 1942
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 86-7 no. 19; JPB 94-24 Folder 66-68
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6811); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 1: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 18-24 (Peters; 67886a)
Literature: Hilger 1990.
Apartment House 1776
Text: indeterminate
Medium: four voices singing Protestant, Sephardic, American Indian songs, and Negro calls and hollars respectively (live or recorded) and any number of musicians using any suitable melody or keyboard instruments (clarinet, violoncello, and any drum ad libitum)
Note: may be performed with Renga and can be substituted by a “musicircus” (live or recorded) appropriate to another occasion than the Bi-Centennial of the U.S.A. When the right to play music is not granted by a copyright owner, monophonic imitations in the manner either of Cheap Imitation or four-part imitations in the manner of Apartment House 1776 (Harmonies I, II, III, etc.) may be composed
Model: for Tunes: Anonymous, Upon a Summer’s Day (I); The Beggar Boy (II); La belle Catherine (III); Lovely Nancy (IV); Young Widow (V); Over the River to Charley (VI); Barrel of Sugar (VII); Saraband (VIII); Singlings of Johnson’s Troop (IX); Succesful Campaign (X); New New Nothing (XI); Stone Grinds All (XII); The White Cockade (XIII); Rural Felicity (XIV); for Marches: Benjamin Clark, Drum Book (1797): “On the Roads to Boston” (March I); “Mount Vernon” (March II); “Happy Lover” (March III); “The Woodcutter” (March IV); for Harmonies: James Lyon, Cookfield (I); William Billings, “Mansfield” from Music in Miniature (II); William Billings, “Funeral Anthem ‘I Heard a Great Voice’” from The Singing Master’s Assistant (III); Jacob French, Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates (IV); William Billings, “The Lord Descended from Above” from The New-England Psalm-Singer (V); James Lyon, Psalm 17 (VI); Andrew Law, Larr’s Lane (VII) ; Andrew Law, Tyndale (VIII); Andrew Law, Dover (IX); James Lyon, Is There Not an Appointed Time? (X); William Billings, “Wheellers Point” from The New-England Psalm Singer (XI); Andrew Law, Littleton (XII); William Billings, “Worcester” from The Singing Master’s Assistant (XIII); James Lyon, Brunswick (XIV); William Billings, “Bellingham” from The Continental Harmony (XV); Andrew Law, Detroit (XVI); Jacob French, Association (XVII); William Billings, “Old North or Morning Hymn” from The New-England Psalm-Singer (XVIII); Andrew Law, New York (XIX); James Lyon, O Give Thanks (XX); William Billings, “Heath” from The Singing-Master’s Assistant (XXI); Jacob French, Wisdom (XXII); William Billings, “Saint Hellens” (XXIII); William Billings, “Saint Thomas” from The Continental Harmony (XXIV); Supply Belcher, Rapture (XXV); William Billings, “Judea” from The Singing Master’s Assistant (XXVI); Supply Belcher, Reflection (XXVII); Andrew Law, Greenwich (XXVIII); Andrew Law, Trumpet (XXIX); Andrew Law, Tempest (XXX); Andrew Law, New Windsor (XXXI); Andrew Law, Litchfield (XXXII); William Billings, “Newburn” from Music in Miniature (XXXIII); James Lyon, Saint Peters (XXXIV); William Billings, “Framingham” from The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement (XXXV); James Lyon, 57th Psalm Tune (XXXVI); Jacob French, Coelestis (XXXVII); William Billings, The Lord Is Ris’n Indeed (XXXVIII); William Billings, “Weymouth” from The Continental Harmony (XXXIX); James Lyon, The New 50th Psalm Tune (XL); James Lyon, Standish Tune (XLI); Supply Belcher, Rapture (XLII); Andrew Law, Castle Street (XLIII); Andrew Law, Bloomfield (XLIV); for Imitations: Simon Peter, Siehe meine Knechte (I); J(ohann) F(riedrich) Peter, Die mit Tränen säen (II)
Extent: 14 Tunes (solos for any suitable instruments): Tune I (64 bars); Tune II (48 bars); Tune III (64 bars); Tune IV (64 bars); Tune V (80 bars); Tune VI (64 bars); Tune VII (32 bars); Tune VIII (32 bars); Tune IX (64 bars); Tune X (64 bars); Tune XI (32 bars); Tune XII (80 bars); Tune XIII (64 bars); Tune XIV (64 bars); 4 Marches (drum solos transcribed by James Barnes): March I (8 bars); March II (20 bars); March III (18 bars); March IV (20 bars); 44 Harmonies (for the most part both quartets and solos, for any suitable instruments or instrument including 18th-century ones if they are available even if they don’t balance with what else is going on): Harmony I (20 bars); Harmony II (23 bars); Harmony III (35 bars); Harmony IV (231 bars); Harmony V (135 bars); Harmony VI (17 bars); Harmony VII (18 bars); Harmony VIII (14 bars); Harmony IX (15 bars); Harmony X (129 bars); Harmony XI (16 bars); Harmony XII (27 bars); Harmony XIII (19 bars); Harmony XIV (18 bars); Harmony XV (28 bars); Harmony XVI (15 bars); Harmony XVII (26 bars); Harmony XVIII (26 bars); Harmony XIX (127 bars); Harmony XX (63 bars); Harmony XXI (29 bars); Harmony XXII (110 bars); Harmony XXIII (25 bars); Harmony XXIV (56 bars); Harmony XXV (21 bars); Harmony XXVI (17 bars); Harmony XXVII (36 bars); Harmony XXVIII (116 bars); Harmony XXIX (25 bars); Harmony XXX (16 bars); Harmony XXXI (15 bars); Harmony XXXII (21 bars); Harmony XXXIII (17 bars); Harmony XXXIV (13 bars); Harmony XXXV (30 bars); Harmony XXXVI (18 bars); Harmony XXXVII (27 bars); Harmony XXXVIII (133 bars); Harmony XXXIX (33 bars); Harmony XL (24 bars); Harmony XLI (18 bars); Harmony XLII (21 bars); Harmony XLIII (21 bars); Harmony XLIV (14 bars); 2 Imitations (of Moravian church music): Imitation I for violoncello (83 bars); Imitation II for clarinet (68 bars)
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: made possible with funds provided by the National Endowment on the Arts 1975-1976
Dedication: for Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, in observance of the Bicentennial of the United States of America
Date: May-August 1976
First performance: 30 September 1976
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 528-533, 914, 930, 988-989
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1976 (Peters; 6819); arrangement by Roger Zahab (New York, November 1985) of 13 of the 44 Harmonies for violin and keyboard instrument (duration approximately 38 minutes) as Thirteen Harmonies. New York: Henmar Press, 1986 (Peters; 67117); arrangement of 44 Harmonies for string quartet by Irvine Arditti. New York: Henmar Press, 2011 (Peters; 68258) [score]; New York: Henmar Press, 2011 (Peters; 68258a) [set of parts]
Literature: Bernstein, D.W. 2001b; Cage 1976b; Cage 1976e; Cage 1979c, 133-134; Cage 1993d, 102-104; Cage/Cope 1980, 7-9; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982, 79; Cage/Lange 1978; Cage/Smith, S.S. 1992; Charles 1978d; Fetterman 1996a, 143-145; Finkel 2015; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 43, 44; Kostelanetz 1988b, 34, 80, 83, 85-86, 119-122, 234; Schöning 1979***, 21/1982, 91; Zimmermann, W. 1992.
Aria
Text: John Cage
Medium: voice (any range: originally intended for mezzo-soprano: ***see score Fontana Mix); may be performed simultaneously with Fontana Mix, Concert for Piano and Orchestra or Song Books (implicitly)
Model: John Cage, Fontana Mix, 1958
Extent: instructions for performance (11 sentences) and 20 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Date: November or December 1958
First performance: 5 January 1959
Dedication: for Cathy Berberian
Sources: Los Angeles, California, collection Cristina Berio; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 232-233
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6701)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 20; Cage 1982r; Cage 1993d, 58; Cage/Charles 1976, 179; Cage/Mimaroğlu 1965; Carvalho 2018; Crawford, H. 1971; Crump 2008; Epperson 1974; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 36, 38; Hanoch-Roe 2007; Lies 1992; Mathon 1990-1991; Mathon 1995-1996; Parra Cancino 2009; Petkus 1986, 135-142; Placanica 2015; Radovanović 2017; Schwartz, E. 1971; Stoïanova 1987; Thorman 2002, 60-63; Vogels 2014, 82-86.
ASLSP
Note: the title is an abbreviation of “as slowly as possible” and also refers to “Soft morning, city! Lsp!” from James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, 1939, page 619 (beginning of final paragraph)
Medium: piano or organ
Extent: instructions for performance (15 sentences) and 16 systems
Note: composition consists of eight pieces, any one of which must be omitted and any one of which must be repeated
Duration: indeterminate
Date: January 1985
First performance: 14-18 July 1985; 10 October 1985 (official)
Commission: Friends of the Maryland Summer Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts
Dedication: to the memory of Madolyn Leonard (1918-1985)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 765, 1052-1054
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1985 (Peters; 67070)
Literature: Cage 1987aa; Cage 1993d, 139-140; Byrd, Je. and Fritch 2012.
Assemblage (in collaboration with Gordon Mumma and David Tudor)
Medium: magnetic tape
Film: Richard Moore, Assemblage
Extent: unknown
Duration: 59 minutes
Date: 14 October-3 November 1968
First performance: unknown
Note: produced for KQED film group in San Francisco, California
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cross, L.M. 1974, 769; Vaughan 1997, 166-167, 190, 294.
Atlas Borealis with the Ten Thunderclaps
Text: James Joyce, Finnegans Wake. New York: Viking, 1939, 3, 23, 44, 90, 113, 257, 314, 332, 414, 424
Medium: amplified chorus and orchestra
Model: Antonín Bečvář, Atlas borealis 1950.0. Praha: Československá Akademie Věd, 1962
Date: planned from 1966, but never realized
Sources: present location unknown
Literature: Cage 1970f, 171; Cage 1971b; Cage 1973h, 70, 117; Cage 1979c, 133; Cage 1980e; Cage 1983a, 165; Cage 1993d, 227; Cage/Charles 1976, 112, 140, 174, 211-213, 212n; Cage/Emmerik 1991, 82; Cage/Finegan, Koppel and Haskell 1969, 15; Cage/Friedman 1970; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Goldberg 1976; Cage/Kostelanetz 1970, 20; Cage/Raymond and Roberts 1980; Cage/Schönberger 1978; Cage/Schöning 1982, 81; Cage and Hiller/Austin 1968, 13; Kostelanetz 1970d, 20; Newsweek 1967; Thorman 2002, 144-146.
Atlas Eclipticalis
Medium: any solo from or combination of the following eighty-six instrumental parts, using live electronics ad libitum: three flutes (each doubling on piccolo and alto flute ad libitum), three oboes (each doubling on English horn and any saxophones ad libitum), three clarinets (each playing in any key and doubling on bass or contrabass clarinet ad libitum), three bassoons (each doubling on contrabassoon ad libitum), five horns (1, 3 treble clef, 2, 4-5 bass clef), three trumpets (each playing in any key), three trombones (1-2 tenor, 3 bass), three tubas (each playing in any key), three timpani players (each player using four pedal instruments), nine percussionists using miscellaneous unspecified non-pitched instruments, three harps (bass and treble clefs changing ad libitum), twenty-four violins (1-12 one octave higher than written), nine violas (all octave higher ad libitum), nine violoncelli (octave higher ad libitum), and three contrabasses; conductor
Note: instruments may be amplified using Cartridge Music (controls operated by an assistant to the conductor); may be performed in whole or part with Solo for Voice 45 and Solo for Voice 48 from Song Books and with Winter Music
Note: first of a group of works of which Variations IV is the second and 0'00" is the third
Model: Antonín Bečvář, Atlas eclipticalis 1950.0. Praha: Československá Akademie Věd, 1958
Extent: instructions for performance (*** sentences, i-***roman numerals) and 1740 systems (violins 1-96, violas 97-132, violoncellos 133-168, contrabasses 169-180; flutes 181-192, oboes 193-204, clarinets 205-216, bassoons 217-228; horns 229-248, trumpets 249-260, trombones 261-272, tubas 273-284; timpani 285-296, percussion 297-332; harps 333-344; conductor [including assistant***] 345-348)
Duration: indeterminate (material provided to last at least 40 minutes if performed in its entirety***)
Commission: Pierre Mercure for the Montreal Festivals Society
Dedication: for Guy G. Nearing (violin 1); Remy Charlip (violin 2); Nam June Paik (violin 3); Walter Hinrichsen and Evelyn (violin 4); Henri Pousseur and Thea (violin 5); Robert Wood and Marilyn (violin 6); Lois Long (violin 7); Richard K. Winslow and Betty (violin 8); W. Robert Thompson and Mary (violin 9); Paula Madawick (violin 10); Robert Rauschenberg (violin 11); Kurt Michaelis (violin 12); Norman Rudich and Linda (violin 13); Keith McGary and Donna (violin 14); Arthur Josephson and Mary Caroline (violin 15); Nicola Cernovich (violin 16); Louis Silverstein (violin 17); Lawrence Halprin and Ann (violin 18); Chaloner Spencer and Helen (violin 19); Pegeen Rumney (violin 20); Sigmund Neumann (violin 21); Raymond Grimaila (violin 22); George Avakian and Anahid (violin 23); Robert Dunn and Judith (violin 24); Edgar Anderson and Dorothy (viola 1); Viola Farber (viola 2); Christian Wolff (viola 3); Karlheinz Stockhausen and Doris (viola 4); Connie Wilson and Louella Bacon (viola 5); Bruce Markgraf and Rosemary (viola 6); Luciano Berio and Cathy (viola 7); Morton Feldman and Cynthia (viola 8); Jasper Johns (viola 9); Dr. David R. Telson and Paula (violoncello 1); Hans Austen and Sulamith (violoncello 2); William Jefferys (violoncello 3); Pierre Mercure (violoncello 4); James Sykes and Clay (violoncello 5); Ross Gortner and Priscilla (violoncello 6); Louis Mink and Pat (violoncello 7); Joe Peoples and Ruth (violoncello 8); Shareen Blair (violoncello 9); Leonard Meyer and Lee (contrabass 1); Steve Paxton (contrabass 2); Öyvind Fahlström and Barbro (contrabass 3); Ralph Pendleton (flute 1); Carl Viggiani and Jane (flute 2); David Gordon and Valda Setterfield (flute 3); Mell Daniel and Minna (oboe 1); Mary Bauermeister (oboe 2); István Anhalt and Beata (oboe 3); Ralph Ferrara (clarinet 1); C. H. Waddington (clarinet 2); Robert H. Knapp and Johnsia (clarinet 3); Mauricio Kagel and Ursula (bassoon 1); Willard Lockwood and Louise (bassoon 2); Richard Maxfield (bassoon 3); Gira Sarabhai (horn 1); Jose Gomez-Ibanez and Lidia (horn 2); Emile de Antonio (horn 3); Esther Dam (horn 4); Benedicte Pesle (horn 5); Richard Lippold and Louise (trumpet 1); David McAllester and Susan (trumpet 2); Toshi Ichiyanagi (trumpet 3); Ihab Hassan (trombone 1); Milton Cage and Crete Cage (trombone 2); Peggy Guggenheim (trombone 3); Nathan Shapira and Irene (tuba 1); Walter Van Tilburg Clark and Barbara (tuba 2); J. R. T. Bueno and Emily (tuba 3); David Tudor (timpani 1); Merce Cunningham (timpani 2); Earle Brown and Carolyn (timpani 3); Norman O. Brown and Beth (percussion 1); Samuel Green and Bunnie (percussion 2); Martha Gerhart (percussion 3); Marian Vaine (percussion 4); Ben Johnston and Betty (percussion 5); Paul Weiss (percussion 6); Johanna Alida Ribbelink (percussion 7); Clara Mayer (percussion 8); Marston Bates and Nancy (percussion 9); Tania Senff (harp 1); Grace Bacon (harp 2); Reginald Arragon and Gertrude (harp 3); Victor R. Butterfield and Mrs. Butterfield (conductor)
Date: June 1961-January 1962; individual parts: June-July 1961 (Violin 7, 8, 21, Viola 1, Violoncello 1, Contrabass 1, Flute 1, Oboe 1, Clarinet 2, 3, Bassoon 2, Horn 2, Trumpet 2 [revised September 1961], Trombone 2, Tuba 3, Timpani 2, Percussion 1, 9, Harp 3); June-August 1961 (Violin 10, 11, 22, Viola 7, 9, Violoncello 3, 4); June-21 July 1961 (General Directions, Directions for Percussion and Directions for Conductor and Assistant); June-September 1961 (Violin 17); June-September 1961 (Viola 3, 4); June-December 1961 (Violin 2-4, 6); June-December 1961 (Violin 14, 16, 18, 19, 23, 24, Viola 2, 8, Oboe 2, 3, Clarinet 1, Bassoon 1, 3, Horn 1, 3, 4, 5, Trumpet 1, 3, Trombone 1, 3, Timpani 1, 3, Percussion 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Harp 1, 2); June 1961-January 1962 (Violin 1, 5, 9, 12, 13, 15, 20, Viola 5, 6, Violoncello 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Contrabass 2, 3, Flute 2, 3, Tuba 1, 2)
First performance: 3 August 1961
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 279-281, 283-284, 965-967, 1083; Zurich, collection Jedlicka family
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 and 1962 (Peters; 6782)
Literature: Beeler 1973; Blum 1981; Cage 1962e, 30; Cage 1964b; Cage 1967o, 69; Cage 1976d; Cage 1986e; Cage 1993d, 61-62, 106, 246; Cage/Charles 1976, 211-212; Cage/Cope 1980, 16; Cage/Duckworth 1989; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Downes 1970; Gockel 1985; Kostelanetz 1970d, 143-144; Metzger, H.-K. 2012d; Metzger, H.-K. 2012f; Ngiao 2013; Nyman 1976b; Oliveros 1980; Pritchett 1993, 124; Zomer 2017.
Bacchanale
Choreography: Syvilla Fort
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 186 bars
Duration: 6 minutes
Dedication: for Syvilla Fort (1917-1975)
Date: March 1940 [not 1938]
First performance: 28 April 1940
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 28-30
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6784); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 1: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 4-17 (Peters; 67886a)
Literature: Bunger 1973/1981, 53; Cage 1962e, 15; Cage 1973d; Cage 1979c, 7-8; Cage 1993d, 7, 35-36, 117, 118; Cage/Charles 1976, 29-30, 41; Cage/Holmes 1981; Fetterman 1996a, 7-8; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 152-159; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 13-14, 18; Jeong 2019; Kostelanetz 1970d, 129; Levitz 2005; Nicholls 1990a, 211-213; Peloquin 1995; Rhodes, C.S. 1995; Tomkins 1965, 89-90; Vaes 2009, 714-717.
The Beatles 1962-1970
Medium: piano and five pre-recored piano parts (or six pianos)
Model: The Beatles, The Singles Collection 1962-1970. London [etc.]: Wise Publications, 1976
Extent: Part I (45 bars); Part II (48 bars); Part III (54 bars); Part IV (44 bars); Part V (45 bars); Part VI (59 bars)
Duration: between 7 minutes and 15 seconds and 8 minutes
Dedication: for Aki Takahashi (1944)
Date: August 1989
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Bird Cage
Medium: solo performer using twelve magnetic tape recordings (containing electronically processed sounds of three categories: birds in aviaries made March or April 1972, in the Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge near Dover, Delaware; Cage singing Mureau; and environmental sounds) to be played back in a space in which people are free to move and birds to fly
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences); 3 sets of 2 columns consisting of 88 numbers each
Duration: indeterminate (duration of individual tapes varies between 25 minutes 14 seconds and 27 minutes 55 seconds when played back at 19 cm per second)
Dedication: none
Date: April 1972
First performance: 30 August 1972
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 424-425, 981
Realization: of tapes by John Cage and Joel Chadabe (April 1972, Albany, New York, Albany studio), produced at the State University of New York in Albany
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1972 (Peters; 6810)
Literature: Chadabe 1972; Chadabe 1975, 173; Chadabe 1983; Goehr, L. 2008b.
A Book of Music
Medium: two prepared pianos
Extent: Part One (bars 1-455); Part Two (bars 456-1639)
Duration: approximately 30 minutes
Date: May-August 1944
First performance: 21 January 1945
Dedication: for Robert Fizdale and Arthur Gold
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 110, 904, 905, 938
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6702)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 19; Cage 1973d; Cage 1979c, 8, 185; Cage 1991c, 64-65; Cage 1993d, 9, 10, 40, 118; Cage/Cope 1980, 21; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 19; Zuber 1992.
Branches
Medium: any number of percussionists using amplified plant materials, at least one of which a pod rattle from a poinciana tree and at least one (preferably several) are cacti
Note: alternative title Improvisation Ib
Note: each performance of Branches includes a performance of Child of Tree
Extent: 28 sentences and 5 tables
Duration: 8 minutes or multiples thereof
Dedication: none
Date: 1976
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 534-535, 990-991, 1008
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1976 (Peters; 66684)
Literature: Barkema and Blaauw 1978; Cage 1993d, 101-102; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Fletcher and Moore 1983; Cage/Holmes 1981; Cage/Fletcher and Moore 1983; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Katz 1990; Cage/Lange 1978; Cage/Reynolds 1979; Cage/Schönberger 1978; Cage/Smith, S.S. 1983; Davidović 2015; Feisst 2009; Fetterman 1996a, 191-192; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 42-43; Gronemeyer 1983; Kim, R.Y. 2008; Kostelanetz 1988b, 93; Polaschegg 2012.
But What about the Noise of Crumpling Paper Which He Used to Do in order to Paint the Series of "Papiers froissés" or Tearing up Paper to Make "Papiers déchirés"? Arp Was Stimulated by Water (Sea, Lake, and Flowing Waters like Rivers), Forests.
Medium: three to ten percussionists each using at least two only slightly resonant instruments, also involving water, paper, etc.***
Extent: instructions for performance (10 sentences); each player 10 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Date: August 1985
Commission: Les Percussions de Strasbourg
Dedication: in celebration of the work of Jean Arp on the occasion of the centenary of his birth, for Les Percussions de Strasbourg
First performance: 15 April 1986; 16 November 1986 (official)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 665-667
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1985 (Peters; 67074)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 140-141; Cage/Gucht and Hamouy 1987; Croset 1987-1988; Gucht 1987.
c Ȼomposed Improvisation
Medium: any solo from or combination of snare drum, [Ned] Steinberger bass guitar, and one-sided drums with or without jangles
Extent: *** sentences (1), *** sentences (2), *** sentences (3)
Duration: 8 minutes or multiples thereof
Commission: Robert Black (solo for Steinberger bass guitar)
Dedication: for Robert Black (solo for Steinberger bass guitar), Stuart Smith (solo for snare drum) and Glen Velez (solo for one-sided drums)
Date: 26 June 1987 REVISEDand in 1990 in New York (solo for snare drum), 4 July 1987 and 1990 in New York (solo for Steinberger bass guitar); and 1990 in New York (solo for one-sided drums with or without jangles)
First performance: 28 September 1987 (preview performance, Steinberger bass guitar); 6 October 1987 (first performance, Steinberger bass guitar); 3 October 1988 (snare drum); 2 December 1990 (possibly first performance of version for one-sided drums)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 759-764, 793-794
Publication: in The Noble Snare: Compositions for Unaccompanied Snare Drum, vol. 2, ed. Stuart Saunders Smith. Baltimore, Maryland: Smith Publications, 1988, 24-25 [snare drum]; New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67318a-c) [Steinberger bass guitar (REVISED), snare drum, one-sided drums]
Literature: Baker, J.C. 2004.
Cartridge Music
Medium: one to forty performers using up to twenty record players, instruments or objects amplified by means of cartridges or contact microphones, or for two or more performers using amplified piano or amplified cymbal; may be performed with Atlas Eclipticalis (gain and tone control of amplification), Song Books (Solo for Voice 45 and 48), Winter Music
Note: alternative titles: Duet for Cymbal and Piano Duet, Trio
Note: this score was used in composing Where Are We Going? And What Are We Doing? (Text), On Robert Rauschenberg, Artist, and His Work (Text), Rhythm Etc. (Text), Jasper Johns, Stories and Ideas (Text)
Extent: instructions for performance (37 sentences) and 24 diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: July 1960
First performance: 15 September 1960
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 3 folder 6; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 261-266, 294, 959, 961; Zurich, collection Jedlicka family
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6703)
Literature: Balzano 1980a; Beeler 1973; Bernstein, D.W. 2014b; Burt, W.A. 2014; Cage 1961h, 194; Cage 1962d; Cage 1962e, 34; Cage 1967o, 43, 73, 120; Cage 1993d, 60-62; Cage/Charles 1976, 41-42; Cage/Cope 1980, 14-15; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Mimaroğlu 1965; Collins, Nicolas 2007; Donahue 2016; Fetterman 1996a, 59-67; Henck 1985a; Kostelanetz 1970d, 144-145; Lochhead 1994; Metzger, H.-K. 2012d; Schröder, J.H. 2011, 259-287; Sonntag 1981, 57-68; Zimmerman, F.B. 1963.
Cassette
Medium: five performers at a conference table, each operating a cassette machine and any number of pre-recorded cassette tapes
Extent: unknown
Duration: 40 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1977
First performance: 7 December 1977
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Hamm et al. 1980; Rushefsky 1977b.
A Chant with Claps
Text: John Cage
Medium: voice (c' to c'') and handclaps
Extent: 31 bars
Duration: approximately 1 minute
Dedication: for Sidney Robertson Cowell (1903-1995)
Note: presumably composed as a house-warming present to Sidney Cowell when she and Henry Cowell moved up to Shady, New York
Date: late 1942 or early 1943
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 1077, JPB 96-59
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 2015 (Peters; 68528)
Literature: none.
Les chants de Maldoror pulvérisés par l’assistance même
Medium: a francophone public of no more than 200 persons
Text: John Cage, original text
Model: Comte de Lautréamont [pseudonym of Isidore-Lucien Ducasse], Les chants de Maldoror, 1868-1869
Extent: instructions for performance (26 sentences) and 200 pages
Duration: 1 minute and 30 seconds
Dedication: none
Date: December 1971
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 419-422
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1971 (Peters; 6809); instructions for performance published as Cage 1987-1988a
Literature: Thorman 2002, 138-142.
Cheap Imitation (Piano)
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Second Hand
Medium: piano
Note: an arrangement for flute (also alto flute and piccolo), glockenspiel and piano was made (Winter 1979-1980) by Morton Feldman
Model: Erik Satie, Socrate: Drame symphonique en trois parties. Paris: Editions de la Sirène, 1919 (vocal score)
Extent: I (176 bars); II (206 bars); III (294 bars)
Duration: approximately 35 minutes
Dedication: originally dedicated to Virgil Thomson; recalled
Date: December 1969; completed 14 December 1969
First performance: 8 January 1970
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 305; Washington, D.C., Library of Congress, ML 30.3c.C23 no. 1, Koussevitzky Collection
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1970 (Peters; 6805)
Literature: Bernstein, D.W. 2001b; Brooks, W. 1981; Cage 1972LETTER-OTTE-A; Cage 1972LETTER-OTTE-B; Cage 1973h, xiii-xvi passim, 132; Cage 1977e; Cage 1982b, 52-54; Cage 1982LETTER-TO-BLUM; Cage 1983j, 145-146; Cage 1987-1988d; Cage 1993d, 93-94; Cage/Charles 1976, 177, 179; Cage/Friedman 1970; Cage, Shattuck and Gillmor 1982; Callahan 2012; Callahan 2018; Charles 1971[a]/1978, 43; Clausius 2011; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 181-182; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Erdmann 1993f, 143-155; Erdmann and Vogel 1996; Francis, J.R. 1976, 56-60; Goldberg, J. 1986, 18-27; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 41; Huber, N.A. 1980; Huber, N.A. 1984; Jack 1972a; Jensen, M. 2009b; Jordan 1979, 17; Kostelanetz 1988b, 79-80; New Yorker 1973; Nimczik 1989a; Nimczik 1989b; Nimczik 1989c; Nimczik 2004; Nyman 1973a; Nyman 1974, 31; Perry, J. 2021; Oehlschlägel 1979; Ruiter 1993, vol. 1, 141-142; Siano 2015.
Cheap Imitation (Orchestra)
Medium: orchestra without conductor consisting of twenty-four to ninety-five musicians: one to three piccolos, one to three flutes, one to three alto flutes, one to three oboes, one to three English horns, one to three clarinets in B flat, one to three bass clarinets in B flat, one to three bassoons, one to three alto saxophones in E flat, one to three horns in F, one to three trumpets in C, one to three trombones, one to three tubas, one to three harps, piano, celesta, guitar, marimba, timpani ad libitum, orchestral bells ad libitum, glockenspiel, vibraphone ad libitum, one to twelve violins I, one to twelve violins II, one to nine violas, one to nine violoncellos, one to three contrabasses
Model: orchestration of John Cage, Cheap Imitation (Piano), after Erik Satie, Socrate: Drame symphonique en trois parties. Paris: Editions de la Sirène, 1919 (vocal score)
Extent: I (176 bars); II (206 bars); III (294 bars)
Duration: approximately 35 minutes
Commission: Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library of Congress
Dedication: for the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation and dedicated to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky
Date: February 1970-Late 1972
First performance: 13 May 1972
Sources: Minneapolis, Minnesota, collection Martin Friedman; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 306, 321-418; Washington, D.C., Library of Congress, ML 30 .3c.C23 no. 1, Koussevitzky Collection
Publication: parts (copied by Carlo Carnivale). New York: Henmar Press, 1972 (Peters; 6805a)
Literature: Cage 1972[Letter?s TO OTTE: 2x A EN B?]; Cage 1973h, xiii-xvi; Cage 1977e; Cage 1987-1988d; Cage 1993d, 94-95; Cage/Barnard 1980, 7; Cage/Charles 1976, 142-143,183-184n2; Huber, N.A. 1980; Jensen, M. 2009; Nee 1980a.
Cheap Imitation (Violin)
Medium: violin solo
Note: composed in collaboration with Paul Zukofsky (1943-2017)
Model: John Cage, Cheap Imitation (Piano), after Erik Satie, Socrate: Drame symphonique en trois parties. Paris: Editions de la Sirène, 1919 (vocal score)
Extent: 1. 176 bars; 2. 206 bars; 3. 294 bars
Duration: approximately 35 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 21 September 1977
First performance: 4 November 1977
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 544-545, 997
Publication: ed. Paul Zukofsky. New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66754)
Literature: Bray 1980; Cage 1977e; Cage 1981l; Cage 1993d, 93; MM 1978 or after; New York State School Music News 1977 or later; Peters Notes 1979-1980b; Zomer 2017; Zukofsky 1982.
Cheap Imitation (Violin and Piano)
Medium: violin and piano
Model: Erik Satie, Socrate: Drame symphonique en trois parties. Paris: Editions de la Sirène, 1919 (vocal score)
Extent: 1. 176 bars; 2. 206 bars; 3. 294 bars
Duration: approximately 35 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1977, unfinished (rejected)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 546
Literature: Zukofsky 1982, 168.
Cheap Imitation (Violoncello)
Medium: violoncello
Date: circa 1981, unfinished
Dedication: none
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 591
Publication: none.
Cheap Imitation No. 2. See Song Books.
Cheap Imitation No. 3. See Song Books.
Cheap Imitation No. 4. See Song Books.
Cheap Imitation No. 5. See Song Books.
Cheap Imitation No. 6. See Song Books.
Chess Pieces
Medium: piano
Note: related to Chess Pieces (Art)
Extent: I (12 bars); II (12 bars); III (12 bars); IV (12 bars); V (12 bars); VI (12 bars); VII (12 bars); VIII (12 bars); IX (12 bars); X (12 bars); XI (12 bars); XII (12 bars); XIII (12 bars); XIV (12 bars); XV (12 bars); XVI (12 bars); XVII (12 bars); XVIII (12 bars); XIX (12 bars); XX (12 bars); XXI (12 bars); XXII (12 bars)
Duration: approximately 8 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 12 December 1944 (sketch and draft dated 1943)
First performance: 2005 or 2006
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 99
Publication: ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2005 (Peters; 68110)
Literature: Redford 2007.
Child of Tree
Note: alternative titles Improvisation I or Improvisation Ia
Note: the title derives from James Joyce, Finnegans Wake. New York: Viking Press, 1939, 556, line 19
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Solo
Medium: percussionist solo using amplified plant materials, at least one of which is a pod rattle from a poinciana tree and at least one (preferably several) are cacti (opuntiae)
Extent: 13 sentences and 2 tables
Duration: 8 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: [prior to 8 March] 1975
First performance: 8 March 1975
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 431, 1008
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1975 (Peters; 66685)
Literature: Bakan, Bryant, and Li 1990; Barkema and Blaauw 1978; Cage 1993d, 101, 102; Cage/Cope 1980, 13; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Fletcher and Moore 1983; Cage/Holmes 1981; Cage/Lange 1978; Cage/Reynolds 1979; Cage/Schönberger 1978; Cage/Smith, S.S. 1983; Davidović 2015; Feisst 2009; Fetterman 1996a, 191-192; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 42-43; Ingram 2006; Kim, R.Y. 2008; Kostelanetz 1988b, 93; Polaschegg 2012; Shultis 2000; Shultis 2014a.
Chorals
Medium: violin solo
Model: Song Books, Solo for Voice 85, after Erik Satie, Douze petits chorals, revised by Robert Caby. Paris [etc.]: Salabert, 1968 (No. 1-No. 3 and No. 7-No. 12)
Extent: 1. Très sonore (3 systems); 2. Andante (3 systems); 3. Lent (2 systems); 4. Sans lenteur (Rude) (1 system); 5. Pas trop lent (2 systems); 6. Sans lenteur (2 systems); 7. Lent (2 systems); 8. Très large (2 systems); 9. Grave (2 systems)
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1978
First performance: 21 September 1978
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 916, 1078
Publication: ed. Paul Zukofsky. New York: Henmar Press, 1978 (Peters; 66762)
Literature: Cage 1981l; Cage 1982b, 53; Cage 1983j, 146; Cage 1993d, 105; Raynor 1985; Zukofsky 1982.
Choruses from The Persians. See Greek Ode.
_, _ _ Circus on _. See Text.
The City Wears a Slouch Hat. See Text.
A Collection of Rocks
Text: vocalise
Medium: mixed chorus (vocalise) consisting of sopranos 1, sopranos 2, altos 1, altos 2, tenors 1, tenors 2, basses 1, basses 2 and orchestra consisting of flutes 1, flutes 2, oboes, clarinets 1 in B flat, clarinets 2 in B flat, alto saxophones in E flat, tenor saxophones in B flat, baritone saxophones in E flat, bassoons, horns in F, trumpets 1 in C, trumpets 2 in C, tenor trombones, violins, violas, violoncellos; multiple parts may be used
Extent: instructions for performance (27 sentences), score (4 systems), and parts (66 systems; each part has 3; parts contain location information lacking in score)
Duration: 20 minutes; versions 30, 40, 50, or 60 minutes may be performed
Date: October 1984
First performance: 19 April 1985
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 620-622, 1041
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1984 (Peters; 67041)
Literature: Cage 1985ddd; Cage 1988c; Cage 1993d, 180-182; Cage et al. 1986; Gligo 1987; Kostelanetz 1988b, 154.
Composition for Three Voices
Medium: any three or more instruments encompassing the ranges d' to d''', a to a'', and d to d'' respectively
Extent: 36 bars
Duration: approximately 4 minutes
Dedication: for Pauline Schindler (née Gibling, 1893-1977)
Date: 1933-15 January 1934
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 12
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1974 (Peters; 6704)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 27; Cage 1993d, 5, 6; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 1-3; Nicholls 1990a, 178-179.
Concert for Piano and Orchestra
Medium: any solo from or any combination of piano, flute (ad libitum doubling on alto flute and piccolo), clarinet in B flat, bassoon (ad libitum doubling on baritone saxophone), trumpet in B flat (ad libitum doubling on trumpets in F, D, C, and E flat), tenor trombone, tuba in F (ad libitum doubling on tuba in B flat), three violins, two violas, violoncello, contrabass, conductor (optional)
Note: to be performed with or without/***possible superpositions with Aria, Cartridge Music, Fontana Mix, Indeterminacy: New Aspect of Form in Instrumental and Electronic Music [text], Solo for Voice 1, Solo for Voice 2, Song Books, WBAI; the title may change according to the instrumentation, for instance “Concert for Piano, Violin, and Tuba”
Extent: instructions for performance per part (*** sentences); Solo for Piano (63 pages on several systems); Solo for Flute, Alto Flute, and Piccolo (60 systems); Solo for Clarinet in B flat (60 systems); Solo for Bassoon and Baritone Saxophone (60 systems); Solo for Violin 1 (80 systems); Solo for Violin 2 (80 systems); Solo for Violin 3 (80 systems); Solo for Viola 1 (80 systems); Solo for Viola 2 (80 systems); Solo for Violoncello (80 systems); Solo for Contrabass (80 systems); Solo for Trumpets in E flat, F, D, C, and B flat (60 systems); Solo for Sliding Trombone (60 systems); Solo for Tubas in F and B flat (60 systems); Conductor (*** sentences, 51 systems)
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: Elaine De Kooning
Dedication: for Elaine De Kooning
Date: 1957-1958; Solo for Piano completed 27 March 1958
First performance: 15 May 1958
Sources: Berlin, Gelbe Musik; Berlin, private collection; Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University Music Library; Los Angeles, Getty Center, 940073 box 3 folder 6-7, box 4 folder 1-3; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 217-231; Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, 1991.241.43
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6705) [piano]; parts for violins 1-3 [pages 1-16, 17-32, 33-48], violas 1-2 [pages 49-64, 65-80], trumpets in E flat, F, D, C, and B flat [pages 81-92], violoncello [pages 93-108], tubas in F and B flat [pages 109-120], clarinet in B flat [pages 121-132], flute, alto flute and piccolo [pages 133-144], bassoon and baritone saxophone [pages 145-156], contrabass [pages 157-172], trombone [pages 173-184], conductor [optional]. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6705a-n); realization of Solo for Piano by David Tudor. Ed. by David Holzaepfel (Holzaepfel 2020)
Literature: Block and Freybourg 1983, 186; Blum 1981; Blum 2012; Bosseur, J.-Y. 1993; Cage 1959e; Cage 1959g; Cage 1959h; Cage 1961h, 28, 31, 260; Cage 1962e, 31; Cage 1967o, 135-136; Cage 1982r; Cage 1993d, 56-58, 69, 76, 246; Cage/Charles 1976, 36-37, 40, 143-144, 159-160, 211; Cage/Duckworth 1989, 24-25; Cage/Helms 1972; Cage/Katz 1990; Cage/Kumpf 1975; Cage/Retallack 1996, 296-298; Cage/Reynolds 1979; Campana 2001; Charles 1970b; Chilton 2007; Clarke, D. 2016; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 178-179; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Dempster 1979; Duckworth 1972, 105-110, 117; Erdmann 1993f, 65-68; Fetterman 1996a/1992, 321-340; Francis, J.R. 1976, 79-87; Fueter, Thurneysen and Welti 1969; Goodman, N. 1968, 187-190; Gratzer 2012; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 33-36; Holzaepfel 1993, 197-312; Holzaepfel 2001; Holzaepfel 2012; Holzaepfel 2020; Hougaard 2015; Iddon and Thomas 2020; Kostelanetz 1970d, 130-131; Kostelanetz 1988b, 68-69; Markert 2018; Mayer, H. 1964, 279-280; Metzger, H.-K. 1959b; Metzger, H.-K. 1991; Metzger, H.-K. 2012c; Metzger, H.-K. 2012f; Nee 1980b; Nicholls 1993a; Payne, E. 2022; Peng 2022a; Peng 2022b; Pereverzeva 2004a; Pisaro 2009; Pritchett 1988a, 306-308; Pritchett 1993, 112-124; Pütz 1980; Read, G. 1969; Rebhahn 2012d; Rehfeldt 1977, 57, 75; Rivest 1996a; Rivest 1999b; Schankler 2012; Shelton 2010; Sylvester 1989b; Thomas, P. 2013; Vogels 2014, 169-171; Farwick 2009; Weeks 1979.
Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra
Medium: prepared piano and chamber orchestra consisting of flute (doubling on piccolo), oboe, English horn, two clarinets, bassoon, horn, trumpet, tenor trombone, bass trombone, tuba, four percussionists using small and medium timpani, snare drum, large tom tom (timpani stick, wire brush), small suspended Turkish cymbal, large suspended Turkish cymbal, 2 closely pitched brake drums (leather beater), high claves, Chinese wood block, suspended Indo-Chinese rattle, pod rattle, amplified coil of wire inserted in pick-up arm of phonograph played with fingernail, electric buzzer (player 1); tambourine, glockenspiel, medium suspended Chinese cymbal, Turkish finger cymbals, suspended medium gong, thin (high) thundersheet, anvil, metal container (waste basket) (metal beater), marimbula, high jazz wood block, 2 teak wood blocks, 2 temple blocks, North West Indian wood rattle, recording of generator (player 2); large timpano, large bass drum (including wood on wood of instrument), suspended gong, medium size muted gong (yarn beater), muted Balinese gong, Japanese temple gong (leather beater), water gong, wind glass, 2 Porto Rican maracas, large guiro (wire scraper), low claves (player 3); xylophone, chimes, lion’s roar, small Chinese cymbal, large Chinese cymbal, small gong, large tam tam, medium size single maracas, radio (player 4; also assistant to orchestral pianist), harp, celesta (doubling on piano), two violins, viola, violoncello, contrabass
Extent: First Part (207 bars); Second Part (*** bars); Third Part. (*** bars)
Duration: approximately 22 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: First Part July-August 1950; Second Part completed 3 October 1950; Third Part completed February 1951
First performance: 12 October 1952
Sources: Buffalo, New York, estate of Yvar Mikhashoff; Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073* box 2 folder 2, box 2 folder 4, box 3 folder 1-2; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 165, 945-947
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6706) [score]; New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6706a) [piano solo part]
Literature: Bernstein, D.W. 2002a; Boulez/Cage 1990, 123-124, 150-153; Boutwell 1999; Brooks, W. 2002b; Cage 1961h, 25; Cage 1962e, 32-33; Cage 1979c, 8; Cage 1993d, 51, 118; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Charles 1976, 33, 35, 98; Erdmann 1990c, 256-257; Fetterman 1996a, 17; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 52, 212-228; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 22-24; Joseph 2002c; Kessler 1995; Kostelanetz 1988b, 63; Markert 2018; Pritchett 1988a, 34-87; Pritchett 1988b; Upton 1993; Vaes 2009, 975.
Concerto Grosso
Medium: installation for four television sets and twelve radios to be operated by the audience
Extent: unknown
Duration: inderminate
Dedication: none
Date: late 1979
First installation: 20 January-2 March 1980
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1980b; Cage 1993d, 133.
Credo in Us
Libretto: Merce Cunningham
Choreography: Merce Cunningham (Husband, Shadow) and Jean Erdman (Wife, Ghoul’s Rage)
Medium: four percussionists using two muted gongs, five tin cans (player 1); five tin cans, electric buzzer, tom tom (player 2); piano, hands on wood, tom tom (player 3); radio or phonograph (player 4)
Note: original subtitles: “A Dramatic Playlet” and “A Suburban Idyll”; only the music of the revised version is published (without the libretto)
Extent: Untitled (1 bar); Curtain (7 bars); Façade One (142 bars); 3. First Progression (88 bars); Untitled (49 bars); Façade Two (47 bars [in score counted together with previous section: 96 bars]); Second Progression (84 bars); Façade Three (20 bars); Third Progression (107 bars); Coda Façade (37 bars)
Duration: approximately 20 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: July 1942, revised October 1942
First performance: 1 August 1942 (original version); 20 October 1942 (revised version)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 69-72
Publication: (of the revised edition) New York: Henmar Press, 1962 (Peters; 6795) (facsimile and engraved editions)
Literature: Brooks, W. 2002b; Cage 1962e, 35; Cage 1982r; Cage 1993d, 8; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Helms 1972; Cage/Kumpf 1975; Cage/Raymond and Roberts 1980; Callahan 2012; Callahan 2018; Cox, Gerald P. 2011; Fetterman 1996a, 11-14; Hosokawa 1993; Katz, J.D. 1999; Kostelanetz 1988b, 12, 62; Metzger, H.-K. 2012c.
Crete
Medium: piano
Extent: 12 bars
Duration: approximately 30 seconds
Date: circa 1945
First performance: unknown
Dedication: for Crete Cage
Sources: Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University Music Library
Publication: none
Literature: none.
Dad
Medium: piano
Extent: 17 bars
Duration: approximately 30 seconds
Date: circa 1945
First performance: unknown
Dedication: for Milton Cage
Sources: Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University Music Library
Publication: none
Literature: none.
Dance Music for Elfrid Ide
Choreography: Elfrid Ide
Medium: six percussionists; six players using handclaps, claves, rattle, whisk, cowbells, 6 tom toms, slitblock (first movement); four players using slide whistle, cymbal, toy piano, ratchet, squawker, bass drum, low tom tom, three muted gongs (second movement); piano and two players using claves, slapstick, rattle (third movement)
Extent: three movements
Duration: approximately 15 minutes
Dedication: for Elfrid Ide [1917-1993]
Date: 1940
First performance: 20 May 1941
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 95-3 folder 1089-1090; Oakland, California, Mills College
Publication: ed. Don Gillespie. New York: Henmar Press, 2006 (Peters; 68140) [score]; New York: Henmar Press, 2006 (Peters; 68140a) [parts]
Literature: Redford 2007.
Dance for the West
Choreography: Ruth Hatfield
Medium: piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: 4 minutes
Date: 1941
First performance: 1942
Sources: in the possession of the heirs of Ruth Hatfield
Publication: none
Literature: Redford 2007.
Dance/4 Orchestras
Medium: orchestra divided into four groups; full orchestra: piccolo, flute, alto flute, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B flat, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, tenor trombone, bass trombone, contrabass trombone, tuba, timpani, 3 percussionists using any percussion instruments, piano, harp, 8 violins I, 8 violins II, 6 violas, 5 violoncellos, 3 contrabasses
Extent: instructions for performance (21 sentences); orchestra I (*** bars); orchestra II (*** bars); orchestra III (*** bars); orchestra IV (*** bars)
Duration: approximately 30 minutes***
Commission: Dennis Russell Davies and the Cabrillo Music Festival
Dedication: for Dennis Russell Davies and the Cabrillo Music Festival
Date: January 1982
First performance: 22 August 1982
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 1030-1031
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1982 (Peters; 66911)
Literature: Cage 1982d; Cage 1993d, 133-134.
Daughters of the Lonesome Isle
Choreography: Jean Erdman
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 482 bars
Duration: approximately 12 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: [prior to 4 February] 1945
First performance: presumably 4 February 1945
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 123, 129
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 6785); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 2: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, pp. 47-73 (Peters; 67886b)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 16; Hilger 1990.
Demonstration of the Sounds of the Environment
Medium: three hundred people silently following a chance-determined path through the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Extent: unknown; presumably never notated
Duration: approximately 90 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: fall 1971
First performance: fall 1971
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1973h, xiii; Cage/Helms 1972; Fetterman 1996a, 142.
Dialogue
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: two performers presenting any actions
Extent: 14 sentences
Duration: 60 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 12 August 1967
First performance: presumably 12 August 1967
Sources: Budapest, collection András Wilheim; Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University Music Library, Room 209, file cabinet [1], drawer [4]; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 1007-1009
Publication: none
Literature: Cage and Cunningham/Todd and Cockrell 1981; Fetterman 1996a, 121-124, 248-252.
A Dip in the Lake: Ten Quicksteps, Sixty-one Waltzes, and Fifty-six Marches for Chicago and Vicinity
Medium: for any number of performers, listeners or makers of recordings; transcriptions may be made for other cities, or places, by assembling through chance operations a list of four hundred and twenty-seven addresses and then, also through chance operations, arranging these in ten groups of two, sixty-one groups of three, and fifty-six groups of four
Extent: one diagram (map) and 427 addresses
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: Raymond Wilding-White for Chicago magazine
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 10 April 1978
First performance: 10 April 1978
Sources: Chicago, Illinois, Museum of Contemporary Art; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folders 566-569, 1013
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1978 (Peters; 66761) (addresses)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 105; Cage/Von Rhein 1982; Johnson, Tom 1978a; Wilding-White 1982.
La Diva de l’“Empire” (Erik Satie)
Medium: arrangement of Erik Satie, “Intermezzo Américaine” from La Diva de l’“Empire” for brasserie orchestra [flute, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, two percussionists, piano, violin, violoncello, and contrabass]; since the instrumentation is not identical with Satie’s, possibly arranged by Cage
Date: 1949
Dedication: none
First performance: 17 December 1949
Publication: none.
Double Music
Note: parts for player 2 and 4 were composed by Lou Harrison
Medium: four percussionists using six graduated water buffalo bells, six graduated muted brake drums (player 1); two sistra, six graduated sleighbells, five brake drums, thundersheet (player 2); three graduated Japanese temple gongs, tam tam, six graduated cowbells (player 3); six muted Chinese gongs, tam tam (slightly lower in pitch than third player’s), water gong (player 4); substitutions may be made
Extent: 200 bars
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: April 1941
First performance: 14 May 1941
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 60-63, 931
Publication: New York [etc.]: C.F. Peters, 1961 (Peters; 6296) [score]; New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6296a) [parts]; New York [etc.]: C.F. Peters, 1961 (Peters; 6296p) [pocket score]
Literature: Brooks, W. 2002b; Cage 1962e, 35; Cage 1991c, 63; Cage 1993d, 7, 37-38; Carey, D.L. 1978; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 13; Keezer 1970, 15-23; Miller, L.E. 2002a; Nicholls 1990a, 215-216; Parris 1962; Solomon, W. 2016.
Dream
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: piano
Extent: 47 bars
Duration: approximately 6 minutes and 30 seconds
Dedication: none
Date: 1948 [presumably prior to 7 May]
First performance: 8 May or 20 August 1948
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 146-147
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6707); repr. in John Cage, Piano Works 1935-48. New York: Henmar Press, 1998, 66-67 (Peters; 67380); New York: Henmar Press, 1974 (Peters; 6707a) [authorized arrangement for solo viola and viola ensemble by Karen Phillips]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 7; Cage 1993d, 12; Fetterman 1996a, 70; Francis, J.R. 1976, 33-34; Naglia 1989-1990; Razali and Salleh 2020.
Duet for Cymbal. See Cartridge Music.
Duet for Two Flutes
Medium: two flutes
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: 1934 or 1935
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Kostelanetz 1988b, 67; Rossum 1988, 20.
Ear for Ear
Text: vocalise on “e,” “a,” and “r”
Medium: antiphonies for two or more widely separated voices (the first g-f', the other or others b-d'), one visible, the other(s) not
Extent: 11 systems
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: for Ear magazine
Date: 20 January 1983
First performance: 8 April 1983
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: in Ear [New York] 8, no. 1-2 (February-May 1983), 1; repr. New York: Henmar Press, 1983 (Peters; 66957); repr. Ear 15, no. 5 (July-August 1990), 18.
Eight
Choreography: Trisha Brown, Astral Converted
Medium: flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat, bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C, tenor trombone and tuba
Extent: instructions for performance (3 sentences); flute (86 systems), oboe (87 systems), clarinet (86 systems), bassoon (91 systems), horn in F (85 systems), trumpet in C (87 systems), tenor trombone (83 systems), tuba (87 systems)
Duration: between 59 minutes and 45 seconds and 60 minutes
Commission: Trisha Brown Dance Company
Dedication: Trisha Brown Dance Company
Date: before 14 May 1991
First performance: 14 May 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 872
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67409).
Eight Whiskus (voice)
Text: John Cage
Note: transcription as Eight Whiskus (violin)
Medium: solo voice (e-d'')
Extent: instructions for performance (8 sentences); I (6 systems); II (5 systems); III (5 systems); IV (6 systems); V (2 systems); VI (6 systems); VII (5 systems); VIII (2 systems)
Duration: approximately 5 minutes (varies according to the tempi chosen)
Dedication: for Joan La Barbara
Date: November-21 November 1984
First performance: 14 May 1985
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 623-624, 1042
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1985 (Peters; 67051)
Literature: Vogels 2014, 51-60.
Eight Whiskus (violin)
Medium: violin
Note: transcription of Eight Whiskus (voice)
Extent: instructions for performance (11 sentences); I (6 systems); II (5 systems); III (5 systems); IV (6 systems); V (2 systems); VI (6 systems); VII (5 systems); VIII (2 systems)
Duration: approximately 5 minutes (varies according to the tempi chosen)
Dedication: for Malcolm Goldstein
Date: March 1985
First performance: 23 April 1986
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 668-669, 1055
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1985 (Peters; 67051a).
Eighty
Medium: orchestra consisting of seven alto flutes, seven English horns, seven clarinets in B flat, seven trumpets in C, sixteen violins I, fourteen violins II, twelve violas, ten violoncellos
Extent: instructions for performance (1 sentence); each part 15 systems
Duration: between 28 minutes and 15 seconds and 30 minutes
Date: January-February 1992
Dedication: for András Wilheim (1949-2022)
First performance: 17 June 2009 (broadcast of recorded multitracked performance); 28 October 2011
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folders 895, 900-901
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67467)
Literature: Pritchett 1993, 203.
Electronic Music for Piano
Medium: any number of pianos with electronics (microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers)
Extent: 29 lines plus 1 system
Duration: indeterminate
Date: 2 September 1964
Dedication: for David Tudor
First performance: 11 September 1964
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1965 (Peters; 6801)
Literature: Fowler, M. 2017.
Encounter
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: piano
Model: includes material used in Prelude for Six Instruments in A Minor
Extent: I (36 bars); II (54 bars); III (52 bars); IV (149 bars)
Duration: 5 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 12 May 1946
First performance: 12 May 1946
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 127
Publication: none.
Essay
Medium: computer-generated tape
Description: installation using thirty-six cassette recordings [with voice on tape]
Text: John Cage, Writings through the Essay: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, 1985
Extent:
Note: version 1 [Stratified Essay]; version 2 [Unstratified Essay]
Duration: indeterminate (individual recordings circa 14 minutes [stratified version]; 16 minutes and 47 seconds [unstratified version])
Dedication: none
Date: early 1987
Realization: John Cage, at the Center for Computer Music of the City University of New York, Brooklyn College, Charles Dodge, director, with the assistance of Victor Friedberg, Frances White, and Kenneth Worthy; and at Synesthetics Inc. with the assistance of Paul Zinman
First performance: 12 June-20 September 1987
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1988 (Peters; EP 67180R)
Literature: Cage/Diliberto 1988; Fornel 2019, 608-609; Thorman 2002, 164-170.
Etcetera
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Un jour ou deux
Medium: chamber orchestra consisting of flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, horn, tuba, six percussionists using any percussion instruments, two pianos, two violins, viola, violoncello, and contrabass (all performers in addition to their instruments doubling on a non-resonant cardboard box, prefereably a transfer file box), three conductors and recording (of the environment in which the material was written, made by David Behrman, late summer 1973, approximately 90 minutes)
Model: Antonín Bečvář, Atlas australis 1950.0. Praha: Československá Akademie Věd, 1964
Extent: instructions for performance (35 sentences); A-parts (128 systems); 20 B-parts (each having 44 bars)
Duration: indeterminate, but not longer than 90 minutes (***see score)
Dedication: none
Date: August 1973
First performance: 6 November 1973
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 426, 982, 1081
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1973 (Peters; 6812)
Literature: Cage 1979c, 182; Cage 1993d, 98, 246; Cage/Bosseur 1973, 31-32; Charles 1973b; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 182-184; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Pritchett 1996.
Etcetera 2/4 Orchestras
Medium: orchestra (divided into four groups) and magnetic tape; orchestra consisting of piccolo, flute, alto flute, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets in B flat, bass clarinet in B flat, bassoon, contrabassoon, four horns in F, three trumpets in C, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, harp, four percussionists using any instruments with which sliding tones can be produced, piano, twelve violins I, twelve violins II, eight violas, six violoncellos, four contrabasses; magnetic tape recording made by Andrew Culver
Extent: instructions for performance (30 sentences); orchestral groups A I-IV (40 systems); solos B1-5 (80 systems)
Duration: 30 minutes
Dedication: for Tōru Takemitsu and the Suntory International Program for Music Composition
Date: December 1985
First performance: 8 December 1986
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 670, 1049, 1056-1058
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1986 (Peters; 67119)
Literature: Cage 1988c, 8-11; Cage 1990f, 444; Cage 1993d, 98, 141-142, 177, 179, 181, 246; Kostelanetz 1988b, 164; Pritchett 1996.
Etudes
Medium: piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: 1931 or 1932
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Etudes Australes
Medium: piano
Model: Antonín Bečvář, Atlas australis 1950.0. Praha: Československá Akademie Věd, 1964
Extent: Etudes I-XXXII, 8 systems each
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Grete Sultan
Date: 1974-1975
First performance: 25 January 1975 (Etudes I, II and VIII); 16 June 1975 (Etude VII); 18 November 1975 (first consecutive performance of Etudes I-VIII); 10 March 1977 (Etude XII and XIII); 4 November 1977 (Etude XIV, XV, and XVI); 23 and 25 April 1982 (complete)
Sources: Berlin, collection Gelbe Musik; Bochum, Galerie Inge Baecker; Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University Music Library; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 428-430, 984-985, 1081
Publication: copyist manuscript facsimile ed. by Carlo Carnevali, Wilmia Polnauer. New York: Henmar Press, 2 volumes, 1975 (Peters; 6816a/b and c/d)
Literature: Block, R. and Freybourg 1983, 186-187; Brennecke 1982c; Burge 1977; Burge 1979; Cage 1974f, 12-13; Cage 1975d; Cage 1978c; Cage 1978e; Cage 1979c, 184; Cage 1982b, 54-55; Cage 1982r; Cage 1983j, 147-148; Cage 1990f, 438; Cage 1993d, 93, 99-101, 107, 108, 245; Cage/Cope 1980, 18-19, 21; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Retallack 1996, 125, 181, 192, 202, 203, 243; Cage/Timar, Frasconi, and Ingelevics 1981; Clarke, G.E. 1977, 185; Clavier 1976; Garvey 1977; Hanninen 2014; Hayes 1977; Hüppe 2012, 338-339; Kostelanetz 1993a; Kostelanetz 1997b; Liebner/Loeckle 2012; Metzger, H.-K. 2012e; MM 1978 or after; Nakamura 2020; Saxer 2000; Schroeder, M. 1993; Schulte, M. 1991a; Strack 2013.
Etudes Boreales
Medium: violoncello, piano (the pianist also using fingers, nails, plectrum, timpani stick, yarn-covered gong beater, rubber, wood and metal beaters) or both; when these pieces are played together the title is Etudes Boreales for Cello Solo and Piano Solo
Model: Antonín Bečvář, Atlas borealis 1950.0. Praha: Československá Akademie Věd, 1962
Extent: Etudes I-IV: Violoncello (48 systems); Piano (48 systems)
Duration: approximately 16 minutes (each etude approximately 4 minutes)
Dedication: for Jack Kirstein (Violoncello); in memoriam Jeanne Kirstein (1924-1979) and for Michael Pugliese (1956-1997) (Piano)
Date: 1978
First performance: 19 December 1981 (Violoncello); 20 November 1982 (Piano); 5 April 1987 (Violoncello and Piano)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 570-575, 1014-1017, 1082
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1981 (Peters; 66328) (Violoncello); New York: Henmar Press, 1981 (Peters; 66327) (Piano)
Literature: Cage 1985i; Cage 1993d, 105-108, 135; Cage/Holmes 1981; Cage/Retallack 1996, 124; Cage/Timar, Frasconi, and Ingelevics 1981; Metzger, H.-K. 2012f; Strack 2013.
Europeras 1 & 2
Text: indeterminate (varies according to arias chosen by the singers)
Medium: any number of voices, chamber orchestra consisting of two flutes (flute 1 doubling on piccolo), piccolo (doubling on flute 3), two oboes (oboe 1 doubling on English horn), English horn, two clarinets in B flat, bass clarinet in B flat, two bassoons, two horns in F, two trumpets in C, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion, two violins, viola, violoncello, contrabass (amplified solo strings), magnetic tape (mix of 48 records called “Truckera”), and organ ad libitum
Model: Ludwig van Beethoven, Fidelio (1804-1814); Vincenzo Bellini, Norma (1831), La sonnambula (1831); Georges Bizet, Carmen (1875); Claude Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande (1902); Gaetano Donizetti, Don Pasquale (1843), L’elisir d’amore (1832), La fille du régiment (1840), Lucia di Lammermoor (1835); Friedrich von Flotow, Martha (1847); Christoph Willibald Gluck, Orfeo ed Euridice (1762); Charles Gounod, Faust (1859), Roméo et Juliette (1867); Jules Massenet, Manon (1884), Werther (1891); Giacomo Meyerbeer, Le prophète (1843); Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, Così fan tutte (1790), Don Giovanni (1787), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782), Idomeneo (1781), Le nozze di Figaro (1786); Die Zauberflöte (1791); Modest Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov (1874); Jacques Offenbach, Les contes d’Hoffmann (1881), La périchole (1868); Amilcare Ponchielli, La Gioconda (1876); Giacomo Puccini, La Bohème (1896), Madama Butterfly (1904), Manon Lescaut (1893); Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakoff, Le coq d’or, 1907; Gioacchino Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia, 1816; L’Italiana in Algeri (1813); Saint-Saëns, Samson et Dalila (1877); Bedr’ich Smetana, The Bartered Bride (1866); Johan Strauss, Die Fledermaus, 1874; Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Eugen Onegin (1879), La pique dame (1890); Ambroise Thomas, Mignon (1866); Giuseppe Verdi, Aida (1871), Un ballo in maschera (1859), Don Carlos (1867), Ernani (1844), Falstaff (1893), La forza del destino (1862), Macbeth (1847), Luisa Miller (1849), Nabucco (1842), Otello (1887), Rigoletto (1851), Simone Boccanegra (1857), La traviata (1853), Il trovatore (1853), I vespri siciliani (1855); Richard Wagner, Der fliegende Holländer (1841), Götterdämmerung (1874), Lohengrin (1846-1848), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1862-1867), Parsifal (1877-1882), Das Rheingold (1854), Siegfried (1871), Tannhäuser (1843-1844), Tristan und Isolde (1857-1859), Die Walküre (1856); Carl Maria von Weber, Der Freischütz (1821)
Extent: instructions for performance (24 sentences); Europera 1: flute 1/piccolo (610 bars); flute 2 (559 bars); piccolo/flute 3 (206 bars); oboe 1 (606 bars); oboe 2 (635 bars); English horn (295 bars); clarinet 1 (873 bars); clarinet 2 (720 bars); bass clarinet (236 bars); bassoon 1 (610 bars); bassoon 2 (592 bars); horn 1 (378 bars); horn 2 (397 bars); trumpet 1 (451 bars); trumpet 2 (346 bars); tenor trombone 1 (366 bars); tenor trombone 2 (275 bars); bass trombone (281 bars); tuba (302 bars); timpani (117 bars); percussion (175 bars); organ (236 bars); violin 1 (470 bars); violin 2 (489 bars); viola (456 bars); violoncello (553 bars); contrabass (492 bars); Europera 2: flute 1/piccolo (336 bars); flute 2 (293 bars); piccolo/flute 3 (168 bars); oboe 1 (261 bars); oboe 2 (236 bars); English horn (87 bars); clarinet 1 (338 bars); clarinet 2 (496 bars); bass clarinet (136 bars); bassoon 1 (363 bars); bassoon 2 (313 bars); horn 1 (187 bars); horn 2 (186 bars); trumpet 1 (177 bars); trumpet 2 (253 bars); tenor trombone 1 (111 bars); tenor trombone 2 (140 bars); bass trombone (158 bars); tuba (130 bars); timpani (108 bars); percussion (66 bars); organ (110 bars); violin 1 (236 bars); violin 2 (273 bars); viola (269 bars); violoncello (200 bars); contrabass (203 bars)
Duration: 90 minutes (Europera 1); 45 minutes (Europera 2), separated by an intermission during which the 3'40" film, Wagner’s Ring, is shown non-stop
Commission: Oper Frankfurt
Date: between 2 April 1985 and late 1987
First performance: 12 December 1987
Sources: Berlin, estate of Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 671-750, 1059-1062, slides boxes 1-2
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1986 (Peters; 67100a [instructions (i.e. program note and samples of the realization for the first performance); ***synopses?]; 67100b) [instrumental parts]
Literature: Bernstein, D.W. 2001b; Bobak 1992; Cage 1987j; Cage 1987-1988b; Cage 1988bb; Cage 1993d, 206-211, 213, 241, 245, 255, 256; Cage/Anonymous 1987JohnPROGRAMbook***1990?; Cage/Corbett 1992; Cage/Lohner 1989, 252-253; Cage/Metzger 1987; Cage/Metzger and Riehn 1987b; Cage/Polling 1987; Cage/Schmidt 1988; Deufert 2001; Durner 1988; Fetterman 1996a, 167-180; Hunter 1988-1989; Kanold 1999; Kostelanetz 1988e; Kostelanetz 1989d; Kuhn, L.D. 1992; Kuhn, L.D. 1994; Lindenberger 1994; Lindenberger 1998; Metzger, H.-K. 1987; Pereverzeva 2011a; Pereverzeva 2011b; Pereverzeva 2014c; Piccolomini 1988; Raimi 1987; Rebhahn 2001; Reininghaus 1989; Riehn 1987; Rigaud 2014; Schröder, J.H. 2017; Swed 1994; Tappe 1993; Vogels 2014, 174-175; Williams, H.W. 1993; Zuber 1990.
Europeras 3 & 4
Text: indeterminate
Medium: eight operatic voices (any ranges), six in Europera 3, two in Europera 4; two pianos (in Europera 3, piano solo in Europera 4); six gramophone operators each operating two gramophones in Europera 3, one operator operating one gramophone in Europera 4, performing from a stack of 300 two-sided 78 rpm-discs; one lighting operator (using 75 projectors in Europera 3 and 32 in Europera 4); one magnetic tape operator (for “Truckera”)
Model: Franz Liszt, Opern-Phantasien, ed. Emil von Sauer. Frankfurt [etc.]: C.F. Peters, s.a. (Klavierwerke; vol. 7, 8), 2 vols.; Franz Liszt, Klavierwerke, ed. Emil von Sauer. Frankfurt [etc.]: C.F. Peters, s.a. (Klavierwerke; vol. 12)
Extent: unknown
Duration: 70 minutes (Europera 3); 30 minutes (Europera 4)
Date: late 1989-1990; Europera 3 completed 1 June 1990; composition completed prior to 17 June 1990
First performance: 17 June 1990
Commission: Almeida Music Festival, Hebbel-Theater Berlin, and Musica ’90 Strasbourg
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 795-817
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67350)
Literature: Bernstein, D.W. 2001b; Cage 1993d, 249; Cage/Caux 1990; Cage/Corbett 1992; Cage/Fousnaquer 1990; Cage/Retallack 1996, 226, 309n12; Fetterman 1996a, 180-183; Rigaud 2014; Vogels 2014, 175.
Europera 5
Text: indeterminate
Medium: two singers (the second chosen by the first); piano; Victrola phonograph operator; performer operating magnetic stereo tape (labeled “Truckera,” in six 30-second parts to be heard six times during a performance), radio, silent television screen; light operator using 24-48 lights; and director
Extent: *** systems
Duration: 60 minutes
Commission: North American New Music Festival Buffalo and De IJsbreker Amsterdam
Date: December 1990-April 1991
First performance: 18 April 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 834-836
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67405)
Literature: Bernstein, D.W. 2001b; Cage 1993d, 203-204; Cage/Corbett 1992; Cage/Retallack 1996, 201n24, 225-227, 230, 299-304, 306-309, 333-340; Fetterman 1996a, 183-187; Metzer 2000; Rigaud 2014; Ryan 2012.
Europera 6
Medium: instrumentation unknown
Date: presumably never begun [or in 1992], unfinished
Sources: present location unknown.
Evéne/EnvironneMetzment
Medium: a performer moving chairs and an audience possibly producing sounds
Extent: 3 sentences
Duration: 60 minutes
Date: Summer-Fall 1981
First performance: 21 November 1981
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: Metz: Rencontres internationales de musique contemporaine (poster with instructions, limited edition)
Literature: Cage/Masson 1981.
Exercise
Medium: orchestra consisting of an indeterminate number of soloists
Extent: 14 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Date: November 1973; revised December 1984
First performance: November or December 1973
Dedication: for Marcello Panni
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 983
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Bosseur 1973, 31.
Experiences No. 1
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Experiences
Note: the original music for Cunningham’s choreography was originally composed by Livingston Geerhart and subsequently replaced by Cage’s music
Medium: two pianos
Extent: 112 bars
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Date: 1945
First performance: 9 January 1945
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 148-150
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6708a)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 11; Cage 1993d, 10; Erdmann 1993f, 104-109; Hilger 1990.
Experiences No. 2
Text: e.e. cummings [Edward Estlin Cummings], Tulips and Chimneys (1923), Chimneys: Sonnets-Unrealities, III
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: voice (range g-a' or any transposition)
Extent: 112 bars
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Date: 1948, prior to 21 April
First performance: 21 April 1948
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 151-153
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6708b)
Literature: Brooks, W. 2007; Cage 1962e, 20; Cage 1993d, 10; Hilger 1990; Petkus 1986, 101-111; Vogels 2014, 159.
Fads and Fancies in the Academy
Choreography: Marian Van Tuyl
Medium: four percussionists (player I: snare drum, handclap; player II: 2 tom toms, handclap, washtub, brake drum, string piano; player III: piano, handclap; player IV (in IIb only): metronome, metal wastebasket; player V (in IIIa only): speech (one of the dancers)
Extent: I. Axioms. a. The Pupil Is Eager to Learn (68 bars); b. The Pupil is Constitutionally Lazy (47 bars); c. We Deal with the Total Child (71 bars); II. A Short Historical Sketch. a. Reactionaries (60 bars); b. Revolutionaries — Pitched Battle (55 bars); III. Vistas of the Future. a. Pessimist (64 bars); b. Optimist (111 bars)
Duration: approximately 30 minutes
Date: July 1940
First performance: 27 July 1940
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 49
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1993 (Peters; 67524) [score]; New York: Henmar Press, 1993 (Peters; 67524a) [parts].
The Feast
Choreography: Nina Fonaroff
Medium: piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: 20 minutes
Dedication: unknown
Date: presumably prior to 29 April 1945
First performance: presumably 29 April 1945
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Fifteen Domestic Minutes. See under Text.
Fifty-Eight
Medium: concert band consisting of 3 piccolos, 4 flutes, 3 alto flutes, 4 oboes, 3 English horns, 4 clarinets in B flat, 3 bass clarinets in B flat, 4 bassoons, 3 contrabassoons, 4 horns in F, 4 trumpets in C, 4 tenor trombones, 3 soprano saxophones in B flat, 3 alto saxophones in E flat, 3 tenor saxophones in B flat, 3 baritone saxophones in E flat, 3 tubas
Extent: instructions for performance (3 sentences); piccolo 1 (70 systems), piccolo 2 (65 systems), piccolo 3 (64 systems), flute 1 (65 systems), flute 2 (68 systems), flute 3 (67 systems), flute 4 (69 systems), alto flute 1 (63 systems), alto flute 2 (68 systems), alto flute 3 (63 systems), oboe 1 (64 systems), oboe 2 (65 systems), oboe 3 (67 systems), oboe 4 (69 systems), English horn 1 (67 systems), English horn 2 (69 systems), English horn 3 (70 systems), clarinet 1 (71 systems), clarinet 2 (70 systems), clarinet 3 (67 systems), clarinet 4 (61 systems), bass clarinet 1 (69 systems), bass clarinet 2 (64 systems), bass clarinet 3 (71 systems), bassoon 1 (68 systems), bassoon 2 (61 systems), bassoon 3 (65 systems), bassoon 4 (68 systems), contrabassoon 1 (68 systems), contrabassoon 2 (65 systems), contrabassoon 3 (66 systems), horn 1 (67 systems), horn 2 (66 systems), horn 3 (70 systems), horn 4 (68 systems), trumpet 1 (65 systems), trumpet 2 (65 systems), trumpet 3 (64 systems), trumpet 4 (66 systems), trombone 1 (69 systems), trombone 2 (65 systems), trombone 3 (67 systems), trombone 4 (66 systems), soprano saxophone 1 (71 systems), soprano saxophone 2 (66 systems), soprano saxophone 3 (67 systems), alto saxophone 1 (60 systems), alto saxophone 2 (67 systems), alto saxophone 3 (71 systems), tenor saxophone 1 (66 systems), tenor saxophone 2 (69 systems), tenor saxophone 3 (64 systems), baritone saxophone 1 (67 systems), baritone saxophone 2 (64 systems), baritone saxophone 3 (68 systems), tuba 1 (65 systems), tuba 2 (64 systems), tuba 3 (67 systems)
Duration: between 44 minutes and 45 seconds and 45 minutes
Commission: Steirischer Herbst
Dedication: for Solf Schaefer and the Österreichische Rundfunk for Musikprotokoll 92
Date: March 1992
First performance: 11 October 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 891, 894
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67500)
Literature: Cage/Retallack 1996, 207, 243-244, 342-343.
First Chapter of Ecclesiastes. See The Preacher.
First Construction (in Metal)
Note: original title Construction in Metal
Medium: six percussionists with assistant using tubular bells, suspended thunder sheet (there are five graduated thunder sheets for players 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6; this one gives the highest sound) (player 1); piano (with assistant applying a metal rod on the strings used or slowly sliding the rod, pianist using also a gong beater) (player 2); suspended thundersheet, suspended string of small sleigh bells, twelve graduated oxen bells or graduated Balinese button gongs suspended horizontally (player 3); suspended thundersheet, four graduated muted automobile brake drums, eight graduated cowbells, three graduated Japanese temple gongs (player 4); suspended thundersheet, four graduated suspended Turkish cymbals, four graduated muted anvils or pieces of non-resonant metal, 4 graduated suspended Chinese cymbals (player 5); suspended thundersheet, four graduated muted gongs placed flat on pads, water gong, tam tam, suspended gong (player 6)
Extent: 265 bars
Duration: approximately 9 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: November 1939
First performance: 9 December 1939
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 37-45
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1962 (Peters; 6709) [score]; New York: Henmar Press, 1962 (Peters; 6709a) [parts]
Literature: Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1961h, 20, 23-25, 28-30; Cage 1962e, 35; Cage 1991c, 60-61; Cage 1993d, 6-7, 34-35; Duckworth 1972, 72-75, 84; Florea 2009; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 8-12; Guessford 2004; Houben 1992, 261-262; Hufschmidt 1981b; Hughes, E.D. 1990; Kostelanetz 1970d, 127-128; ; Nicholls 1990a, 207-209; Ravenscroft 2006; Rivest 1996a, 34-48; Shultis 2002b; Williams, B.M. 1990, 61-108.
The First Meeting of the Satie Society. See under Text.
Five
Medium: any five voices (vocalise) or instruments or combination thereof having specified ranges (1. d'-c'''; 2. c'-e''; 3. f-c'' sharp; 4. a flat-g'; 5. e-b')
Extent: instructions for performance (3 sentences, 5 systems); each part 5 systems
Duration: between 4 minutes and 15 seconds and 5 minutes
Dedication: for Wilfried Brennecke and the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik
Date: January 1988
First performance: 27 June 1988; 21 April 1989 (official)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 1066-1067
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1988 (Peters; 67214)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 246; Cage/Sweeney-Turner 1991; Orgass 2004; Popoff 2010; Popoff 2013a.
Five2
Medium: English horn, two clarinets in B flat, bass clarinet, and timpani
Extent: instructions for performance (2 sentences); English horn (3 systems), clarinet 1 (5 systems), clarinet 2 (5 systems), bass clarinet (5 systems), timpani (3 systems)
Duration: between 4 minutes and 15 seconds and 5 minutes
Dedication: for Mauricio Kagel on his sixtieth birthday
Date: May 1991
First performance: 19 January 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 862-863
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67413)
Literature: Haskins 2004a.
Five3
Medium: trombone, two violins, viola, and violoncello
Extent: instructions for performance (3 sentences, 1 system); trombone (47 systems), violin 1 (21 systems), violin 2 (12 systems), viola (26 systems), violoncello (25 systems)
Duration: between 39 minutes and 30 seconds and 40 minutes
Dedication: for James Fulkerson and the Mondriaan Kwartet
Date: October 1991
First performance: 28 June 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 864-866
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67420)
Literature: none.
Five4
Medium: soprano saxophone in B flat, alto saxophone in E flat and three percussionists, player I using any four instruments, player II using any three instruments, and player III using any five instruments
Extent: instructions for performance (7 sentences); soprano saxophone (8 systems), alto saxophone in E flat (6 systems), percussion 1 (9 systems), percussion 2 (7 systems), percussion 3 (8 systems)
Duration: between 4 minutes and 45 seconds and 5 minutes
Dedication: to the memory of Stefan Wolpe
Date: October 1991
First performance: 25 April 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 867-868
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67430)
Literature: none.
Five5
Medium: flute, two clarinets in B flat, bass clarinet in B flat and percussionist using any five instruments
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); flute (7 systems), clarinet 1 (5 systems), clarinet 2 (6 systems), bass clarinet (6 systems), percussion (7 systems)
Duration: between 4 minutes and 45 seconds and 5 minutes
Dedication: for Thomas Nee (1920-2008)
Date: October 1991
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 869
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67431)
Literature: Popoff 2015; Valkenburg 2010b, 93-105.
Five Hanau Silence
Medium: any number of performers recording environmental sounds of Hanau at specified locations, dates, and times
Extent: 2 sentences, schedule, map of Hanau
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: October 1991
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Realization: Wolfgang Sterneck and others, 6-16 April 1992, Hanau
Publication: in Cage and Sterneck 1992, 9-11; slightly different repr. in Cage/Retallack 1996, 344
Literature: Cage/Retallack 1996, 244; Cage and Sterneck 1992.
Five Songs for Contralto
Text: e.e. cummings [Edward Estlin Cummings], XLI Poems, 1925, Chansons innocentes, I (no. 1), II (no. 2); Tulips and Chimneys, 1923, Tulips, Chansons innocentes, III (no. 3), IV (no. 4), V (no. 5)
Medium: voice (contralto) and piano
Extent: I. Little four paws (29 bars); II. Little Christmas tree (65 bars); III. In Just- (62 bars); IV. Hist whist (54 bars); V. Tumbling hair [original title Another comes] (9 bars)
Duration: approximately 12 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: July 1938
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 31
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6710)
Literature: Andraschke 2008; Bernstein D.W. 2002d; Cage 1962e, 20; Cage 1993d, 6; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 5, 6; Nicholls 1990a, 200-204; Perry, J. 2014; Petkus 1986, 29-54; Pritchett 1993, 10, 14, 15; Vogels 2014, 71-76.
Five Stone Wind
Note: earlier title Five Stone
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: percussionist using nine spheric clay drums in three sizes and two performers using indeterminate sound sources
Extent: part for Michael Pugliese (33 systems); part for David Tudor (31 systems); part for Takehisa Kosugi (extent unknown)
Duration: approximately 60 minutes (Michael Pugliese’s part between 60 minutes and 45 seconds and 61 minutes and 30 seconds; David Tudor’s part between 59 minutes and 45 seconds and 60 minutes and 30 seconds; Takehisa Kosugi’s part between 59 minutes and 15 seconds and 60 minutes)
Dedication: none
Date: 1988
First performance: 16 June 1988 (partial); 9 July 1988 (complete preview); 30 July 1988 (official); 6 December 1988 (as Five Stone Solo)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 769-772
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, forthcoming (Peters; 67389)
Literature: Cage, Kosugi, Pugliese, Tudor and Vaughan 1991[FIVE, NNB LINERNOTESMode24].
A Flower
Choreography: Louise Lippold
Text: vocalise
Medium: voice (any range) and closed piano
Extent: 50 bars
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: for Louise Lippold
Date: June 1950
First performance: possibly 21 January 1951; presumably 20 January 1952
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 944
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6711)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 21; Crump 2008; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 22; Manning, J. 1986; Petkus 1986, 112-117.
Fontana Mix
Medium: indeterminate instruments, sound sources or theatrical actions; may be combined with Aria, Concert for Piano and Orchestra, Solo for Voice 2, Song Books, WBAI
Note: Cage used Fontana Mix for the composition of Aria, Sounds of Venice, Theatre Piece, Water Walk, WBAI
Extent: instructions for performance (sixteen sentences); twenty-two diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: November 1958
First performance: 5 January 1959
Realization: for magnetic tape by John Cage, November 1958-January 1959, Milan, Radio Audizione Italiana, Studio di Fonologia Musicale, with technical assistance of Marino Zuccheri; the recorded sounds consisted of four categories: city, country, human, synthetic
Sources: Present location unknown (previously Beverly Hills, California, private collection of Betty Freeman); Berlin, estate of Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn; Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 3; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 234-245
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6712) [score]; partial repr. Aspen [New York] no. 7 (1968); New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6712a) [realization for 4 single-track magnetic reel tapes, 19 cm/second; 17 minutes each]; New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6712b) [realization for 2 double-track magnetic reel tapes, 19 cm/second; 17 minutes each]
Literature: Böttinger 1990; Cage 1959g; Cage 1962e, 39-40; Cage, John 1971FONT; Cage 1982r; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Cage/Mimaroğlu 1965; Conde 2000; Donahue 2016; Ernst 1977, 161-162; Fetterman 1996a, 43-46; Hunchuk 1990; LaBelle 2012b; Lochhead 1994; Metzger, H.-K. 2012c; Parra Cancino 2009; Pritchett 1988a, 3-4, 308-310; Pritchett 1996; Selmer Bandwagon 1971 or 1972; Wolff, C./Patterson 1994; Zuccheri 1962-1963.
For M.C. and D.T.
Medium: piano
Extent: 5 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Date: before or during August 1952
First performance: August 1952
Dedication: for M(ary) C(aroline) Richards and David Tudor
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1962 (Peters; 6713)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 7; Erdmann 1990c; Francis, J.R. 1976, 55.
For Paul Taylor and Anita Dencks
Choreography: Paul Taylor, Duet
Medium: piano and indeterminate sound sources
Note: a version with five notes has been extant; currently a version with four notes is in circulation (as in Reynolds, R. 1980a)
Extent: 1 system
Duration: 3 minutes
Dedication: for Paul Taylor (1930-2018) and Anita Dencks (1930)
Date: September 1957
First performance: 20 October 1957
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073* box 3 folder 3
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6714)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 7; Cage 1993d, 56; Francis, J.R. 1976, 87; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 35; Holzaepfel 1992; Reynolds, R. 1980a.
Foreboding
Choreography: Nina Fonaroff
Medium: piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: unknown
Date: prior to 5 or 12 April 1946
First performance: 5 or 12 April 1946
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Forever and Sunsmell
Text: e.e. cummings [Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962)], 50 Poems, ‘26’, 1940
Choreography: Jean Erdman
Medium: voice (any range) and two percussionists using two large Chinese tom toms (player 1), large suspended Chinese cymbal (player 2)
Extent: 117 bars
Duration: approximately 5 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1942, prior to 20 October (possibly revised in 1944)
First performance: 20 October 1942
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 129, 933
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6715)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 21; Petkus 1986, 77-90.
Four
Medium: two violins, viola, and violoncello
Extent: instructions for performance (9 sentences); A. 40 systems; B. 40 systems; C. 40 systems
Duration: between 9 minutes and 15 seconds and 10 minutes, between 18 minutes and 30 seconds and 20 minutes or between 27 minutes and 45 seconds and 30 minutes
Commision: Arditti Quartet
Dedication: for the Arditti Quartet
Date: 1989, prior to 30 April
First performance: 24 November 1989
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 790-791
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1989 (Peters; 67304)
Literature: De Visscher 1991c; Erdmann 1992c; Gronemeyer 1993; Popoff 2013a; Pritchett 1993, 200, 203; Sánchez 1998; Weisser 1998, 162-168; Weisser 2003.
Four2
Text: vocalise
Medium: mixed chorus (sopranos, altos, tenors, basses)
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences and table of pronunciation); sopranos (3 systems), altos (4 systems), tenors (6 systems), basses (6 systems)
Duration: between 6 minutes and 15 seconds and 7 minutes
Dedication: for the Madrigal Choir of the Hood River Valley High School
Date: October 1990
First performance: [presumably 10] December 1990
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 818-819
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67368)
Literature: Andersen, D.R. 2017; Andersen, D.R. 2020; Cage/Gresham 1991; Gresser 2014b; Hünermann 2011; Popoff 2017; Pritchett 1993, 200; Vogels 2014, 102-107, 151-155.
Four3
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Beach Birds
Medium: four performers using one or two pianos, twelve rainsticks, and violin or oscillator
Model: Erik Satie, Vexations
Extent: instructions for performance (10 sentences); Extended Lullaby 1-6 and 7-12 (48 systems); 24 time brackets
Duration: approximately 30 minutes
Date: May 1991
First performance: 20 June 1991
Commission: Präsidialabteilung der Stadt Zürich for the Junifestwochen Zurich
Dedication: for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 855-858
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67407)
Literature: Cage/Caux 1990; Cage/Sweeney-Turner 1991; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Pritchett 1993, 200, 202; Schröder, J.H. 2011, 311-357; Schröder, J.H. 2012a.
Four4
Medium: four percussionists using any instruments (five for players 1 and 3, four for players 2 and 4)
Extent: instructions for performance (7 sentences); percussion 1 (22 systems), percussion 2 (16 systems), percussion 3 (10 systems), percussion 4 (15 systems)
Duration: between 71 minutes and 45 seconds and 72 minutes
Dedication: for Amadinda Percussion Group
Date: October 1991
First performance: presumably 3 July 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 859-860, 873
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67428)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 201; Haskins 2017; Swed 1993a.
Four5
Medium: saxophone quartet consisting of soprano saxophone in B flat, alto saxophone in E flat, tenor saxophone in B flat and baritone saxophone in E flat or multiples thereof
Extent: instructions for performance (7 sentences); soprano saxophone (15 systems), alto saxophone in E flat (15 systems), tenor saxophone (15 systems), baritone saxophone in E flat (16 systems)
Duration: between 11 minutes and 45 seconds and 12 minutes
Dedication: for John Sampen
Date: October 1991
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 861
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67429)
Literature: Gresser 1998; Gresser 2014b; Rewoldt 2004.
Four6
Medium: four performers using indeterminate sound sources
Note: part for player 1 is identical with One7
Extent: instructions for performance (4 sentences); player 1 (43 systems), player 2 (42 systems), player 3 (45 systems), player 4 (45 systems)
Duration: between 29 minutes and 45 seconds and 30 minutes
Dedication: for Pauline Oliveros to celebrate her sixtieth birthday, and for Joan La Barbara, Leonard Stein, and William Winant
Date: September 1990 and after and March 1992
First performance: 23 July 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 832-833
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67469)
Literature: Buchborn 2011; Cage 1993d, 205; Haskins 2004a; Janz 2011a; Janz 2011b; Janz 2014, 520-529; Kreuder 2014; Lindau 2014; Nimczik 1998.
Four Dances
Text: vocalise
Choreography: Hanya Holm, A Suite of Four Dances (First Dance, Second Dance, Third Dance, Finale); title subsequently changed by Hanya Holm to What So Proudly We Hail
Medium: piano (also handclap), percussionist (using tom tom, handclap, footstomp), and “unsophisticated” tenor
Extent: I (110 bars, piano and percussion); II (170 bars, tenor and piano); III (123 bars, piano); IV (175 bars, piano, tenor and percussion)
Duration: approximately 18 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1942-1943; completed 7 December 1942 (I); 18 December 1942 (II); 19 December 1942 (III); 3 January 1943 (IV)
First performance: 16 January 1943
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 91
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67450).
Four Solos for Voice
Text: John Cage
Medium: any solo from or combination of soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, bass
Extent: instructions for performance (16 sentences); Solo for Voice 93 (19 systems); Solo for Voice 94 (18 systems); Solo for Voice 95 (19 systems); Solo for Voice 96 (18 systems)
Duration: between 14 minutes and 30 seconds and 15 minutes
Dedication: for Electric Phoenix
Date: April 1988
First performance: 29 June 1988
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 773-774
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1988 (Peters; 67226)
Literature: Vogels 2014, 60-66.
Four Songs of the Moment
Choreography: Dorothy Herrmann
Medium: piano
Extent: In Frenzy (extent unknown); In Dreams (extent unknown); In Memory (extent unknown); In Action (extent unknown)
Duration: 12 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1939 or 1940
First performance: 7 May 1940
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Four Walls
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Four Walls: A Dance Play
Text: Merce Cunningham (Scene VII)
Medium: piano and voice
Extent: Act One: Scene I (88 bars); Scene II (176 bars); Scene III (103 bars); Dance (180 bars); Scene IV (176 bars); Dance (88 bars); Scene V (176 bars); Scene VI (132 bars); Scene VII (132 bars); Scene VIII (172 bars); Act Two: Scene IX (191 bars); Scene X (120 bars); Scene XI (120 bars); Scene XII (60 bars); Scene XIII (594 bars)
Duration: 59 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 22 August 1944
First performance: 22 August 1944
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 113-114
Publication: engr. New York: Henmar Press, 1982 (Peters; 66910)
Literature: Callahan 2012; Callahan 2018; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 174-175; Erdmann 1993f, 114-119; Fetterman 1996a, 14-15; Hilger 1990; Porzio 1992; Tan 2012.
Fourteen
Medium: piano and chamber ensemble consisting of flute (doubling on piccolo), bass flute, clarinet in B flat, bass clarinet in B flat, horn in F, trumpet in C, two percussionists using any very resonant instruments, two violins, viola, violoncello, and contrabass
Extent: instructions for performance (10 sentences); piano solo (22 systems), flute/piccolo (7 systems), bass flute (5 systems), clarinet (7 systems), bass clarinet (6 systems), horn in F (8 systems), trumpet in C (9 systems), percussion 1 (13 systems), percussion 2 (8 systems), violin 1 (9 systems), violin 2 (9 systems), viola (7 systems), violoncello (9 systems), contrabass (6 systems)
Duration: between 19 minutes and 45 seconds and 20 minutes
Commission: Musikkollegium Zürcher Oberland
Dedication: Werner Bärtschi and René Müller
Date: prior to 12 May 1990
First performance: 12 May 1990
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 820-822
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67330)
Literature: Bärtschi/Häusermann and Ronner 1990, 6-7; Cage/Retallack 1996, 76.
Fourth Construction. See Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (1942).
Freeman Etudes
Medium: violin solo
Note: earlier title Etudes Australes for Violin Solo
Model: Antonín Bečvář, Atlas australis 1950.0. Praha: Československá Akademie Věd, 1964
Extent: instructions for performance (12 sentences) and 384 systems (32 Etudes in 4 Books)
Duration: approximately 128 minutes (approximately 4 minutes each)
Commission: Betty Freeman (1921-2009)
Dedication: for Betty Freeman
Date: 1977-1980 and 1989-November 1990
First performance: 29 June 1991 (previously many partial first performances)
Sources: Berlin, estate of Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 559-565, 916, 998-1006, 1081; San Diego, California, University of California San Diego, Betty Freeman Papers (MSS 0227), Box 19 Folder 19, Oversize FB 127-03; Box 21 Folder 11, Oversize FB 219-02
Publication: ed. with Paul Zukofsky. New York: Henmar Press, 1981 and 1992 (Peters; 66813a-d)
Literature: Andersson 2009b; Brooks, W. 2009b; Cage 1978e; Cage 1979c, 184; Cage 1981l; Cage/Cope 1980, 19-20; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Fletcher and Moore 1983; Cage/Furman 1979; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Holmes 1981; Cage/Sweeney-Turner 1991; Cage/Timar, Frasconi, and Ingelevics 1981; Cage/White, R. 1978; Deviatkina-Loh 2020; Fisher, G. 1995; Gardiner 2003; Holzaepfel 1990; Hüppe 2012, 339; Jenkins 2008; Kanno 2009; McLellan 1989; Metzger, H.-K. 1990; Nocera 1987-1988; Pritchett 1994a; Strange and Strange 2001; Vogels 2007; Yamamoto 2013; Zomer 2017; Zukofsky 1982; Zukofsky 1992; Zukofsky and Cage 1983.
Furniture Music Etcetera
Note: subtitle A Mix of Music by John Cage and Erik Satie
Medium: two pianos
Model: Erik Satie, Musique d’ameublement, “Tapisserie en fer forgé” (1917), “Carrelage phonique” (1917), “Tenture de cabinet préfectoral” (1923) (all in piano reduction); John Cage, Etcetera (1973), piano parts
Extent: 4 systems
Duration: 19 minutes and 52 seconds
Date: 27 April 1980
First performance: 13 May 1980
Dedication: for Aki Takahashi (1944) and Yvar Mikhashoff (1941-1993)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 588
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Timar, Frasconi, and Ingelevics 1981.
Greek Ode
Text: Aeschylus, Persai, verses 852-908 in transliterated Greek
Note: title previously encountered as Choruses from The Persians
Medium: voice (range c-c' or c'-c'') and piano
Extent: 257 bars (1. Strophe alpha; 2. Antistrophe alpha; 3. Strophe beta; 4. Antistrophe beta; 5. Strophe gamma; 6. Antistrophe gamma; 7. Epoidos)
Duration: approximately 12 minutes
Date: prior to October 1932
First performance: November 1932
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 928; Los Angeles, California, University of Southern California, USC Libraries, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Harry Hay papers, Coll2011-003, Box 2, Folder 24
Literature: Cage 1961h, 234; Cage 1993d, 29; Cage/Duckworth 1989, 16.
The Hag
Text: unknown
Medium: voice and piano
Extent: unknown
Date: 1981 or 1982
First performance: 1981 or 1982; apparently performed from manuscript at the Kathleen Ferrier Competition in 1981 or 1982 by a student named Ann Dawson (whose teacher was Carilyn Crawshaw at the Royal Northern College of Music)
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Haikai (Flute and Zoomoozophone)
Medium: flute and zoomoozophone (31-tones-per-octave, 129 tube metallophone tuned in just intonation)
Extent: instructions for performance (8 sentences) and 16 systems
Duration: approximately 15 minutes
Commission: Newband with a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts
Dedication: for Dean Drummond and Stefani Starin
Date: July 1984
First performance: 9 March 1985
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 625-627, 1043-1045
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 2012 (Peters; 67388)
Literature: Drummond 1982-1983
Haikai (Gamelan)
Medium: eight performers on gamelan degung (suling, bonang, jengglong, saron, panerus, gambang, kendang, and kempul and gong)
Extent: instructions for performance (14 sentences); I (1 system); II (1 system); III (1 system); IV (1 system); V (1 system); VI (1 system); VII (1 system); VIII (1 system)
Duration: 20 minutes
Dedication: for Si Pawit, gamelan degung of the Evergeen Club
Date: October 1986
First performance: 5 April 1987
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 751-754
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1986 (Peters; 67145)
Literature: Cage, John 1987HA; Cage/Emmerik 1991, 82; Cage/Frasconi 1988; Siddall 1987, 16.
Haiku (1950-1951)
Note: editorially titled
Medium: piano
Extent: I. For My Dear Friend, Who (9 bars); II. (What Stillness!) (9 bars); III. The Green Frog’s Voice (9 bars); IV. The River Plurabelle (9 bars); V. Haiku (5) (9 bars); VI. Haiku (6) (9 bars; V and VI may actually be a single piece comprising 18 bars)
Duration: 4 minutes
Dedication: I presumably for Virgil Thomson
Date: 1950-1951 in New York; completed 5 October 1950 (1); 5 March 1951 (2); 6 March 1951 (3), 8 March 1951 (4); 16 March 1951 (5); no date, presumably after 16 March 1951 (6)
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 166; NOTE***: sketches in folder 952 on manuscript of Sixteen Dances are irrelevant to Haikus
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 2012 (Peters; 68395).
Haiku (1958)
Medium: any number of performers using indeterminate sound sources
Extent: 1 table and 3 diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: January 1958
First performance: 6 September 1987
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 4; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 246
Publication: none.
Haitian Rhythms
Note: title also encountered as Haitian Rhythm
Choreography: Syvilla Fort
Note: presumably a ghost title (original program indicates that the dance Haitian Rhythms was unaccompanied)
Medium: piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: unknown
Date: 1940
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Bell-Kanner 1998; Levitz 2005.
HO to AA
Text: Charles Tracy, “HO to AA: A Stage Playlet in Two Scenes,” Transition [New York] no. 26 (Winter 1937)
Choreography: Bonnie Bird
Medium: voice and piano
Note: doubtful work (does not appear on original program)
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 24 March 1939
First performance: 24 March 1939
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
A House Full of Music
Text: indeterminate
Medium: a large number of children and youngsters (pupils from local music schools) simultaneously playing or singing their repertoire
Extent: unknown
Duration: 90 minutes
Dedication: none
Commission: European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Date: 7 June 1981-16 April 1982
First performance: 10 May 1982
Sources: Bremen, Radio Bremen; Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University, Music Library
Publication: none
Literature: Fetterman 1996a, 145-146; Junkerman 1994, 61-62; Schäffler 2009.
HPSCHD
Note: the title is computerese for “harpsichord”
Note: composed in collaboration with Lejaren Hiller and with the assistance of Laetitia Snow (1936-1989) and James Cuomo (1945) using ILLIAC II and IBM-7094 computers
Medium: any combination of one to seven amplified harpsichords and one to fifty-one magnetic tape recordings (recorded 1 September 1968 [a.o.], ca. 20'30" each) for 1 to 51 [actually 52] monaural machines [1 to 30 amplifiers] to be used in whole or part in any combination with or without interruptions to make an indeterminate concert of any agreed-upon length having two to 58 separate channels with loudspeakers around the audience; “in addition to playing his own solo, each harpsichordist is free to play any of the others” (in program of first performance)
Model: Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata in f minor Op. 57; Ferruccio Busoni, Sonatina seconda; John Cage, Winter Music; Fryderyk Chopin, Prélude en ré mineur opus 28; Louis Moreau Gottschalk, The Banjo; Lejaren Hiller, Sonata No. 5 for Piano, 1961, IV, Finale, Allegro Moderato-Prestissimo; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, (ascribed) Musikalische Würfelspiele, Köchel Anhang C 30.01; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fantasy in C minor K. 475, bars 1-10 (Solos III and IV); Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata in B flat major K. 281, second movement, bars 1-32 (solos III and IV); Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata in G major K. 283, first movement, bars 1-47 (Solos III and IV); Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata in D major K. 284, first movement, bars 1-32, second movement, bars 1-24 (Solos III and IV); Sonata in C major K. 330, first movement, bars 1-32 (Solos III and IV); Arnold Schönberg, Drei Klavierstücke Op. 11; Robert Schumann, Carnaval Op. 9, “Reconnaissance” (Solos V and VI)
Extent: 600 systems (solo I), 1280 bars (solo II), 1280 bars (solo III), 1280 bars (solo IV), 1280 bars (solo V), 1280 bars (solo VI), 2 sentences (solo VII), 51 tapes
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Antoinette Vischer (1909-1973)
Date: September 1967-8 March 1969
First performance: 16 May 1969
Realization: of tapes by John Cage and Lejaren Hiller (1968) with the assistance of James Cuomo, Paul Krabbe, and James Stroud
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073* box 3 folder 4; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 300-304, 969-979
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1969 (Peters; 6804) (manuscripts prepared by Cage, Allan Harlock and Richard Herbert Howe)
Literature: Brooks, W. 2012a; Cage 1972[LETTER TO OTTE, 29 APRIL]; Cage 1972[LETTER TO OTTE, 11 FEBRUARY]; Cage 1973h, xiii, 65; Cage 1979c, 133; Cage and Hiller/Austin 1968; Cage/Barnard 1980, 7; Cage/Charles 1976, 139-142, 180, 194-196, 197-199; Cage/Finegan, Koppel, and Haskell 1969a; Cage/Finegan, Koppel, and Haskell 1969b; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Cage/McGuire and Arnold 1985; Cardew 1972; Chadabe 2007; Charles 1971[c]/1978; Duckworth 1972, 124-142, 150; Erickson 1975, 190-192; Ernst 1977, 139-140; Fetterman 1996a, 139-142, 253-255; Funk 2016; Haas, J. 1969; Heimbecker 2008; Heimbecker 2011a; Henahan 1972; Hiller, L. 1970; Hiller, L. 1972; Hiller, L. 1981; Husarik 1983; Joseph 2012; Kobrin 1970; Kostelanetz 1989d; LaBelle 2012b; Miller, L.E. 2002a, 163-165; Palmer, L. 1989; Rønningsgrind 2012; Rossi and Choate 1969, 337-347; Schöning 1979/1982, 81; Sumsion 1969b; Thomson 1970; Trochimczyk 2001; Troxler 1976, 86-90.
Hymnkus
Medium: any solo from or combination of alto flute, clarinet in B flat, alto saxophone in E flat, tenor saxophone in B flat, bassoon, tenor trombone, two percussionists using any instruments, accordion, two pianos, voice (vocalise), violin, and violoncello
Extent: instructions for performance (11 sentences); alto flute (8 systems), clarinet (8 systems (8 systems), alto saxophone in E flat (8 systems), tenor saxophone (8 systems), bassoon (9 systems), tenor trombone (8 systems), percussion 1 (8 systems), percussion 2 (8 systems), accordion (8 systems), piano 1 (7 systems), piano 2 (8 systems), voice (9 systems), violin (9 systems), violoncello (8 systems)
Duration: 30 minutes
Dedication: for Matthew Kocmieroski and the New Performance Group
Date: 1986, presumably prior to 14 May
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 755-756, 1079
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1986 (Peters; 67158)
Literature: Cage 1988c, 9; Cage/Emmerik 1991, 82; Instrumentalist 1987.
Hymns and Variations
Text: vocalise (based on original texts of the models)
Medium: twelve amplified voices (three sopranos, three altos, three tenors, three basses)
Model: John Cage, Apartment House 1776, Harmonies XVIII and XXI; William Billings, “Old North or Morning Hymn” from The New-England Psalm-Singer; William Billings, “Heath” from The Singing Master’s Assistant
Extent: Hymn (26 bars); Hymn (29 bars); I (29 bars); II (26 bars); III (26 bars); IV (29 bars); V (26 bars); VI (26 bars); VII (29 bars); VIII (29 bars); IX (29 bars); X (26 bars)
Duration: approximately 24 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: January 1979
First performance: 10 June 1979
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 584-586, 1021-1022
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1979 (Peters; 66812)
Literature: Brooks, W. 1993c; Cage/Smith, S.S. 1992; Kostelanetz 1988b, 98-99.
Imaginary Landscape No. 1
Note: earlier title Imaginary Landscape
Medium: four percussionists using two Victor constant frequency test records (***Victor Frequency Record 84522 B, Victor Constant Note Record No. 24 (84519 B) played on a variable-speed phono turntable (player 1); one Victor constant frequency test record (***Victor Frequency Record 84522 A) played on a variable-speed phono turntable (player 2); large Chinese cymbal (player 3); string piano (manually muted piano, also using gong beater) (player 4); to be recorded in a radio studio and presented as a broadcast or recording
Extent: 70 bars
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 24 March 1939
First performance: 24 March 1939
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 46-48
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6716)
Literature: Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1962e, 35-36; Cage 1967o, 142; Cage/Charles 1976, 41; Cage/Holmes 1981; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Campana 1989b; Campana 2001; Collins, Nicolas 2007; Duckworth 1972, 75-78, 84; Fetterman 1996a, 6; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 7-8; Grubbs 2014; Hosokawa 1993; Key, S. 2002; Kostelanetz 1970d, 128; Kostelanetz 1988b, 157-158; Kursell and Schäfer 2009; Nicholls 1990a, 204-207; Straebel 2012; Wilson, P.N. 1997.
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (1940)
Choreography: Bonnie Bird
Medium: three percussionists using records of constant and variable frequency (1. Victor Record 84522 B, 433 cps (33 rpm) and 1000 cps (78 rpm); Victor Record 84522 A, 33 and 78 rpm), tam tam, large Chinese cymbal (***THIRD player) and prepared piano
Extent: 57 bars
Duration: ***
Date: completed 1 May 1940; withdrawn after first performance
First performance: 7 May 1940
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 50-51
Publication: none
Literature: Kostelanetz 1988b, 61-62.
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (1942)
Note: original title Fourth Construction; alternative title March No. 1
Medium: five percussionists using five tin cans, blown conch shell (player 1); five tin cans (player 2); five tin cans (player 3); ratchet, bass drum, buzzer, water gong, metal wastebasket (player 4); amplified coil of wire (attached to phonographic pick up arm and then amplified with loudspeaker), buzzer, lion’s roar (player 5)
Extent: 252 bars
Duration: approximately 7 minutes
Date: April 1942
First performance: 7 May 1942
Dedication: for Lou Harrison
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 73-77
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6721)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 37; Cage/Holmes 1981; Cox, Gerald P. 2011, 183-185; Kostelanetz 1988b, 61-62.
Imaginary Landscape No. 3
Medium: six percussionists using audio frequency oscillator, variable speed turntable with constant frequency record, amplifier and loudspeaker (player 1); five tin cans (player 2); five tin cans (player 3); battery-operated electric buzzer, variable speed turntable with continuously variable frequency record, amplifier and loudspeaker (player 4); two muted Balinese button gongs or large temple blocks, variable speed turntable with record of a generator whine, amplifier and loudspeaker (player 5); amplified radio aerial coil attached [***inserted in] to a phonograph pick-up arm, contact-microphone amplified marimbula, amplifier and loudspeaker (player 6)
Extent: 144 bars
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: for Lavinia Schwartz
Date: February 1942
First performance: 1 March 1942
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 78-82
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6717)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 36; Cage/Holmes 1981; Cox, Gerald P. 2011, 183-185; Kostelanetz 1988b, 59, 157-158; Smith, S.S. 1978; Vanlandingham 1971, 56-67; Vanlandingham 1972.
Imaginary Landscape No. 4
Note: alternative title March No. 2
Medium: twenty-four performers using twelve radios
Extent: 144 bars
Duration: approximately 4 minutes and 40 seconds
Dedication: none
Date: 5-27 April 1951
First performance: 10 May 1951
Commission: New Music Society
Dedication: for Morton Feldman
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6718)
Literature: Cage 1952a; Cage 1961h, 26, 30, 34, 57-59, 162; Cage 1962e, 36; Cage 1970d; Cage, Kremen, and Tudor/Austin 1967; Cage/Charles 1976, 169; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Charles 1971c; Cowell, H. 1952; Fetterman 1996a, 18-19; Hamm 1997; Kostelanetz 1988b, 64, 98-99, 160-161; McGary 1960[in Dunn]/1962, 57; Pritchett 1988a, 158-171; Schädler 1990; Welsh 1984.
Imaginary Landscape No. 5
Choreography: Jean Erdman, Portrait of a Lady
Medium: any forty-two phonograph records to be recorded on eight magnetic tapes and subsequently to be mixed on tape or disc
Extent: 12 systems
Duration: 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: completed 12 January 1952
First performance: 18 January 1952
Realization: on tape by John Cage in collaboration with David Tudor with technical assistance of Louis Barron and Bebe Barron, 1952; New York, collection Jean Erdman (realization, 1 tape recording, presumably lost***)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 173-174, 948
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6719)
Literature: Balzano 1980b; Boulez/Cage 1990, 194; Cage 1961h, 31; Cage 1962e, 37; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Di Scipio 1999b; Fetterman 1996a, 19-20; Grubbs 2014; Gurevich 2015; Hosokawa 1993; Kim, R.Y. 2008; Kim, R.Y. 2012a; Kostelanetz 1970d, 130; Pritchett 1988a, 178-185; Straebel 2012; Vogels 2012; Vogels 2014, 80-81.
Improvisation I. See Child of Tree.
Improvisation Ia. See Child of Tree.
Improvisation Ib. See Branches.
Improvisation II. See Inlets.
Improvisation III
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Duets
Medium: at least four performers each using a cassette machine and identical sets of six different cassette recordings of music or sound of a single kind
Note: when used as an accompaniment to Merce Cunningham’s dance Duets, the cassettes used are recordings of traditional Irish bodhran playing performed by Peadhar Mercier and Mel Mercier
Extent: 5 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: February 1980
First performance: 26 February 1980
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 589
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1980 (Peters; 67845)
Literature: Cage/Holmes 1981; Cage/Timar, Frasconi, and Ingelevics 1981; Kim, R.Y. 2008; Kostelanetz 1988b, 93.
Improvisation IV
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Fielding Sixes
Medium: three performers each using a cassette machine having variable playback speed, and twelve cassette recordings of music or sound of two different kinds
Note: sometimes performed with four performers
Extent: 9 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 30 June 1980; revised and completed 1982
First performance: 30 June 1980
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1983 (Peters; 66954)
Literature: Cage/Holmes 1981; Cage/Timar, Frasconi, and Ingelevics 1981; Kim, R.Y. 2008; Kostelanetz 1988b, 93; Sears 1981.
Improvisation A + B
Medium: clarinet in B flat, tenor trombone, percussionist (any 8 instruments plus any chosen auxiliary sounds in A; any 35 sounds in B), voice (B: indeterminate vocalise on given letters from the alphabet), and violoncello
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); clarinet (27 systems); tenor trombone (32 systems); percussion (30 systems); voice (25 systems); violoncello (27 systems)
Duration: 90 minutes
Date: between December 1985 and 27 February 1986
First performance: 27 February 1986
Dedication: for BL Lacerta
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 630-633
Publication: none
Literature: Kostelanetz 1988b, 93.
In a Landscape
Choreography: Louise Lippold
Medium: harp or piano
Extent: 226 bars
Duration: approximately 8 minutes
Dedication: for Louise Lippold
Date: August 1948
First performance: 20 August 1948
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6720); repr. in John Cage, Piano Works 1935-48. New York: Henmar Press, 1998, 57-65. (Peters; 67380)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 7, 24; Francis, J.R. 1976, 34-37; Keyboard 1985.
In the Name of the Holocaust
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: prepared piano
Note: title derives from James Joyce, Finnegans Wake. New York: Viking Press, 1939
Extent: 85 bars
Duration: approximately 7 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: completed 26 December 1942
First performance: 14 February 1943
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 83
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66755); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 1: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 25-29 (Peters; 67886a)
Literature: Hilger 1990.
Indices [Earle Brown, arranged by Cage]
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Springweather and People
Medium: arrangement for piano by John Cage
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: unknown
First performance: 24 May 1955
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cunningham 1968CHANGES***.
Inlets
Note: alternative title Improvisation II
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: three performers each using four amplified, water-filled conch shells (3 very large, 3 medium large, 3 medium size, 3 small), a performer using a blown conch shell, and the sound of pine cones burning (optionally tape-recorded)
Extent: 13 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: September 1977
First performance: 10 September 1977
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 552-553, 1010
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66787)
Literature: Bargreen 1977a; Barkema and Blaauw 1978; Cage 1988c, 8; Cage 1990f, 446; Cage/Cope 1980, 20-21; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Holmes 1981; Cage/Lange 1978; Cage/Reynolds 1979; Cage, Foreman, and Kostelanetz/Marranca 1979; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Feisst 2009; Fetterman 1996a, 193; Hilger 1990; Ingram 2006; Kim, R.Y. 2008; Kostelanetz 1988b, 93; Pritchett 1996; Rothenberg, D. 1994.
Instances of Silence
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Trails
Medium: any number of performers using cassette players and cassette tape recordings with various categories of environmental sounds
Extent:
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: 1982
First performance: 16 March 1982
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Stanton 1982; Cage and Eno/Tannenbaum 1985, 69; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998.
Ixion [Morton Feldman, realization by Cage]
Medium: unknown
Date: 1958
Extent: ***systems
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
First performance: 17 August 1958
Sources: Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University, Music Library
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Feldman 1993, 181; Schröder, J.H. 2011.
Jazz Study
Medium: piano
Note: composed for “Liz” (possibly Elizabeth Hall?)
Extent: 64 bars
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1941
First performance: unknown (possibly at Mills College, Oakland, California)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 934
Publication: in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, 8-11 (Peters; 68030)
Literature: Cage 2016, 55.
Lecture on the Weather. See Text.
Letters to Erik Satie. See Text.
Lidice
Choreography: Marie Marchowsky, There Will Be Tomorrow (A Dance in Two Scenes)
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: approximately 15 minutes
Dedication: (of the choreography) to the town of Lidice and its simple folk destroyed by the Fascist invader
Date: early 1943
First performance: 20 January 1943
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Litany for the Whale
Medium: two voices (ranges g-d')
Extent: instructions for performance (7 sentences) and 21 systems
Duration: approximately 12 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: late July 1980
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 590
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1981 (Peters; 66880); repr. in Whales: A Celebration, ed. Greg Gatenby. Boston [etc.]: Little, Brown and Company, 1983, 117
Literature: Ingram 2006.
Living Room Music
Text: Gertrude Stein, from The World is Round. New York: W.R. Scott, 1939; repr. New York: Young Scott Books, 1966
Medium: four percussionists using any household objects or architectural elements (magazines, books, cardboard boxes, tables, floors, walls, doors, windows, respecting some graduation from high to low pitch from first to fourth player) and performing as speech quartet; if the third movement is included, the fourth percussionist performs on any instrument having the range c'-d'' sharp
Extent: I. To Begin (36 bars); II. Story [original title “Advertisement for a Book”] (50 bars); III. Melody [optional] (64 bars); IV. End (51 bars)
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Commission: Peter Yates
Dedication: for Xenia Cage
Date: after 7 October 1940
First performance: presumably 3 June 1976
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 52-54, 930
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1976 (Peters; 6786)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 37; Daugaard 2018, 118-121; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 13; Nicholls 1990a, 213-214; Nodine 2007.
Lullaby
Medium: music box
Model: Erik Satie, Vexations
Extent: instructions for performance (1 sentence); 4 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: Centre International de Recherche Musicale, Nice
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 14 April 1991
First performance: 4 December 1991
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: in Berceuses: Peintures de Corneille, ed. Michel Redolfi. Paris: Albin Michel; Centre International de Recherche Musicale; Paris-Musées, 1991, flyleaves
Literature: Schröder, J.H. 2012a.
Marriage at the Eiffel Tower
Note: composed in collaboration with Henry Cowell and (George) Frederick McKay; Cowell composed the following movements (dated 30 January 1939): Hilarious Curtain-Opener; Ritournelle; Two Ritournelles (piano); The Train Finale (percussion)
Libretto: Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), Les mariés de la Tour Eiffel, 1921
Choreography: Bonnie Bird
Medium: piano (partly four hands) and three percussionists using toy and percussion instruments (trombone, fife, siren, ratchet, two harmonicas, yellow green whistle, flat whistle, police whistle, slide whistle, darling whistle, xylophone, tom tom, snare drum, bass drum, break drums)
Model: quotations from Antonín Dvořák, Humoresque op. 101, no. 7 in G flat major; Jimmy Mc Hugh, I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (1928); Jules Massenet, Le Cid, “Aragonaise”; Felix Mendelssohn, Ein Sommernachtstraum (1842), Hochzeitsmarsch; Ethelbert Nevin, Mighty Lak’ a Rose (1901); Jacques Offenbach, Les contes d’Hoffmann (1881), Barcarolle; Sergey Rachmaninoff, Prelude, Op. 23, No. 8 in A flat minor (1903); Camille Saint-Saëns, “Le cygne” from Carnaval des animaux (1886); “Turkey in the Straw”; Richard Wagner, Lohengrin (1848), Act III, “Hochzeitschor”; traditional, “The Sailor’s Hornpipe”; traditional, “Yankee Doodle”
Extent: You Are on the First Platform of the Eiffel Tower (60 bars); Wedding March: Rubbish Music (167 bars); Everybody is Deeply Moved (54 bars); Bravo (after Trouville Bathing Beauty) (33 bars); Massacre (48 bars); Photographer’s Chase (26 bars); After Child (*** bars); Radiograms (*** bars); Radiograms (Continued) Part 2 (12 bars); Lion (3 bars); Help It’s Biting Me! (31 bars); Dirge, Funeral March and Eulogy (ca. 38 bars); 3 O’Clock and that Ostrich Isn’t Back Yet (*** bars); Quadrille (*** bars); Oof, What a Dance! (15 bars); Return of the Ostrich (12 bars); But Who Are These Two Gentlemen Who Have Just Come in in Time to Upset the Photographer Again? (33 bars); After “Just in Time” (21 bars); The Dealer and the Collector Leave the Eiffel Tower (15 bars); Wedding March (Exit) (22 bars); Closing Time! (After Exit) (13 bars); Toccata (ca. 29 bars)
Duration: approximately 40 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: January-February 1939
First performance: 24 March 1939
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 23, 47, 903
Publication: none
Literature: Bird/Riess and Gundlach-Smith 1994; Cox, Gerald P. 2011, 144-150; Fetterman 1996a, 5-6; Lichtenwanger 1986, 166-167; Miller, L.E. 2002a.
Meditation. See Tossed As It Is Untroubled.
Metamorphosis
Medium: piano
Note: original title Piano Music Op. 2 (A Metamorphosis)
Extent: I (115 bars); II (73 bars); III (54 bars); IV (12 bars); V (82 bars)
Duration: approximately 16 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1938; movements completed on 17 April (I), 14 April (II), 1 May (III), 8 May (IV), 20 May (V)
First performance: 10 October 1938
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 32-33
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6723) [facsimile]; 1966 [engraved]; repr. in John Cage, Piano Works 1935-48. New York: Henmar Press, 1998, 10-32 (Peters; 67380)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 8; Cage/Charles 1976, 29, 67; Cage/Duckworth 1989, 17-18; Duckworth 1972, 62-64; Erdmann 1993f, 30-35; Francis, J.R. 1976, 11-23; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 5-6; Nicholls 1990a, 191-200; Peloquin 1995.
Mewantemooseicday
Note: the original title, Godamusicday, was censored
Medium: one-day musical exposition centering around the music of Erik Satie
Extent: presumably no notation
Duration: 19 hours
Dedication: none
Date: November 1969
First performance: 21 November 1969
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1973h, 70; Dinwiddie 1970; Glackin 1969; Hurst 1969.
Mirakus2 (songs)
Text: John Cage, Mirakus2
Medium: solo voice (range: d-c'')
Extent: I (4 systems); II (6 systems); III (11 systems); IV (8 systems); V (9 systems); VI (5 systems); VII (8 systems); VIII (6 systems); IX (9 systems); X (11 systems); XI (9 systems); XII (6 systems)
Duration: approximately 11 minutes (varies according to the tempi chosen)
Dedication: none
Date: November-29 December 1984
First performance: presumably 2 January 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 634-636, 1046
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1985 (Peters; 67067)
Literature: Tōno 1985; Vogels 2014, 56, 59.
Montestella d’Ivrea
Note: working title “The Park Amplified Project”
Note: in collaboration with John Fullemann
Medium: for 30 small electronic systems consisting of a vibration microphone, amplifier and headphone, to be operated by children of six years and older in order to amplify the plants and trees surrounding the chapel of Montestella d’Ivrea, to be emitted via 12 amplifiers/loudspeaker units
Extent: 25 sentences
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: 1979-1981, unfinished
Sources: present location unknown
Literature: Cage/Cope 1980, 13; Cage/Fletcher and Moore 1983; Cage and Fullemann 1982; Pulcini 1984a.
Mozart Mix
Medium: sound installation comprising five cassette players, twenty-five cassette tape loops and silk-screen print in wooden box, 10 x 86 x 81 cm
Model: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, various works
Extent: poem (mesostic on “Mozart”); no further notation
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: 1991
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: Berlin: Gelbe Musik, limited edition (36 copies)
Literature: Ebbeke 1992a.
Music for _
Note: title to be completed by adding the number of players performing
Text: John Cage
Medium: any solo from or combination of voice, flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat, horn in F, trumpet in C, trombone, four percussionists (using any 43, 48, 44, and 48 instruments respectively), two pianos, two violins, viola, and violoncello
Extent: instructions for performance (34 sentences); voice (101 systems), flute (47 systems), oboe (53 systems), clarinet (54 systems), horn in F (43 systems), trumpet in C (54 systems), trombone (57 systems), percussion I (51 systems), percussion II (55 systems), percussion III (48 systems), percussion IV (52 systems), piano I (54 systems), piano II (47 systems), violin I (58 systems), violin II (49 systems), viola (55 systems), violoncello (57 systems)
Duration: indeterminate up to 30 minutes
Dedication: for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, New York New Music Ensemble, Cincinnati Percussion Group, Zeitgeist, Jan Williams (Percussion IV), and Yvar Mikhashoff (Piano II)
Date: 1984 (Flute, Clarinet in B flat, Trombone, Percussion I, II, III, Piano I, Violin I, and Violoncello), 1985 (Voice) and 1987 (Oboe, Horn in F, Percussion IV, Piano II, Trumpet in C, Violin II, and Viola); seventeen parts were finished at the time of Cage’s death, although no further parts were added after 1987
First performance: 15 August 1984
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 663-664, 926, 1049-1051
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1984 (Clarinet in B flat, Flute, Percussion I-III, Piano I, Trombone, Violin I, Violoncello), 1985 (Voice), 1987 (Horn in F, Oboe, Percussion IV, Piano II, Trumpet in C, Viola, Violin II) (Peters; 67040)
Literature: Cage 1985k; Cage 1985ddd; Cage 1987e; Cage 1988c, 8; Cage 1990v; Cage/Anonymous 1988g; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Cage and Eno/Tannenbaum 1985; Dick 1975; Pritchett 1993, 186-189, 200, 202; Erdmann 1993f, 85-92; Rehfeldt 1977; Thorman 2002, 134-136; Weisser 1998, 114-146; Weisser 2003; Zuber 1990.
Music for Amplified Toy Pianos
Medium: any number of performers using any number of toy pianos amplified by means of contact microphones
Extent: instructions for performance (8 sentences), 8 diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: February 1960
First performance: 25 February 1960
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 4; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 267
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6724)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 38.
Music for Carillon No. 1
Medium: carillon (any range)
Extent: 23 systems (graph version); 35 systems (transcriptions for two-octave and three-octave instruments)
Duration: 3 minutes and 59 seconds
Dedication: for Mary Caroline Richards
Date: 10 July 1952 (graph version and transcription for three-octave instrument); 28 March 1958 (transcription for two-octave instrument); 4 July 1960 (directions for reproduction); March 1961 (revision of graph version); 5 March 1961 (revision of both transcriptions)
First performance: 15 May 1958
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 4; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 175-183
Publication: graph version. New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6725); three-octave realization. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 [sic] (Peters; 6725b); two-octave realization. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 [sic] (Peters; 6725a)
Literature: Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1961h, 163; Cage 1962e, 24-25; Cage/Charles 1976, 144; Cogan and Escot 1976, 301-304; Erdmann 1990c; Kostelanetz 1970d, 129; Pritchett 1988a, 219-221.
Music for Carillon No. 2
Medium: carillon (any range)
Extent: 3 systems (transcription 6 systems)
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for David Tudor on his birthday 1954
Date: 20 January 1954
Realization: by John Cage; transcribed for a two-octave instrument 24 May 1958
First performance: unknown
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073* box 3 folder 5; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 203, 205, 207
Publication: graph version. As part of John Cage, Music for Carillon Nos. 2 and 3 (Graph). New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6726); New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6726a) [2-octave transcription]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 25; Pritchett 1988a, 227-228.
Music for Carillon No. 3
Medium: carillon (any range)
Note: this composition is the retrograde inversion of Music for Carillon No. 2
Extent: 3 systems (transcription 6 systems)
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for David Tudor on his birthday 1954
Date: 20 January 1954
Realization: by John Cage; transcribed for a two-octave instrument in January 1961
First performance: unknown
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073* box 3 folder 5; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 203-204, 206-207
Publication: as part of John Cage, Music for Carillon Nos. 2 and 3 (Graph). New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6726); 2-octave transcription, New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6726b)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 25; Pritchett 1988a, 227-228.
Music for Carillon No. 4
Medium: electronic carillon with percussion and live-electronics or magnetic tape (amplified or recorded low wood thud produced by a loglike samanthran) and feedback (on tape or produced by means of a microphone)
Model: Antonín Bečvář, Atlas of the Heavens = Atlas coeli 1950.0. Praha: Československá Akademie Věd = Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, 1958
Extent: instructions for performance (two-octave version 9 sentences; three-octave version 10 sentences); 40 systems (all versions)
Duration: 10 minutes
Dedication: for Richard K. Winslow
Date: April 1961 (model and transcription for three-octave instrument); April 1966 (transcription for two-octave instrument)
First performance: possibly 4 May 1961
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 275, 962-964, 1084-1085; Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, 1991.241.41; Zurich, Kunsthaus
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6727) [three-octave instrument]; New York: Henmar Press, 1966 (Peters; 6727a) [two-octave instrument]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 25; Cage/Charles 1976, 144; Foster, G. 1980a.
Music for Carillon No. 5
Medium: four-octave carillon having 47 bells
Extent: instructions for performance (1 sentence), 10 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Jerry Neff
Date: 18 February 1967
First performance: 18 February 1967
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 298
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1967 (Peters; 6803)
Literature: Cage/Shapiro 1985; Kostelanetz 1987b, 102; Kostelanetz 1988b, 73; Vogels 2012.
Music for Marcel Duchamp
Note: music for the film by Hans Richter, Dreams that Money Can Buy, specifically the sequence by Marcel Duchamp, “Color Records and Nudes Descending a Staircase”
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 123 bars
Duration: approximately 5 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1947
First performance: 1948
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 135
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6728); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 2: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 74-78 (Peters; 67886b)
Literature: Applebaum 1948; Becker, P. and Rautmann 2000; Burge 1976; Cage 1951a; Cage 1962e, 16; Cage/Charles 1976, 193-194; Cage/Roth and Roth 1973, 72; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 204-212; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 18; Rhodes, C. S. 1995; Schnebel 1984.
Music for Merce Cunningham [Christian Wolff, arranged by Cage]
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Rune
Date: 1959
Medium: originally for six or seven instruments, realization-arrangement by John Cage for piano duo [presumably not identical with Duo [Duet?] for two pianists]
First performance: 14 August 1959
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Feldman 1993, 181; Wolff, C. 2013a, 227.
Music for Piano 1
Choreography: Jo Anne Melsher, Paths and Events
Medium: piano
Extent: 30 systems
Duration: 3 minutes and 30 seconds
Dedication: for Jo Anne Melsher [not Joanne Melcher]
Date: December 1952
First performance: 16 December 1952
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 5; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 184-185
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6729)
Literature: Cage 1961h, 22, 26-28, 30, 34; Cage 1962e, 8; Cage/Charles 1976, 35-36; Duckworth 1972, 103-104, 116-117; Erdmann 1990c; Francis, J.R. 1976, 61-77, 94-97, 99-102 passim; Henck 1994b; Piekut 2013; Pritchett 1988a, 222-223.
Music for Piano 2
Choreography: Louise Lippold, Dark Thoughts
Medium: piano
Extent: 16 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Louise Lippold
Date: May 1953
First performance: presumably 10 January 1954
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 5; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 197
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6730)
Literature: Cage 1961h, 22, 26-28, 30, 34; Cage 1962e, 8; Cage/Charles 1976, 35-36; Francis, J.R. 1976, 61-77, 94-97, 99-102 passim; Henck 1994b; Piekut 2013; Pritchett 1988a, 223-226.
Music for Piano 3
Medium: piano
Note: original title Piano Music No. 3
Extent: 4 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Morton Feldman
Date: June 1953
First performance: unknown
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 5
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6731)
Literature: Cage 1961h, 22, 26-28, 30, 34; Cage 1962e, 8; Cage/Charles 1976, 35-36; Francis, J.R. 1976, 61-77, 94-97, 99-102 passim; Henck 1994b; Piekut 2013; Pritchett 1988a, 226-227.
Music for Piano 4-19
Medium: any number of pianos
Note: pieces may be performed separately or continuously as one piece; may be performed alone or together and with or without other cycles of Music for Piano [21-36/37-52, 53-68, 69-84]
Extent: 64 systems [including blanks]
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Eta Harich-Schneider
Date: May 1953
First performance: 23 June 1953
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 5; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 198-199
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6732)
Literature: Brooks, W. 2014; Cage 1961h, 22, 26-28, 30, 34, 61n; Cage 1962e, 11; Cage/Charles 1976, 35-36; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 177-178; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Francis, J.R. 197661-77, 94-97, 99-102 passim; Henck 1994b; Hilger 1990; Nicholls 1993a; Piekut 2013; Pritchett 1988a, 226-227.
Music for Piano 20
Medium: piano
Extent: 5 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Date: 8 August 1953
First performance: July 1953?
Dedication: for Jimmy Curley
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 5; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 200
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6733)
Literature: Cage 1961h, 22, 26-28, 30, 34; Cage 1962e, 8; Cage/Charles 1976, 35-36; Francis, J.R. 1976, 61-77, 94-97, 99-102 passim; Henck 1994b; Hilger 1990; Piekut 2013; Pritchett 1988a, 226-227.
Music for Piano 21-36/37-52
Medium: any number of pianos
Note: may be performed alone or together and with or without other cycles of Music for Piano [4-19, 53-68, 69-84]
Extent: instructions for performance (8 sentences); 128 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for David Weinrib
Date: completed 11 October 1955
First performance: presumably 23 October 1955
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 4 folder 5
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6734)
Literature: Brooks, W. 2014; Burt, W.A. 2014; Cage 1957a; Cage 1961h, 22, 26-28, 30, 34, 60-61; Cage 1962e, 12; Cage/Charles 1976, 35-36; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 177-178; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Duckworth 1972, 104-105, 116-117; Francis, J.R. 1976, 61-77, 94-97, 99-102 passim; Haskins 2014a; Haskins 2014b; Henck 1994b; Hilger 1990; Piekut 2013; Pritchett 1988a, 228-236.
Music for Piano 53-68
Medium: any number of pianos
Note: may be performed alone or together and with or without other cycles of Music for Piano [4-19, 53-68, 69-84]
Extent: 64 systems [including blanks]
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Grete Sultan
Date: completed 7 May 1956
First performance: presumably 18 May 1956
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 214
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6735)
Literature: Brooks, W. 2014; Cage 1961h, 22, 26-28, 30, 34; Cage 1962e, 12; Cage/Charles 1976, 35-36; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 177-178; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Duckworth 1972, 105, 116-117; Francis, J.R. 1976, 61-77, 94-97, 99-102 passim; Henck 1994b; Hilger 1990; Piekut 2013; Pritchett 1988a, 228-236.
Music for Piano 69-84
Medium: any number of pianos
Note: may be performed alone or together and with or without other cycles of Music for Piano [4-19, 53-68, 69-84]
Extent: 64 systems [including blanks]
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Lois de Antonio and Emile de Antonio
Date: completed 8 May 1956
First performance: presumably 18 May 1956
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 215
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6736)
Literature: Brooks, W. 2014; Cage 1962e, 12; Cage/Charles 1976, 35-36; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 177-178; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Duckworth 1972, 105, 116-117; Francis, J.R. 1976, 61-77, 94-97, 99-102 passim; Henck 1994b; Hilger 1990; Piekut 2013; Pritchett 1988a, 228-236.
Music for Piano 85
Medium: piano and live electronics (amplification and accessory sound devices)
Extent: 8 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Date: 13 October 1962
First performance: unknown
Dedication: for Moriyasu Harumi
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 286
Publication: none
Literature: none.
Music for The Marrying Maiden
Medium: magnetic tape
Text: Jackson Mac Low, The Marrying Maiden, 1958; music as interludes between the acts
Extent: instructions for performance (11 sentences); 5 diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: May 1960
First performance: 9 June 1960
Realization: for tape (using recordings of the rehearsals for the play) by John Cage, with technical assistance of Richard Maxfield, duration 9 minutes, 1960
Sources: Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Afdeling Prenten, Tekeningen, Foto’s; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 268
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6737); New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6737a) [single-track reel tape, 19 cm/second]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 40; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Mac Low 1986.
Music for Wind Instruments
Medium: flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat, horn in F, and bassoon
Note: originally numbered Op. 4
Extent: I. Trio for Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon (245 bars); II. Duet for Oboe and Horn (46 bars); III. Quintet (186 bars)
Duration: approximately 9 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1938; completed 22 October (Trio); 24 October (Duet); 31 October (Quintet)
First performance: 7 March 1939 (Duet only); 17 February 1962 (first known complete performance)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 34-36
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6738a) [parts, with transposed parts for clarinet in B flat and horn in F]; New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6738b) [score in C]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 24; Nicholls 1990a, 204.
Music for Xenia
Medium: piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: for Xenia Cage (1913-1995)
Date: February 1934
First performance: unknown, Seattle, Washington, performer unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Music of Changes
Medium: piano (pianist also using cymbal beater, timpani stick, wooden stick, coated paper, metal and plastic objects***)
Extent: 890 bars
Duration: approximately 43 minutes
Dedication: for David Tudor
Date: Spring-December 1951; completed 16 May (I); 2 August (II); 18 October (III); 13 December (IV)
First performance: 5 July 1951 (book I); 1 January 1952 (complete)
Sources: Basle, Paul Sacher Stiftung; Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University Music Library; Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 5 folder 1-4
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961, 4 books (Peters; 6256; 6257; 6258; 6259)
Literature: Arciuli 2012b; Bernstein, D.W. 2002a; Bernstein, D.W. 2012; Boccadoro 1997; Boulez/Cage 1990, 149-153, 175-176, 195-196; Cage 1952a; Cage 1961h, 20-22, 25-26, 29, 34, 36, 57-59; Cage 1962e, 8; Cage 1967o, 110; Cage 1975f, 68; Cage 1979c, 185; Cage, Kremen, and Tudor/Austin 1967; Cage/Charles 1976, 178, 218-219; Cage/Cope 1980, 18-19; Cage/Corbett 1992; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Duckworth 1989, 19; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Cage/Lohner 1989, 251; Campbell, I. 2015, 38-42; Cosmelli 2012; Covell, G.C. 2006; Cowell, H. 1952; Decroupet 1995; Deufert 2001; Diederichs, U. 1984; Duckworth 1972, 94-99; Francis, J.R. 1976, 44-54; Ganz 1965; Gubernikoff 1994; Henck 1982-1983a; Henck 1982-1983b; Henck 1982-1983c; Henck 1991; Henck 1994a; Hilger 1990; Holzaepfel 2002; Janello 1996; Joseph 2009; Kaya Elivar 2015a; Kaya Elivar 2015b; Klüppelholz 1986; Kostelanetz 1988b, 14, 64, 74, 77, 87, 91, 99, 129, 219; Kraehenbuehl 1962; McKay, J.R. 1977, 119-121, 163, 190-191, 196; Meschendörfer 2002; Nicholls 1993a; Paparrigopoulos 2005; Pritchett 1988a, 107-156; Rebhahn 2012d; Rivest 1996a, 48-80; Rosenblum 1993; Schädler 1990; Smigel 2007; Thomas, P. 2009; Tilbury 1974; Tilbury/Parsons 1969; Troche 2011; Tudor/Schonfield 1972, 24; Tugny 1996; Uno and Hübscher 1995; Utz 2002; Vaes 2009, 749-752; Wilkinson 2008; Zimmerman, A. 2007.
Music Walk
Medium: any number of pianists using a single piano, any number of radios and indeterminate sound sources (for instance vocalizing)
Extent: instructions for performance (13 sentences) and 19 diagrams (one with five parallel lines, eight with intersecting lines, ten with points)
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Heinz-Klaus Metzger
Date: 24 September 1958
First performance: 14 October 1958
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 5 folder 5; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 960
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6739)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 41; Cage 1967o, 136; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Fetterman 1996a, 47-59; Kostelanetz 1988b, 107; Metzger, H.-K. 1959b; Metzger, H.-K. 2012c; Pritchett 1993, 126-128.
Musicircus
Medium: any number of performers who are willing to perform in the same place and time
Extent: not notated
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 17 November 1967
First performance: 17 November 1967
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 299
Publication: none
Literature: Brooks, W. 2002b; Cage 1970l; Cage 1973h, xiii; Cage/Charles 1976, 43-44, 127, 180, 196-197, 199; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Charles 1970c; Dickinson 1974; Fetterman 1996a, 138-139; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 40-41; Husarik 1983; Junkerman 1993; Junkerman 1994; Kostelanetz 1970d, 171-172; Kutschke 2007, 192-225; LaBelle 2012b; Oehlschlägel 2012; Rigaud 2014; Rivest 2001b; Rønningsgrind 2012; Trochimczyk 2001; Vanel 2008; Vogels 2014, 132-136.
Musicircus for Children
Note: earlier title Musicircus for Children of Torino
Text: indeterminate
Medium: approximately eight hundred children (aged 4-12 years) performing their repertoire (songs they learned in school, several dancing) simultaneously
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: April 1984
First performance: 19 May 1984
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 637, 1080
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Sumner, Burch, and Sumner 1986, 18; Fetterman 1996a, 146.
Mysterious Adventure
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: I (52 bars); II (66 bars); III (44 bars); IV (164?*** bars); V ([62?***] bars)
Duration: approximately 8 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1944-1945
First performance: 9 January 1945
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 124-125
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1982 (Peters; 6787); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 2: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 26-45 (Peters; 67886b)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 17.
Newport Mix
Medium: an invited audience, each individual in which contributes a tape loop to the performance
Extent: unknown
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Alice Weston
Date: Spring 1967
First performance: Spring 1967
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Charles 1976, 170, 180; Fetterman 1996a, 136.
Nocturne
Medium: violin and piano
Extent: 48 bars
Duration: approximately 4 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1947, prior to 23 October
First performance: 23 October 1947
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1972 (Peters; 6740)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 23.
Nohopera
Subtitle: The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Inframince
Medium: music theater work using geodesic domes, “tensegrities” of Buckminster Fuller
Date: early 1988 to June 1988, unfinished
Dedication: none
First performance: originally scheduled for performance in 1989 in Tokyo
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folders 879-880
Literature: Cage 1990f, 444; Cage/Hiu 1988; Cage/Retallack 1996, 228-234, 341; Lotringer 1998; Palmer, Robert V. 1988.
Nowth upon Nacht
Text: James Joyce, Finnegans Wake. New York: Viking Press, 1939, p. 556
Medium: voice and piano; to be performed without break after singing The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs
Extent: 15 bars
Duration: approximately 1 minute
Dedication: in memoriam Cathy Berberian
Date: July 1984
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 638, 917
Note: see also Wan Fine Night
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1984 (Peters; 67039)
Literature: Meehan 2011, 272-273.
Ocean
Note: title derives from Joseph Campbell’s speculation about James Joyce’s book left unfinished at the time of his death
Note: in collaboration with with David Tudor
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: orchestra consisting of 150 [112] musicians and live-electronics
Duration: 90 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: conceived 1992, never composed; the orchestral music was composed by Andrew Culver
First performance: 18 May 1994
Sources: present location unknown
Literature: Cage/Sweeney-Turner 1991; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; George, P. 1996b.
One
Medium: piano
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences) and 10 systems
Duration: between 9 minutes and 15 seconds and 10 minutes
Dedication: for Juan Allende-Blin on his sixtieth birthday
Date: December 1987
First performance: 27 February 1988
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1988 (Peters; 67208)
Literature: Erdmann 1993e; Gronemeyer 1993; Schmitz-Stevens 1996; Valkenburg 2010b, 107-109.
One2
Medium: pianist using one to four pianos
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); piano 1 (4 systems), piano 2 (4 systems), piano 3 (4 systems), piano 4 (4 systems)
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Margaret Leng Tan
Date: [completed July] 1989
First performance: 21 November 1989
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 781, 1072
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1989 (Peters; 67880)
Literature: Tan 1993.
One3
Note: subtitle 4'33" (0'00") + [G clef]; the G clef refers to Sofia Gubaidulina (there is an inner clock)
Medium: a performer amplifying the sound (or having the sound amplified) in an auditorium up to feedback level
Extent:
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Yukata Fujishima?
Date: October 1989
First performance: 14 November 1989
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 782
Publication: none
Literature: Cage/Retallack 1996, 77; Fetterman 1996a, 94-95; La Motte-Haber 2015, 173.
One4
Medium: percussionist [solo drummer] using any ten cymbals and / or drums***
Extent: instructions for performance (8 sentences); left hand (6 systems); right hand (8 systems)
Duration: between 6 minutes and 25 seconds and 6 minutes and 55 seconds
Dedication: for Fritz Hauser (1953)
Date: 1990
First performance: unknown (first US performance 2 December 1991)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 823
Publication: engr. New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67349)
Literature: Gronemeyer 1993; Hauser 1991.
One5
Medium: piano
Extent: instructions for performance (4 sentences); left hand (21 systems), right hand (24 systems)
Duration: between 19 minutes and 40 seconds and 20 minutes and 40 seconds
Dedication: for Ellsworth J. Snyder (1931-2005)
Date: May 1990
First performance: 6 April 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 824-826
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67356)
Literature: Erdmann 1992***; Haskins 2004a; Haskins 2014a; Valkenburg 2010b, 109-111.
One6
Medium: violin
Extent: instructions for performance (4 sentences); A (15 systems); B (15 systems); C (15 systems)
Duration: between 43 minutes and 50 seconds and 46 minutes and 50 seconds
Dedication: for Paul Zukofsky (1943-2017)
Date: June 1990
First performance: 22 May 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 827-828
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67357)
Literature: Haskins 1993; Haskins 2004a.
One7
Text: (if any) vocalise
Medium: a performer using indeterminate sound sources
Extent: instructions for performance (*** sentences) and 43 systems
Duration: between 29 minutes and 45 seconds and 30 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: September 1990 (and possibly later)
First performance: late 1990 [first known performance 11 January 1991]
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 832
Publication: in John Cage, Four6. New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67469)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 205; Cage/Sweeney-Turner 1991.
One8
Medium: violoncello (played with curved bow); may be performed simultaneously with 108
Extent: instructions for performance (2 sentences) and 53 systems
Duration: between 43 minutes and 43 minutes and 30 seconds
Dedication: for Michael Bach (1958)
Date: April 1991
First performance: 30 November 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 837-841, 885
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67408)
Literature: Bach Bachtischa 1991, 28-29, 31-32, [2]; Bach Bachtischa 1996a; Bach Bachtischa 1996b; Cage 1993d, 200, 202, 203; Cage/Retallack 1996, 203n27, 206, 246-252, 262-264, 267-269, 272, 275-276, 288, 345; Gresser 2014b; Gronemeyer 1993.
One9
Medium: shô
Note: may be performed as part of Two3 or any three pieces may be performed simultaneously with 108
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences); 100 systems (each piece having 10 systems)
Duration: indeterminate between 9 minutes and 30 seconds and 121 minutes: I (between 10 minutes and 25 seconds and 11 minutes and 40 seconds); II (between 12 minutes and 13 minutes); III (between 13 minutes and 25 seconds and 14 minutes and 40 seconds); IV (between 11 minutes and 45 seconds and 12 minutes and 45 seconds); V (between 9 minutes and 30 seconds and 10 minutes and 15 seconds); VI (between 10 minutes and 25 seconds and 11 minutes and 40 seconds); VII (between 11 minutes and 25 seconds and 12 minutes and 25 seconds); VIII (between 9 minutes and 50 seconds and 10 minutes and 20 seconds); IX (between 12 minutes and 30 seconds and 13 minutes and 45 seconds); X (between 10 minutes and 10 minutes and 30 seconds)
Dedication: for Mayumi Miyata (1954)
Date: July 1991
First performance: 18 January 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 842-846, 1074
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67410)
Literature: Haskins 2015b.
One10
Medium: violin
Extent: instructions for performance (4 sentences) and 49 systems
Duration: between 24 minutes and 20 seconds and 24 minutes and 30 seconds
Dedication: for János Négyesy (1938-2013) and Mineko Grimmer (1949)
Date: completed 20 February 1992
First performance: 4 April 1993
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 886
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67441)
Literature: Haskins 1993.
One11. See Art.
One12. See Text.
One13
Note: earlier title Ryoanji
Medium: violoncello (played with curved bow)
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: begun summer 1992, unfinished
Note: completed by Michael Bach Bachtischa (1958)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 888
Publication: completed version by Michael Bach Bachtischa. New York: Henmar Press, 2009 (Peters; 68265)
First performance: 10 October 1993
Literature: ***NNB Bach Bachtista; NNB Retallack; NNB Gronemeyer [Donaueschingen 1994 etc.].
Opening Dance
Choreography: Gertrude Lippincott, Introduction in the Modern Manner
Medium: piano
Extent: 49 bars: quarter note = 76 (bars 1-24); quarter note = 102 (bars 25-33); quarter note = 92 (bars 34-40); quarter note = 102 (bars 41-49)
Duration: ca. 2 minutes
Dedication: for Sue Laub
Date: 1942
First performance: 20 February 1942
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 95-3 folder 1088; Oakland, California, Mills College
Publication: ed. by Don Gillespie in consultation with András Wilheim. New York: Henmar Press, 2008 (Peters; 68139).
Ophelia
Choreography: Jean Erdman
Medium: piano
Extent: 187 bars
Duration: approximately 8 minutes and 15 seconds
Dedication: for Jean Erdman
Date: 1945 [prior to 27 December]
First performance: 27 December 1945
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 128-130
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 6788); repr. in John Cage, Piano Works 1935-48. New York: Henmar Press, 1998, 36-48 (Peters; 67380)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 9.
Orestes
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: piano
Extent: 25 bars (possibly incomplete)
Duration: approximately 5 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: August 1948
First performance: 20 August 1948
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 154
Publication: Hilger 1990.
Organ2/ASLSP
Note: the second part of the title is an abbreviation of “as slowly as possible” and also refers to “Soft morning, city! Lsp!” from James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, 1939, page 619 (beginning of final paragraph)
Medium: organ
Extent: instructions for performance (2 sentences) and 16 systems
Note: composition consists of eight pieces, any one of which may be repeated ad libitum
Duration: indeterminate; varies according to tempi chosen [at least approximately 30 minutes]
Commission: Gerd Zacher (1929-2014)
Dedication: for Gerd Zacher
Date: June 1987
First performance: 21 November 1987
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 766, 1063-1064
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1987 (Peters; 67185)
Literature: Berg, S. 2012; Byrd, Je. and Fritch 2012; Luchese 2010; Philippi 2002; Zacher 1995; Zacher 2011; Zintl 2014.
Our Spring Will Come
Note: music for a dance and melodrama
Text: Langston Hughes
Choreography: Pearl Primus (1919-1994)
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 367 bars
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1943
First performance: presumably 23 April 1944
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 100-101
Publication: ed. Richard Bunger. New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66763); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 1: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 42-58 (Peters; 67886a)
Literature: Cage 1973h, 114-115; Hilger 1990.
Paragraphs of Fresh Air
Note: title also spelled as ¶s of Fresh Air
Text: vocalise
Medium: voice and four performers using any instruments and also operating eleven sound sources consisting of any combination of tape machines, cassette machines, record players, microphones, and telephone line
Extent: [43 leaves]
Duration: 120 minutes
Dedication: for the Marathon Pledge Week of KFAI, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Dick Paske)
Date: September 1979
First performance: 11 October 1979
Sources: Minneapolis, Minnesota, Fresh Air Inc., KFAI; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 587
Publication: none.
Party Pieces
Note: title editorially given; composed in collaboration with Henry Cowell (nos. 3, 9-10, 12-20), Lou Harrison (no. 1-20), and Virgil Thomson (nos. 2, 4-8, 11)
Medium: any melody and keyboard instruments encompassing specified ranges
Extent: I (9 bars); II (11 bars); III (9 bars); IV (9 bars); V (8 bars); VI (11 bars); VII (10 bars); VIII (8 bars); IX (4 bars); X (5 bars); XI (24 bars); XII (6 bars); XIII (6 bars); XIV (5 bars); XV (5 bars); XVI (6 bars); XVII (5 bars); XVIII (5 bars); XIX (10 bars); XX (10 bars)
Duration: approximately 12 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: circa 1944-1945
First performance: August 1982
Sources: present location unknown (presumably in Lou Harrison’s estate)
Publication: (including facsimiles of no. 1, 11, and 20, drawings and statements by Cage, Harrison, and Thomson) as arrangement for flute (doubling on piccolo), clarinet in B flat, horn in F, bassoon, and piano by Robert Hughes. New York [etc.]: C.F. Peters Corporation, 1982 (Peters; 66500)
Literature: Cage 1982s; DuPree 1987b; Gürsching 1985.
The Perilous Night
Medium: prepared piano
Note: the title refers to an old Irish myth discussed in Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New York: Pantheon Books, 1949 (Bollingen Series; 17) [Cage must have known this book before it was published]; Jasper Johns made an artwork after this composition, Perilous Night, 1982, ink on plastic, 81 x 104 cm
Extent: I (100 bars); II (36 bars); III (108 bars); IV (49 bars); V (24 bars); VI (162 bars)
Duration: approximately 12 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: winter 1943-1944
First performance: 5 April 1944
Sources: New York, estate of Grete Sultan; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 109
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6741); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 1: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 59-80 (Peters; 67886a)
Literature: Cage 1973d, [vi]; Cage 1962e, 17; Cage 1979c, 8; Cage 1991c, 64; Cage/Charles 1976, 30, 52-53; Cage/Shapiro 1985, 110; Callahan 2018; Emmerik, P. van 2002; Jeong 2019; Tomkins 1965, 97.
Perpetual Tango
Medium: piano solo (with mesostics on Erik Satie’s name; translation from the French original)
Model: Erik Satie, Sports & divertissements [1914]. English trans. Virgil Thomson. Paris [etc.]: Salabert, 1975, no. 17, “Le Tango – perpétuel” (Piano Music; 3)
Note: originally intended as a movement of Sports (1984-1989, unfinished); only Perpetual Tango and Swinging were completed and published
Extent: 2 systems
Duration: approximately 2 minutes
Commission: Yvar Mikhashoff, for his Tango Project, vol. 1, to be published by Quadrivium Press; the project never materialized
Dedication: none
Date: 17 February 1984
First performance: June 1985 (presumably) or 13 April 1986
Sources: Buffalo, New York, State University of New York, Music Library, Yvar Mikhashoff Collection; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 660-662, 733, 1056
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1984 (Peters; 67483)
Literature: none.
Piano Duet. See Cartridge Music.
Piano Music Op. 2. See Metamorphosis.
Piano Trio. See Cartridge Music.
Pools
Medium: a performer using amplified water-filled conch shells and the sound of fire (optionally substituted by a magnetic tape recording)
Extent: unknown (probably not notated)
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: before 15 June 1978
First performance: 15 June 1978
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Postcard from Heaven
Medium: one to twenty harps using E bows and superballs ad libitum
Extent: instructions for performance (15 sentences); 60 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: June-July 1982 [after 11 July]
First performance: September 1982
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 642, 1032-1035
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1982 (Peters; 66923).
The Preacher
Note: title also encountered as First Chapter of Ecclesiastes
Text: Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, verses 2-5, 7-9, 11, 14
Medium: bass voice and piano
Extent: 101 systems (mostly without barlines)
Duration: approximately 10 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: fall 1932
First performance: November 1932
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 1, 927; Los Angeles, California, University of Southern California, USC Libraries, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Harry Hay papers, Coll2011-003, Box 2, Folder 24
Publication: none
Literature: none.
Prelude for Meditation
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 25 bars
Duration: approximately 1 minute
Dedication: none
Date: 1944
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 115
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6742); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 2: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 8-9 (Peters; 67886b)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 17; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 173; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 17.
Prelude for Six Instruments in A Minor
Medium: flute, bassoon, trumpet in B flat, piano, violin, and violoncello
Note: material from this composition used in Encounter
Extent: 100 bars; bars 1-23 [***fully?] identical with the second of Two Pieces for Piano (1946), bars 1-23
Duration: approximately 8 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: May 1946
First performance: 12 May 1946
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 131-132
Publication: Hilger 1990.
Prelude to Flight
Choreography: Syvilla Fort
Medium: piano?
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: before 28 April 1940
First performance: 28 April 1940
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
Primitive
Choreography: Wilson Williams
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 123 bars
Duration: approximately 4 minutes and 30 seconds
Dedication: none
Date: completed 24 December 1942
First performance: unknown (possibly 20 March 1978)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 86-87
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66756); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 1: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 31-37 (Peters; 67886a)
Program (KNOBS) for the Listener
Note: in collaboration with Lejaren Hiller
Medium: volume, treble and bass controls for the left and right channels of preamplifier and record of HPSCHD
Extent: eight sentences; diagram consisting of seven columns
Duration: 21 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: April 1969
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown (at least 10,000 generated results were distributed)
Publication: New York: Nonesuch Records, 1969-1971 (enclosed with record H-71224).
Quartet
Medium: four percussionists using unspecified instruments
Extent: I. Moderate-Fast (531 beats); II. Very slow (292 beats); III. Axial Asymmetry. Slow (472 beats); IV. Fast (956 beats); may be performed with only one (either one) of the slow movements
Duration: approximately 20 minutes
Dedication: none
Note: the rhythmic patterns of the last movement were used in Series re Morris Graves [text]
Date: circa (summer?) 1936
First performance: late 1936 or winter 1936-1937 (private); fall 1938 (public)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 13-15
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 6789)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 38; Cage 1979c, 99n; Cage 1982r; Cage 1991c, 58; Campana 1989b; Emmerik, P. van 2002; Nicholls 1990a, 184-187.
Quartet I. See Quartets I, V and VI.
Quartet V. See Quartets I, V and VI.
Quartet VI. See Quartets I, V and VI.
Quartets I, V and VI
Text: vocalise
Medium: twelve amplified voices (three sopranos, three altos, three tenors, three basses) and concert band consisting of four flutes (flute 1 doubling on alto flute), two oboes, nine clarinets, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, two bassoons, two alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, four horns, two trumpets, three cornets, three trombones, euphonium, two tubas, and timpani
Note: earlier titles Quartet I, Quartet V, Quartet VI
Model: orchestration of John Cage, Apartment House 1776, Harmonies IV, XXI, and XXVI
Extent: I. Quarter note = 72 (231 bars); V. Half note = 52 (29 bars); VI. Quarter note = 100 (17 bars)
Duration: approximately 14 minutes
Commission: University of Wisconsin, River Falls (Quartet I)
Dedication: none
Date: after August 1976 and completed 10 December 1976 (Quartet I); 1978 (Quartet V and VI)
First performance: 27 April 1977 (Quartet I); unknown (complete)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 533, 539-541, 989, 994-996
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 6820)
Literature: Zimmermann, W. 1992.
Quartets I-VIII (24 Instruments)
Medium: chamber orchestra of twenty-four instruments consisting of flute, two oboes, clarinet in B flat, two bassoons, two horns in F, five violins I, four violins II, three violas, three violoncellos, and contrabass
Model: orchestration of John Cage, Apartment House 1776, Harmonies IV; V; XVIII; XIX; XXI; XXVI; XXVIII; XXXVIII
Extent: I. Quarter note = 72 (231 bars); II. Quarter note = 64 (135 bars); III. Half note = 60 (27 bars); IV. Half note = 68 (127 bars); V. Half note = 52 (29 bars); VI. Quarter note = 100 (17 bars); VII. Half note = 60 (116 bars); VIII. Quarter note = 80 (133 bars)
Duration: approximately 40 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: during or after August 1976-ca. August 1977
First performance: 22 February 1977 (partial [I-II]); 3 May 1978 (complete)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 533, 989, 992
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1978 (Peters; 66686)
Literature: Anonymous 1977[liner notes CRAMPS-lp, left column]; Cage 1977QUARTETS; Cage 197[7?, pWDR programma] = PREFACE-TO-SCORE?; Cage 1982b, 52-54; Cage 1990I-VI [***cross references Apartment House 1776 to Quartets I-VIII]; Carr 1978; Savenko 1983; Zimmermann, W. 1992.
Quartets I-VIII (41 Instruments)
Medium: small orchestra of forty-one instruments consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B flat, two bassoons, two horns in F, two trumpets in B flat, eight violins I, seven violins II, six violas, five violoncellos, three contrabasses
Model: orchestration of John Cage, Apartment House 1776, Harmonies IV; V; XVIII; XIX; XXI; XXVI; XXVIII; XXXVIII
Extent: I. Quarter note = 72 (231 bars); II. Quarter note = 64 (135 bars); III. Half note = 60 (27 bars); IV. Half note = 68 (127 bars); V. Half note = 52 (29 bars); VI. Quarter note = 100 (17 bars); VII. Half note = 60 (116 bars); VIII. Quarter note = 80 (133 bars)
Duration: approximately 40 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: during or after August 1976-ca. August 1977
First performance: 27 August 1977 (selection); presumably May 1978 (complete)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 533, 536-537, 989, 993
Publication: engr. New York: Henmar Press, 1978 (Peters; 66687)
Literature: Cage/Hersh 1977; Savenko 1983; Zimmermann, W. 1992.
Quartets I-VIII (93 Instruments)
Medium: large orchestra of ninety-three instruments consisting of three flutes, three oboes, English horn, two clarinets in B-flat, clarinet in E flat, bass clarinet, three bassoons, six horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, eighteen violins I, fifteen violins II, twelve violas, eleven violoncellos, and nine contrabasses
Model: orchestration of John Cage, Apartment House 1776, Harmonies IV; V; XVIII; XIX; XXI; XXVI; XXVIII; XXXVIII
Extent: I. Quarter note = 72 (231 bars); II. Quarter note = 64 (135 bars); III. Half note = 60 (27 bars); IV. Half note = 68 (127 bars); V. Half note = 52 (29 bars); VI. Quarter note = 100 (17 bars); VII. Half note = 60 (116 bars); VIII. Quarter note = 80 (133 bars)
Duration: approximately 40 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: during or after August 1976-ca. August 1977
First performance: 9 December 1977
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 533, 538, 989
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1978 (Peters; 66688)
Literature: Savenko 1983; Zimmermann, W. 1992.
Quest
Choreography: Martha B. Deane
Medium: fifty mechanical toys amplified by a movable microphone with amplifier and loudspeaker (first movement, improvised) and piano (second movement)
Extent: I. Youth and Confidence (extent unknown); II. Obstacles and Insecurity (15 bars)
Duration: approximately 10 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 28 April 1935
First performance: 28 April 1935
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 16-17
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66757) [second movement]; repr. in John Cage, Piano Works 1935-48. New York: Henmar Press, 1998, 4 (Peters; 67380)
Literature: Hering 1946; Nicholls 1990a, 184.
R/13 (Where R = Ryoanji)
Medium: percussion solo using amplified found objects
Note: Finnish version of Child of Tree
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Commission: Kansainvälinen uuden Musiikin Kesäakatemia
Dedication: none
Date: 26-28 July 1983
First performance: between 26-28 July 1983
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Heikinheimo 1983b.
Radio Music
Medium: one to eight radios
Extent: 24 columns***systems; each part is in IV sections
Duration: 6 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: May 1956
First performance: 30 May 1956
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 216
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6783)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 38; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Chiari 1998; Graßmann and Weiß 1988; Gurevich 2015; Metzger, H.-K. 2012c; Nimczik 1999; Vanel 2008.
Renga
Text: vocalise
Medium: seventy-eight musicians using any instruments or voices or a combination thereof
Note: to be played alone or (as an occasional piece) with Apartment House 1776 or some other “musicircus” (live or recorded) appropriate to another occasion than the Bi-Centennial of the U.S.A.
Model: Henry David Thoreau, Journal, passim, 361 marginal drawings
Extent: instructions for performance (10 sentences); 72 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: made possible with funds provided by the National Endowment on the Arts 1975-1976
Dedication: for Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, in observance of the Bicentennial of the United States of America
Date: September 1975-April 1976
First performance: 30 September 1976
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 445-527, 986-987; San Diego, California, University of California San Diego, Betty Freeman Papers (MSS 0227)
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1976 (Peters; 6818)
Literature: Cage 1976b; Cage 1976e; Cage 1979c, 133-134, 182; Cage/Cope 1980; Cage/Lange 1978; Cage/Reynolds 1979, 586; Cage/Schöning 1982, 91; Charles 1978d; Fetterman 1996a, 143-145; Finkel 2015.
Reunion
Note: rejected alternative title: 0'00" No. 2
Medium: a plurality of electronic musics gated by a game of chess played on a board electronically prepared
Note: chessboard equipped with photoreceptors (photoresistors) serving as a gating mechanism to transmit or cut off a plurality of electronic musics (eight amplifiers and loudspeakers) and to control lights
Extent: unknown
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: 1968
First performance: 5 March 1968
Sources: present location unknown (probably not written down)
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1973h, xiii; Cage 1980g; Cage/Charles 1976, 168; Cage/Helms 1972; Cross, L.M. 1970; Cross, L.M. 1999; Fetterman 1996a, 91-92; Kennedy, C. 2011; Kubota 1970; Miller, L.E. 2001; Miller, L.E. 2002a, 162-163; Sanouillet 2005; Schwarz, A. 1969; Smith, Julian 2010; Trochimczyk 2001; Tudor/Schonfield 1972, 26.
Roaratorio, an Irish circus on Finnegans Wake. See Text.
Rocks
Medium: any combination of at least six radios, television sets, tape machines, cassette machines, ad libitum with machines emitting relatively fixed sounds (e.g. vacuum cleaners, buzzers, alarms, feedback)
Extent: 3 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for David Gordon and Valda Setterfield
Date: 5 May 1986
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 757-758
Publication: none.
A Room
Medium: piano or prepared piano
Extent: 79 bars
Duration: approximately 2 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1943
First performance: unknown
Note: originally intended as the third movement of a concert suite also incorporating She Is Asleep
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 98
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1968 (Peters; 6790); repr. in John Cage, Piano Works 1935-48. New York: Henmar Press, 1998, 33-35 (Peters; 67380)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 10, 17; Francis, J.R. 1976, 26-28; Goldberg, J. 1986, 12-15.
Root of an Unfocus
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 83 bars
Duration: approximately 5 minutes
Dedication: for Merce Cunningham
Date: prior to 5 April 1944
First performance: 5 April 1944
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folders 116-117
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6743); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 2: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 4-7 (Peters; 67886b)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 17; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 173-174; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Cunningham, M./Monk 1997; Hilger 1990; Kisselgoff 1982.
Rozart Mix
Medium: at least four performers using at least twelve tape machines and at least eighty-eight magnetic tape loops
Extent: *** sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Alvin Lucier
Date: 2 April-early May 1965
First performance: 5 May 1965
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 291
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1965 (Peters; 6800)
Literature: Böttinger 1990; Cage/Charles 1976, 170-171; Cage/Helms 1972; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Cage/Kostelanetz 1970, 18-19; Charles 1970d; Fetterman 1996a, 130-133; Gurevich 2015; Thorman 2002, 82-84.
Ryoanji
Text: vocalise
Medium: any solo from or combination of voice, flute, oboe, tenor trombone, contrabass, each of these parts with three magnetic tapes ad libitum, and obbligato percussionist using at least two only slightly resonant instruments of different material or any twenty instruments capable of producing glissandos
Note: a part for violoncello was begun in 1992 but left unfinished
Extent: flute (12 sentences, 32 systems); oboe (12 sentences, 32 systems); voice (12 sentences, 36 systems); contrabass (11 sentences, 32 systems); trombone (11 sentences, 32 systems); percussion (6 sentences, 77 bars); ensemble (13 sentences and 20 · 77 bars)
Duration: indeterminate up to approximately 35 minutes
Commission: French Ministery of Culture for the Festival Musique du XXème Siècle d’Angers (instrumental ensemble)
Dedication: for Michael Pugliese (percussion); James Ostryniec (oboe); Isabelle Ganz (voice); Robert Aitken (flute); Joëlle Léandre (contrabass); James Fulkerson (trombone)
Date: September 1983 (percussion, oboe); late November 1983 (voice); late November or early December 1983-27 January 1984 (flute); March 1984 (contrabass, orchestral obbligato); August 1985 (trombone)
First performance: 2 December 1983
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 606-619, 1036, 1039-1040
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, percussion, oboe, voice, 1983; flute, contrabass, instrumental ensemble, 1984; trombone, 1985 (Peters; 66986a-g)
Literature: Blum/Straebel 1997; Cage 1984b; Cage 1985j; Cage 1985U; Cage 1988c, 10; Cage 1988R; Cage, John 1990f, 444; Cage 2009; Cage/Feldman, Marcus and Pellizzi 1983, 113-114, 124; Cage/Sommers 1986; Fowler, M. 2009; Fowler, M. 2011; Fowler, M. 2020a; Kasper 2005; Farwick 2009; Smith, E.S. 2019; Weisser 1998, 97-113; Whittington 2013.
Score (40 Drawings by Thoreau) and 23 Parts
Text: vocalise
Medium: twenty-three performers using any instruments or voices or combination thereof and recording
Note: subtitle Twelve Haiku, followed by a recording (made by David Behrman) of the dawn at Stony Point, New York, 6 August 1974
Note: the score was subsequently used for Score (40 Drawings by Thoreau) without Parts: Twelve Haiku (1978) [etching]
Model: Henry David Thoreau, Journal, marginal drawings
Extent: instructions for performance (7 sentences); 12 systems
Duration: indeterminate, with a maximum of approximately 83 minutes (the duration of the tape playback [approximately 41 minutes and 30 seconds] equals that of the preceding performance)
Commission: Dennis Russell Davies and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Dedication: for Dennis Russell Davies and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Date: July-August 1974
First performance: 28 September 1974
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 427, 1078
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1974 (Peters; 6815)
Literature: Brown, Kathan 1980, [8]; Cage 1979c, 182; Cage 1982qq; Cage/Dufallo 1989; Cage/Kostelanetz 1980/1981, 268; Cage and Davies/Brown, A. 1974; Campana 2001; Fetterman 1996a, 194-197; Pritchett 1996; Siefert 2002; Toland 1982SCORE.
Scottish Circus
Text: indeterminate
Medium: any number of voices and Scottish or Irish folk instruments
Extent: 12 sentences
Duration: approximately 30 minutes
Commission: Edward MaGuire and the Whistlebinkies
Date: conceived September 1984; composed 15-20 September 1990
First performance: 20 September 1990
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67496)
Literature: Andersson 2009b; Cage/Sweeney-Turner 1991; Cage/Sweeney-Turner 2003.
Sculptures Musicales
Note: the title derives from a part of The Green Box by Marcel Duchamp
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Inventions
Medium: any number of indeterminate sound sources, each group of sounds consisting of at least three different sounds
Extent: 8 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: 1989, prior to 23 July
First performance: 23 July 1989
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 792
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1989 (Peters; 67348)
Literature: Becker, P. and Rautmann 2000; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Schröder, J.H. 2011, 289-309; Schröder, J.H. 2012b.
The Seasons
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: orchestra consisting of two flutes (flute 2 doubling on piccolo), two oboes (oboe 2 doubling on English horn), two clarinets in B flat (clarinet 1 doubling on E flat clarinet, clarinet 2 doubling on bass clarinet), two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, tenor trombone, bass trombone, harp, piano (doubling on celesta), two percussionists (using glockenspiel, xylophone, large suspended Chinese cymbal, suspended Turkish cymbal, tam tam, bass drum), timpani, eight violins I, six violins II, four violas, three violoncellos, two contrabasses; piano reduction by the composer
Extent: 535 bars [number of bars based on piano reduction; orchestra version has different barring ***]; Prelude I (18 bars); Winter (38 bars); Prelude II (33 bars); Spring (85 bars); Prelude III (29 bars); Summer (124 bars); Prelude IV (19 bars); Fall (171 bars); Finale (Prelude I) (18 bars)
Duration: approximately 18 minutes
Commission: Ballet Society
Dedication: for Lincoln Kirstein
Date: January-April 1947; piano reduction completed February 1947
First performance: 18 May 1947
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 136-139, 941
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6744) [orchestra]; New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6744a) [piano reduction]; the latter repr. in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, pp. 31-51 (Peters; 68030)
Literature: Bernstein, D.W. 2002a; Cage 1947; Cage 1959XNOTES, [10]; Cage 1962e, 10, 33; Cage/Charles 1976, 98; Francis, J.R. 1976, 37-43; Hilger 1990; Kostelanetz 1970d, 129; Maier, T.M. 2001b; Vaughan 1995.
Second Construction
Medium: four percussionists; player 1 using seven oxen bells (large sleigh bells), wind glass, Indian rattle, two small maracas; player 2 using snare drum, five tom-toms, three large Japanese temple gongs, two small maracas, two large maracas; player 3 using very large tam-tam, five muted gongs; water gong, light thundersheet; player 4: prepared piano
Extent: 256 bars
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1939-1 January 1940
First performance: 14 February 1940
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 55-59
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1978 (Peters; 6791)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 38; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Florea 2009; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 12; Neff 2014; Nicholls 1990a, 209-211; Shultis 2002b.
Selkus2
Text: John Cage
Medium: voice (range: e flat-d'' sharp)
Extent: instructions for performance (8 sentences); I (6 systems); II (6 systems); III (10 systems); IV (5 systems); V (8 systems); VI (6 systems); VII (6 systems); VIII (7 systems); IX (6 systems); X (6 systems); XI (6 systems); XII (6 systems); XIII (11 systems)
Duration: approximately 12 minutes (varies according to the tempi chosen)
Dedication: none
Date: November-26 December 1984
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 639-640, 1046
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1985 (Peters; 67068)
Literature: Cage 1985FIRSTMEETING; Vogels 2014, 56, 59.
Seven
Medium: flute, clarinet in B flat, percussionist, piano, violin, viola, and violoncello
Extent: instructions for performance (9 sentences); each part 20 systems
Duration: between 19 minutes and 15 seconds and 20 minutes
Commission: Boston Musica Viva, through the New Works program of the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities and by a grant from the Meet The Composer/Reader’s Digest Commissioning Program, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund
Dedication: for Boston Musica Viva; Voices of Change, Dallas, Texas, and Continuum, New York
Date: May 1988
First performance: 18 November 1988
Sources: present location unknown [formerly collection of John Cage]; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 775-777, 1068
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1988 (Peters; 67227)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 246; Gronemeyer 1993.
Seven2
Medium: bass flute, bass clarinet in B flat, bass trombone, two percussionists using any very resonant instruments, violoncello, and contrabass
Extent: instructions for performance (9 sentences); bass flute (28 systems), bass clarinet (29 systems), bass trombone (26 systems), percussion 1 (24 systems), percussion 2 (36 systems), violoncello (28 systems), contrabass (27 systems)
Duration: between 51 minutes and 45 seconds and 52 minutes
Commisson: Festival des Hörens, Erlangen ’90
Dedication: for Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn
Date: prior to 23 July 1990
First performance: 25 September 1990
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 829-831
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1990 (Peters; 67351)
Literature: Cage 1990bb; Cage 1993d, 246; Cage/Retallack 1996, 76; Weisser 1998, 169-171.
Seven Haiku
Medium: piano
Extent: I (3 bars); II (3 bars); III (3 bars); IV (3 bars); V (3 bars); VI (3 bars); VII (3 bars)
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: for Elsa (1); Merle Armitage (1893-1975) (2); Aghavni Uomini (3); Richard Lippold (1915-2002) (4); Maro Ajemian (5); Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) (6); Sonja Sekula (7)
Date: July 1951 (1); 21 January 1952 (2); 16 June 1951 (3); no date (4); no date, in New York (5); no date, in New York (6); no date, in New York (7)***
First performance: 29 March 1956 (first known performance); Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, Bard College [recorded performance by David Tudor***]
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 5 folder 6; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 169
Publication: Black Mountain, North Carolina: Black Mountain Music Press, 1952; repr. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6745)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 10; Cage 1993d, 52, 53; Francis, J.R. 1976, 54-55; Pritchett 1988a, 171-173; Samsonova 2000; Santos, C. 1971; Vaes 2009, 752.
Seventeen. See Thirteen.
Seventy-Four
Medium: orchestra consisting of three flutes, three oboes, three clarinets in B flat, three bassoons, four horns in F, three trumpets in C, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, two xylophones, two pianos, harp, fourteen violins I, ten violins II, eight violas, eight violoncellos, and six contrabasses
Extent: instructions for performance (16 sentences); each part 14 systems
Duration: between 11 minutes and 30 seconds and 12 minutes
Commission: by the American Composers Orchestra
Dedication: for Francis Thorne, Dennis Russell Davies and the American Composers Orchestra
Date: March 1992
First performance: 8 November 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 897-899
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67482)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 205; Swed 1993a.
She Is Asleep
Text: vocalise
Medium: four percussionists using three tom toms each (graduated in pitch), voice and prepared piano
Note: originally intended as a concert suite in nine movements incorporating A Room (1943); this suite remains unfinished; four movements (the first, second, third, and eighth) were completed and three of them were published, the first and second movements (Quartet and Duet) under the given title, the third movement as A Room
Extent: I. Quartet (twelve tom-toms, 156 bars); II. Duet (voice and prepared piano, 196 bars); VIII. Solo (prepared piano, 84 bars)
Duration: Quartet and Duet approximately 12 minutes; Solo approximately 4 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1943
First performance: 5 April 1944 (Duet); 15 May 1958 (Quartet and Duet); Solo presumably never performed
Sources: Berlin, Gelbe Musik; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 102-103
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6746) [Quartet]; New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6747) [Duet]; third movement unpublished
Literature: Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1962e, 21, 39; Cage/Cope 1980, 21; Goldberg, J. 1986, 15-16; Kostelanetz 1970d, 128-129; Manning, J. 1998; Petkus 1986, 91-100; Smith, S.S. 1978.
Shimmera
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: late 1942
First performance: 14 February 1943
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Vaughan 1997, 29, 286.
Silent Environment
Medium: an indeterminate closed space
Extent: unknown
Duration: indeterminate
Date: late 1979
First installation: 20 January-2 March 1980
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Cage 1980h.
Silent Prayer. See 4'33".
Six
Medium: six percussionists using any four instruments (player 1); any six instruments (player 2); any five instruments (player 3); any four instruments (player 4); any three instruments (player 5); and any five instruments (player 6)
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); player 1 (8 systems), player 2 (10 systems), player 3 (10 systems), player 4 (8 systems), player 5 (6 systems), player 6 (8 systems)
Duration: between 2 minutes and 50 seconds and 3 minutes
Dedication: for the Percussion Group The Hague
Date: September 1991
First performance: 19 June 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folders 870-871
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67421)
Literature: Lindau 2014.
Six Melodies for Violin and Keyboard
Medium: violin and piano
Extent: I (77 bars); II (38 bars); III (88 bars); IV (66 bars); V (33 bars); VI (22 bars)
Duration: approximately 15 minutes
Dedication: for Josef Albers and Anni Albers
Date: April 1950
First performance: presumably November 1959
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 163-164
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6748)
Literature: Bois 1968, 102-103; Cage 1962e, 23; ; Perry, J. 2014; Raynor 1985; Zomer 2017; Zomer and Barros 2018.
Six Short Inventions
Medium: alto flute, clarinet in B flat, trumpet in B flat, violin, two violas, and violoncello
Extent: I (21 bars); II (13 bars); III (16 bars); IV (10 bars); V (14 bars); VI (36 bars)
Duration: approximately 7 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 5 April 1934 and Spring 1958
First performance: 15 May 1958
Note: instrumentation of final part of Solo with Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon, and Six Short Inventions on the Subjects of the Solo (1933-1934), with assistance of David Tudor
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 5, 10, 217, 247-249
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1963 (Peters; 6749) [score]; New York: Henmar Press, 1963 (Peters; 6749a) [parts]
Literature: Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1962e, 27; Dickinson 1965, 33; Duckworth 1972, 61-62, 63-64; Guessford 2004; Kostelanetz 1970d, 127; Zomer 2017; Zomer and Barros 2017.
Sixteen
Medium: flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat, bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C, tenor trombone, bass trombone, piano, 2 percussion players, 2 violins, viola, violoncello and contrabass
Extent: flute (41 systems), trumpet in C (47 systems), oboe (46 systems), violin 1 (46 systems), violin 2 (46 systems), viola (42 systems), instrument 7 (44 systems), instrument 8 (41 systems), instrument 9 (50 systems), instrument 10 (45 systems), instrument 11 (44 systems), instrument 12 (42 systems), instrument 13 [1] (44 systems), instrument 14 [2] (43 systems), instrument 15 [3] (46 systems), instrument 16 [4] (42 systems)
Duration:
Dedication: none
Date: April-May 1992 in New York, unfinished
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 891-893.
Sixteen Dances
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Sixteen Dances for Soloist and Company of 3
Note: the piano reduction for some of the dances includes titles not used in the final version: I. Solo; II. Trio: “3 Girls Who Had Dissolved”; III. Solo: “The Mad Dog”; IV. “Delicate Leaves”; V. “Monk’s Sarabande”; VI. “Fleeting Images” (alternative title: “Distraction”); VII. “Hero’s Dance” (alternative title: “Thickening”); VIII. “Jig for Joy”; IX. “Odious Warrior”; X. “Blues”; XI. “Medicine Man”; XII. “Basket Dance”; XIII. Solo; XIV. Quartet; XV. Duet; XVI. [Untitled]
Medium: flute, trumpet in B flat, four percussionists (player 1 using three tom toms, low claves, Turkish cymbal, large Chinese cymbal, crash cymbal, tam tam, Japanese cup gong, Japanese temple gong, bass drum; player 2 tom tom, claves, Chinese wood block, two anvils, finger cymbal, Chinese cymbal, water cymbal, pod rattle, North West Indian rattle, Indo-Chinese rattle, maracas, gong, muted gong, water gong, Japanese temple gong, medium thundersheet, dragon’s mouth; player 3 pod rattle, sanza [African thumb piano], North West Indian rattle, Indo-Chinese rattle, Turkish cymbal, crash cymbal, finger cymbal, water gong, small thundersheet, dragon’s mouth, claves, tubular bells, timpani; player 4 tom tom, pod rattle, finger cymbal, very large Chinese cymbal, small thundersheet, large thundersheet, three Balinese button gongs, claves, snare drum, xylophone), piano, violin and violoncello
Extent: I (49 bars); II (100 bars); III (81 bars); IV (121 bars); V (27 bars); VI (100 bars); VII (144 bars); VIII (91 bars); IX (144 bars); X (100 bars); XI (81 bars); XII (43 bars); XIII (49 bars); XIV (196 bars); XV (60 bars); XVI (126 bars)
Duration: approximately 53 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1948 and October 1950-5 January 1951; completed 25 October 1950 (1), 14 November (4), 18 November (5), 3 December (6), 6 December (7), 10 December (8), ***: 10 [or 15, 18] December (9), 20 December (10), rewritten 26 December; 21 December (11), 22 December (12), 28 December (13), 2 January 1951 (14), 5 January (15 and 16)
First performance: 17 January 1951 (piano reduction); 21 January 1951 (ensemble)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 167-168, 949-952
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6792)
Literature: Berger, A.V. 1951b; Bernstein, D.W. 2002a; Boulez/Cage 1990, 123-124, 151-152; Brooks, W. 1993a; Cage 1961h, 25; Cage 1962e, 28; Cage/Charles 1976, 33, 35, 98; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Parfitt 1982; Campana 1985, 75-83; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 175-176; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Fetterman 1996a, 16-17; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 119, 217-218; Hilger 1990; Pritchett 1988a, 87-99.
Sixty-eight
Medium: orchestra consisting of three alto flutes, three English horns, five clarinets in B flat, five trumpets in C, four percussionists, two pianos, fourteen violins I, twelve violins II, ten violas, and ten violoncellos
Extent: instructions for performance (1 sentence); each part 15 systems
Duration: between 28 minutes and 15 seconds and 30 minutes
Dedication: for Ernstalbrecht Stiebler and the Hessischer Rundfunk
Date: February 1992
First performance: 6 November 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 895-896, 900
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67468).
Literature: Pritchett 1993, 203.
Sixty-Two Mesostics re Merce Cunningham
Medium: voice solo using microphone
Extent: instructions for performance (16 sentences) and 435 systems
Duration: indeterminate between 7 minutes and 30 seconds and 3 hours
Dedication: none
Date: March-June 1971
First performance: 21 September 1971
Sources: Middletown, Connecticut, Wesleyan University, Olin Library, collection 1000-72, box 9 folder 7-11; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 423, 980
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1971 (Peters; 6807); repr. (without instructions for performance) as Cage 1973l
Literature: Anonymous 1971FIRST; Blum 2012; Braune 2012; Cage 1972[c, letter to OTTE]; Cage 1972MESOSTICS; Cage 1973h, ix-x; Cage/Bosseur 1973, 31; Henahan 1972; Spinosa 2016; Thorman 2002, 118-125; Weaver 2012; Zeller 1979b.
Socrate: Drame symphonique en 3 parties
Note: music by Erik Satie arranged by Cage
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Idyllic Song, 1944 (first movement only)
Medium: arranged for two pianos by John Cage; original arrangement (1944) presumably was for piano solo
Extent: 1. Portrait de Socrate (Le Banquet) (176 bars); 2. Bords de l’Ilissus (Phèdre) (206 bars); 3. Mort de Socrate (Phédon) (294 bars)
Duration: circa 35 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1944 (first movement, piano solo); 1947 (first movement, two pianos); 1968-1969, with the assistance of Arthur Maddox (second and third movement)
First performance: 20 November 1944 (first movement only); 21 November 1969 (complete)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 140-145, 942
Publication: Paris: Max Eschig, 1984 (M.E. 8554; with preface by John Cage; also in French trans. by Ornella Volta)
Literature: Cage 1977e; Cage/Charles 1976, 179; Cage/Friedman 1970; Callahan 2018; Dinwiddie 1970; Erdmann 1993f, 98-104; Vaughan 1997, 34, 175.
Soliloquy
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: piano
Model: John Cage, Four Walls, 1944, modified excerpts of Scene III, Dance, and Scene VIII
Extent: 110 bars
Duration: 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1944-1945
First performance: 9 January 1945
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 126
Publication: in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, pp. 26-29 (Peters; 68030).
Solo for Voice 1
Text: John Cage, after anonymous; e.e. cummings [Edward Estlin Cummings], Tulips and Chimneys (1923), Tulips, Chansons innocentes, III (no. 3), In Just-; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wandrers Nachtlied (Über alle Gipfeln); Louis Dufour; Gerald Manley Hopkins; Huang-Po, Doctrine of Universal Mind; James Joyce, Finnegans Wake. New York: Viking Press, 1939, 104, 216; the Lankavatara Sutra; Friedrich Schnack
Medium: voice (range f to g''); may be performed with any of the parts of Concert for Piano and Orchestra
Extent: instructions for performance (26 sentences) and 16 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Arline Carmen [Kempner] (1920?-2012)
Date: 1958, prior to 25 May
First performance: 25 May 1958
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 5 folder 6; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 250-251
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6750); revised as “Solo for Voice 12.” In John Cage, Song Books. New York: Henmar Press, 1970, 42-45 (Peters; 6806a)
Literature: Cage 1959e; Cage 1962e, 21-22; Metzger, H.-K. 2012c; Petkus 1986, 127-134; Thorman 2002, 61-63.
Solo for Voice 2
Text: indeterminate vocalise
Medium: any number of voices; may be performed with any of the parts of Concert for Piano and Orchestra, Fontana Mix, or Cartridge Music
Note: Cage used this composition to obtain the vocalise for “Solo for Voice 45” from Song Books
Extent: instructions for performance (22 sentences) and 6 diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: July 1960
First performance: 12 August 1960
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 269-270
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6751)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 22; Metzger, H.-K. 2012c; Petkus 1986, 143-148; Thorman 2002, 63-64.
Solos for Voice 3-92. See Song Books.
Solos for Voice 93-96. See Four Solos for Voice.
Solo with Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon, and Six Short Inventions on the Subjects of the Solo
Medium: any three or more instruments encompassing the range g to g''
Extent: Solo (126 bars); Invention 1 (21 bars); Invention 2 (13 bars); Invention 3 (16 bars); Invention 4 (10 bars); Invention 5 (14 bars); Invention 6 (36 bars)
Duration: approximately 15 minutes
Dedication: none
Note: instrumentation of second part as Six Short Inventions (1958)
Date: 1933-1934; completed 7 March 1934 (Solo) and 5 April 1934 (Inventions); revised for publication in 1963
First performance: presumably 16 April 1985
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 5, 10-11
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1963 (Peters; 6752)
Literature: Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1962e, 28; Campana 1985, 11-19, 168-173; Campana 1989b; Duckworth 1972, 61-62, 63-64; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 1-2; Guessford 2004; Nicholls 1990a, 179-182.
Some of The Harmony of Maine
Medium: organ with two manuals (the soprano having at least ten stops, the alto at least twelve, and a pedal having at least nine stops) and six assistants
Note: the first performance was done with three, later performances often with six assistants
Model: Supply Belcher, The Harmony of Maine; the selected pieces have kept their orginal titles
Extent: 1. Alpha C.M. (14 bars); 2. Majesty C.M. (17 bars); 3. Harmony C.M. (18 bars); 4. Creation L.M. (16 bars); 5. Hallowell S.M. (16 bars); 6. Advent C.M. (33 bars); 7. Turner L.M. (20 bars); 8. Sunday C.M. (14 bars); 9. St. John’s C.M. (18 bars); 10. Invitation L.M. (38 bars); 11. Transmigration (68 bars); 12. Chester L.M. (12 bars); 13. The Lilly P.M. (17 bars)
Duration: indeterminate (varies according to the tempi chosen)
Dedication: for Gerd Zacher
Date: 27-30 October, 1-2, 3-5, and 10-12 November 1978
First performance: 8 November 1980
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 578-580, 1018, 1021
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1980 (Peters; 66840)
Literature: Cage 2016, 494; Philippi 2002; Schroeder, J.A. 2020; Voinova 2004.
Sonata for Clarinet
Note: earlier title Sonata for One Voice
Medium: clarinet in B flat
Extent: I. Vivace (25 bars); II. Lento (24 bars); III. Vivace (31 bars)
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1933; first movement completed on 3 September 1933; third movement completed 5 September 1933; final corrections made in 1963
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 5-6
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1963 (Peters; 6753)
Literature: Bernstein, D.W. 2002c; Cage 1962e, 24; Cage/Duckworth 1989, 17; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Duckworth 1972, 58-60, 63-64; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 2-4; Kopp 1981, 145; Nicholls 1990a, 176-177; Nichols 2015; Stier 1982.
Sonata for Two Voices
Medium: any two or more instruments encompassing the ranges c' to c''' and c to c'' respectively
Extent: I. Sonata (Allegro) (23 bars); II. Fugato (Lento) (19 bars); III. Rondo (Tempo Primo) (22 bars)
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Dedication: for Richard Buhlig
Date: late October-3 November 1933
First performance: possibly 1 November 1984
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 7-8
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1979 (Peters; 6754)
Literature: Andraschke 2008; Cage 1962e, 28; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 1-2; Nicholls 1990a, 177-178.
Sonatas and Interludes
Note: originally entitled Four Sonatas; Sonatas XIV-XV entitled “Gemini,” after the work by Richard Lippold (1947, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Museum of Art, Utica, New York)
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: Sonata I (26 bars); Sonata II (37 bars); Sonata III (32 bars); Sonata IV (50 bars); First interlude (100 bars); Sonata V (40 bars); Sonata VI (18 bars); Sonata VII (19 bars); Sonata VIII (25 bars); Second Interlude (64 bars); Third Interlude (24 bars); Sonata IX (36 bars); Sonata X (24 bars); Sonata XI (65 bars); Sonata XII (38 bars); Fourth Interlude (38 bars); Sonata XIII (50 bars); Sonata XIV (50 bars); Sonata XV (50 bars); Sonata XVI (50 bars)
Duration: approximately 70 minutes
Dedication: for Maro Ajemian (1921-1978)
Date: February 1946-March 1948
First performance: 14 April 1946, 24 January 1948 (partial); 6 April 1948 (complete)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 940; Red Hook, New York, John Cage Trust at Bard College (2 items)
Publication: in New Music Edition (1949); repr. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6755) [several editions lacking footnote on final page of music]
Literature: Andraschke 2008; Aste 2005; Boyd, K. 2016; Brooks, W. 2007; Cage 1949c; Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1961h, 19-20, 25, 29-30, 34, 265; Cage 1962e, 17-18; Cage 1979c, 185; Cage/Anonymous 1995; Cage/Charles 1976, 33, 98, 178; Cage/Duckworth 1989, 20; Cage/Hamel 1988, 270; Cage/Holmes 1981; Campana 2001; Charles 1970e; Dickinson 1965, 54; Duckworth 1972, 80-83, 84; Duckworth 1999; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 175-204; Goebels 1973; Grabócz 1987-1988a; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 18-20; Gubernikoff 1994; Haskins 2003; Huettenrauch 2012; Jenkins 2002; Kostelanetz 1970d, 74-76, 129; Kostelanetz 1989d; McKay, J.R. 1977, 174, 193; Mead 1981; MM 1978 or after; Nimczik 2005; Pereverzeva 2007b; Perry, J. 2005; Pritchett 1993, 29-35; Rhodes, C.S. 1995; Simonacci 1985; Tendler 2012; Vaes 2009, 962-964, 972-976, 996+; Valkenburg 2010b, 42-51.
Song Books
Note: subtitle Solos for Voice 3-92
Text: vocalise (Solos for Voice 11, 45, 48) and John Cage, after unidentified September 1970 newspapers (Solos for Voice 14, 29, 60, 75, 83, 92); a glossary of English and foreign geographical terms (Solo for Voice 67); names of constellations (Solo for Voice 90); Norman O. Brown (Solo for Voice 59); John Cage (Solos for Voice 45, 68, 74, 91); Merce Cunningham (Solos for Voice 72, 73); Richard Buckminster Fuller (Solo for Voice 59); James Joyce, Finnegans Wake (Solos for Voice 47, 84); Herbert Marshall McLuhan (Solo for Voice 59); Erik Satie (Solos for Voice 21, 25, 33, 48, 52, 53); Friedrich von Schiller, Die Hoffnung (Solo for Voice 39); Henry David Thoreau, Essay on the Duty of Civil Disobedience (Solo for Voice 34); Henry David Thoreau, Journal (Solos for Voice 48, 49, 52, 53, 85)
Medium: any number of voices (***ranges) or performers***theatrical activity or combination thereof, partly using ***with and without electronics [***categories specified]; may be performed with or without other indeterminate music, for example Rozart Mix and Concert for Piano and Orchestra; “Solo for Voice 45” and “Solo for Voice 48” may be performed with Atlas Eclipticalis, Cartridge Music, Winter Music
Extent: general instructions for performance (16 sentences); Solo for Voice 3 (9 sentences, 8 systems, and map); Solo for Voice 4 (3 sentences, 7 systems, and map); Solo for Voice 5 (10 sentences, 41 systems, and drawing); Solo for Voice 6 (12 sentences, 4 systems); Solo for Voice 7 (4 sentences, 3 systems); Solo for Voice 8 (nearly identical with 0'00") 4 sentences); Solo for Voice 9 (1 sentence, 4 systems); Solo for Voice 10 (1 sentence, 6 systems); Solo for Voice 11 (8 sentences, 12 systems); Solo for Voice 12 (24 sentences, 16 systems); Solo for Voice 13 (3 sentences, 20 systems); Solo for Voice 14 (7 sentences, 16 systems); Solo for Voice 15 (2 sentences); Solo for Voice 16 (16 systems); Solo for Voice 17 (7 sentences, 13 systems); Solo for Voice 18 (Cheap Imitation No. 1: III) (2 sentences, 289 [sic, not 294] bars); Solo for Voice 19 (1 sentence, 8 systems); Solo for Voice 20 (2 sentences, 1 system); Solo for Voice 21 (6 sentences, 1 system); Solo for Voice 22 (7 sentences, 3 systems); Solo for Voice 23 (0'00" No. 2) (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 24 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 25 (Cheap Imitation No. 2) (2 sentences, 33 bars); Solo for Voice 26 (0'00" No. 2B) (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 27 (Cheap Imitation No. 5) (1 sentence, 9 systems); Solo for Voice 28 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 29 (8 systems); Solo for Voice 30 (Cheap Imitation No. 1: II) (1 sentence, 206 bars); Solo for Voice 31 (1 sentence, 4 systems); Solo for Voice 32 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 33 (2 sentences, 1 system); Solo for Voice 34 (Cheap Imitation No. 6) (1 sentence, 49 bars); Solo for Voice 35 (14 sentences, 198 bars); Solo for Voice 36 (2 sentences, 1 system); Solo for Voice 37 (2 sentences); Solo for Voice 38 (1 sentence, 1 system); Solo for Voice 39 (Cheap Imitation No. 3) (3 sentences, 64 bars); Solo for Voice 40 (10 sentences, 8 systems); Solo for Voice 41 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 42 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 43 (4 sentences, 8 systems); Solo for Voice 44 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 45 (15 sentences, 108 systems); Solo for Voice 46 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 47 (Cheap Imitation No. 4) (2 sentences, 95 bars); Solo for Voice 48 (2 sentences, 48 systems); Solo for Voice 49 (“The Year Begins to Be Ripe”) (7 sentences, 14 bars); Solo for Voice 50 (3 sentences, ***bars = Solo 35); Solo for Voice 51 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 52 (Aria No. 2) (10 sentences, 8 systems); Solo for Voice 53 (Aria no. 2B) (7 systems); Solo for Voice 54 (2 sentences); Solo for Voice 55 (2 sentences); Solo for Voice 56 (2 sentences, 1 system); Solo for Voice 57 (3 sentences); Solo for Voice 58 (6 sentences, 18 systems); Solo for Voice 59 (1 sentence, 18 systems); Solo for Voice 60 (16 systems); Solo for Voice 61 (1 sentence, 6 systems); Solo for Voice 62 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 63 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 64 (2 sentences, 2 colums); Solo for Voice 65 (9 sentences, 1 drawing and 12 systems); Solo for Voice 66 (10 systems); Solo for Voice 67 (7 sentences, 6 systems); Solo for Voice 68 (4 sentences, 1 system); Solo for Voice 69 (7 sentences, 11 systems); Solo for Voice 70 (9 systems); Solo for Voice 71 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 72 (2 sentences, 6 systems); Solo for Voice 73 (1 sentence, 6 systems); Solo for Voice 74 (2 sentences, 4 systems); Solo for Voice 75 (8 systems); Solo for Voice 76 (2 systems); Solo for Voice 77 (8 systems); Solo for Voice 78 (2 sentences); Solo for Voice 79 (6 sentences, 8 systems); Solo for Voice 80 (17 sentences, 33 bars, and 55 staff fragments); Solo for Voice 81 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 82 (2 sentences); Solo for Voice 83 (4 systems); Solo for Voice 84 (7 sentences, 12 systems); Solo for Voice 85 = “Rubbing No. 1” (7 sentences, 21 systems); Solo for Voice 86 (1 sentence); Solo for Voice 87 (1 sentence, 5 systems); Solo for Voice 88 (2 sentences); Solo for Voice 89 (4 sentences); Solo for Voice 90 (2 sentences, 12 systems); Solo for Voice 91 (4 sentences, 90 bars); Solo for Voice 92 (16 systems); plus ***precise extent of instructions volume without all materials belonging to one specific solo
Model: Antonín Bečvář, unidentified star maps; John Cage (Solos for Voice 45, after Solo for Voice 2, 68, 74, after acrostic for James Klosty); Merce Cunningham (Solo for Voice 73, after Changes: Notes on Choreography); Marcel Duchamp, Autoportrait de profil, 1958; James Joyce (Solo for Voice 47: TEKST), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Die Zauberflöte, no. 14, Aria “Der Hölle Rache,” ed. used as The Queen of Night’s Vengeance Aria, ed. Estelle Liebling. New York: G. Schirmer (Arias from the Operas; no. 39240), 1941 (Solo for Voice 47); Erik Satie, Douze petits chorals (circa 1906), revised by Robert Caby. Paris [etc.]: Salabert, 1968 (No. 1-No. 3, No. 6-No. 12) (Solo for Voice 34 and Solo for Voice 85); Erik Satie, Ludions. Paris: Rouart, Lerolle & Cie., 1926 (Editions Salabert; no. R.L. 11578), “La grénouille américaine” (Solo for Voice 25); Erik Satie, Messe des pauvres. Paris: Salabert, 1920 (no. R. L. 11686), Kyrie (vocal parts only) (Solo for Voice 27); Solo for Voice 48 [text]), Franz Schubert, Hoffnung Deutsch 637, circa 1819). S.l.: Edition Peters (no. 8725) (Solo for Voice 39); Henry David Thoreau (Journal, 18?? (Solo for Voice 27); Solo for Voice 45 [text], Solo for Voice 85), and various unidentified sources (Solo for Voice 67: geographical terms; Solos for voice 14, 29, 60, 75, 83, 92: from unidentified September 1970 newspapers; Solo for Voice 90: names of constellations)
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, London
Dedication: for Cathy Berberian and Simone Rist
Date: August-October 1970 (Solos for Voice 3, 4, 5, 17, 20, 27, 34, 47: New York, August 1970; Solos for Voice 32, 37, 44, 54, 55, 88: Stony Point, New York, August 1970; Solos for Voice 18 and 30: August-September 1970, New York and Stony Point; Solos for Voice 45 and 48: Stony Point and New York, August-October 1970; Solos for Voice 11, 13, 14, 16, 21, 22, 29, 33, 43, 56, 59, 60, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 73, 74, 75, 79, 80, 83, 84, 91, 92: New York September 1970; Solos for Voice 35 and 50: New York and Stony Point, September 1970; Solo for Voice 58, 64, 67, 72, 85 and 90: October 1970, New York)
First performance: 26 October 1970
Sources: Berlin, estate of Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 307-320
Publication: cop. manuscript facs. by John Cage, Marjorie Trenk, and Carlo Carnevali. New York: Henmar Press, 1970 (Peters; 6806) (Instructions); (Peters; 6806a) (Solos for Voice 3-58); (Peters; 6806b) (Solos for Voice 59-92); Solo for Voice 6 repr. in Lely and Saunders 2012
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6705) [piano]; parts for violins 1-3 [pages 1-16, 17-32, 33-48], violas 1-2 [pages 49-64, 65-80], trumpets in E flat, F, D, C, and B flat [pages 81-92], violoncello [pages 93-108], tubas in F and B flat [pages 109-120], clarinet in B flat [pages 121-132], flute, alto flute and piccolo [pages 133-144], bassoon and baritone saxophone [pages 145-156], contrabass [pages 157-172], trombone [pages 173-184], conductor [optional]. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6705a-n)
Literature: Aquien 1986; Bernstein, D.W. 2001b; Bosseur, J.-Y. 1993; Bozzetti and Trapp 1990; Brooks, W. 1982a; Bulut 2011; Cage 1972[A, brief H. Otte]; Cage 1973h, x, xiii; Cage 1979c, 11; Cage 1981UNTITLED-CP/2; Cage 1982r; Cage 1982b, 53; Cage 1983j, 103n, 146; Cage/Charles 1976, 51-52, 129, 143-144, 145, 179, 185; Cage/Schöning 1982, 81; Charles 1970f; Charles 1971a; Crampton 1985; Cuni 2011; Danninger 1979; Emmerik, I. van and Ford 1988-1989; Erdmann 1993f, 156-167; Fetterman 1996a, 90-93, 117-121, 149-166, 243-247; Fornel 2008; Fornel 2011; Goldberg, J. 1986, 46-58; Gottwald 1973; Gottwald 1974; Gottwald 1975; Heilgendorff 1998; Heilgendorff 2002a; Herzfeld, G. 2007, 197-242; Johnson, R. 1981; Kostelanetz 1995b; Mac Low 1980, [43]; Nocera 1983; Perry, J. 2021; Petkus 1986, 153-247; Pritchett 1993, 166-173; Pritchett 1996; Reynolds 1980b; Schnebel 1978b; Sutter 2017; Thorman 2002, 92-94; Vogels 2014, 26-27, 29-35, 35-41, 83-84, 93-95, 99-102, 139-150, 160, 189-191, 195-196; Weagel 2010; Wooley 2012d; Wooley 2012e.
Song for Merce
Text: John Cage
Medium: voice
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Date: ca. 1943-1944
First performance: unknown
Sources: Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University Music Library
Publication: excerpt published in Cage 2016, 69
Literature: none.
Sonnekus2 (Songs)
Text: John Cage, Sonnekus2 (Text)
Medium: voice (range g-c'')
Extent: instructions for performance (9 sentences); nine songs of 9 systems each
Duration: indeterminate (varies according to the tempi chosen)
Date: February 1985
First performance: 31 March 1985
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 642, 654-656, 1047
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1985 (Peters; 67069)
Literature: Vogels 2014, 57, 59.
Sound Anonymously Received
Medium: solo performer using an unsolicited sound source
Note: may be performed simultaneously with Letters to Erik Satie (Text)
Extent: one sentence
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: Fall 1969 and completed in 1978
First performance: Fall 1969
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 576-577; Red Hook, New York, John Cage Trust at Bard College
Publication: none
Literature: Dinwiddie 1970, 26; Fetterman 1996a, 203; Thorman 2002, 156.
Sounday
Text: John Cage
Medium: violin, piano, voice, nine performers using amplified plant [materiaal and met amplified, water-filled conch shells, a performer using a blown conch shell, and magnetic tape ***INLETS
Note: incorporates Branches, Child of Tree, Etudes Australes, Freeman Etudes I-VIII, Inlets, Pools, Sixty-two Mesostics re Merce Cunningham
Extent: unknown
Duration: 10 hours
Dedication: none
Date: December 1977-1978
First performance: 15 June 1978
Commission: Katholieke Radio Omroep (Dutch Catholic Radio)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 1005, 1011-1012
Publication: none
Literature: Barkema and Blaauw 1978; Benoist 1978; Cage 1978g; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986.
Sounds of Venice
Medium: solo television performer using [21] sound-producing objects and props placed around a piano: ***chair, coil, pitcher of water, water receptacle, pack of cigarettes, matches, ashtray, bird cage with canaries, cloth cover for bird cage, cat sound [toy], slide whistle, marble slab, dishpan, Venetian broom, toy horn and rattle, piece of wood, telephone bell, amplifier, microphone) and four single-track magnetic tapes, 3 minutes each (realization by John Cage, 1959)
Model: John Cage, Fontana Mix, 1958
Extent: 1 diagram and 6 systems
Duration: 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: January 1959
First performance: January 1959
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 255-256
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1968 (Peters; 6756)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 42; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Fetterman 1996a, 32, 36, 43, 46; Vaes 2009, 765-766.
Souvenir
Medium: organ
Extent: 56 bars
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Commission: American Guild of Organists
Dedication: for Dr. Fred Tulan
Date: September 1983
First performance: 29 June 1984 (official)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 604
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1983 (Peters; 66988)
Literature: Cage/Emmerik 1991, 76-77; Cage and Eno/Tannenbaum 1985, 67; Philippi 2002.
Speech 1955
Text: indeterminate (two publications, newspapers or news magazines)
Medium: five radios and newsreader
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences); newsreader (8 systems); radio 1 (58 systems); radio 2 (19 systems); radio 3 (13 systems); radio 4 (2 systems); radio 5 (55 systems)
Duration: between 41 minutes and 33.382 seconds and 42 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: November 1955
First performance: 8 December 1973
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 208-210
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6793)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 39; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Thorman 2002, 56-60; Vogels 2014, 88-90, 186-187.
Spiritual
Choreography: Syvilla Fort
Medium: piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: 9 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1939 or 1940
First performance: 28 April 1940
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Levitz 2005.
Spontaneous Earth
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: prepared piano
Note: title derives from e.e. cummings [Edward Estlin Cummings], Tulips and Chimneys (1923), “Tulips: La guerre: II”
Extent: 82 bars
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1944, prior to 5 April
First performance: 5 April 1944
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 118-119
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66753); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 2: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 21-25 (Peters; 67886b)
Literature: Guessford 2004.
Sports
Medium: piano solo (with mesostics on Erik Satie’s name; translations from the French originals) (see Text)
Model: Erik Satie, Sports & divertissements [1914]. English trans. Virgil Thomson. Paris [etc.]: Salabert, 1975 (Piano Music; 3)
Extent: 4 systems (planned as a twenty-one movement cycle of piano pieces; unfinished)
Duration: unknown
Dedication: none
Date: 17 February 1984-1989; mesostics completed December 1985; unfinished
First performance: none
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 660-662, 733, 1056
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1984 (Peters; 67483) (Perpetual Tango); New York: Henmar Press, 1989 (Peters; 67301) (Swinging); mesostics published as Cage 1989j
Literature: none.
Stratified Essay. See Essay.
String Quartet
Medium: two violins, viola, and violoncello in scordatura
Extent: unknown
Duration: unknown
Dedication: unknown
Date: 1936 or early 1937
First performance: unknown
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Boehmer 1967b.
String Quartet in Four Parts
Medium: two violins, viola, and violoncello in scordatura
Extent: 484 bars distributed over four parts: Quietly Flowing Along (88 bars); Slowly Rocking (110 bars); Nearly Stationary (242 bars); Quodlibet (44 bars)
Duration: approximately 20 minutes
Dedication: for Lou Harrison
Date: August 1949-February 1950
First performance: 12 August 1950
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 162, 943
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6757)
Literature: Barkin 1986; Bernstein, D.W. 2002a; Bernstein, D.W. 2009; Cadenbach 2005; Cage 1959h; Cage 1961h, 25, 29, 30; Cage 1962e, 23; Cage/Charles 1976, 33, 98; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Cage/Kurtz 1983; Campana 1985, 62-72; Campana 1987-1988; Dickinson 1972; Erdmann 1990c; Frounberg 1984-1985; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 21-22; Hughes, E.D. 1990; Maier, T.M. 2001b; Pritchett 1993, 47-55; Pritchett 2012; Toop, R. 2014; Vogels 2014, 27-28.
Studies for Player Piano, nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 [Conlon Nancarrow, arranged by Cage]
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Crises; Merce Cunningham, Cross Currents, 1964) for *** including magnetic tapes
Extent: unknown
Duration: 22 minutes (music to Crises); 7 minutes (music to Cross Currents)
Date: (of arrangement) 1960; new score: October 1964 [Vaughan 1985, 210; also 1968 or 1969 version?***]
First performance: 19 August 1960; 31 July 1964; 1969 New York, Billy Rose Theater [Insel Musik, 428-429]
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Mumma 1976; Mumma 1977.
Suite for Toy Piano
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, A Diversion
Medium: toy piano or piano
Note: arrangement for orchestra by Lou Harrison, 1964
Extent: I (53 bars); II (53 bars); III (30 bars); IV (30 bars); V (14 bars)
Duration: approximately 8 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: August 1948
First performance: 20 August 1948
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 155-157, 160
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6758); repr. in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, pp. 52-59 (Peters; 68030); New York: Henmar Press, 1964 (Peters; 6758a) [authorized arrangement for orchestra by Lou Harrison]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 10-11; Cage/Darter 1982; Francis, J.R. 1976, 28-33.
Swinging
Medium: piano solo (with mesostics on Erik Satie’s name; translation from the French original)
Model: Erik Satie, Sports & divertissements [1914]. English trans. Virgil Thomson. Paris [etc.]: Salabert, 1975, no. 2, “La Balançoire” (Piano Music; 3)
Note: originally intended as a movement of Sports (1984-1989, unfinished); only Perpetual Tango and Swinging were completed and published
Extent: 2 systems
Duration: approximately 2 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1989
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 660-662, 733, 1056
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1989 (Peters; 67301)
Literature: none.
Telephones and Birds
Note: title changes according to second category of sounds used
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Travelogue
Medium: three performers using telephone announcements and tape recordings of bird songs or recordings of some other category
Extent: 54 sentences and 1 table
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: 1977
First performance: 18 January 1977
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 5 folder 6; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 554-558
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66689)
Literature: Cage/Raymond and Roberts 1980; Jordan 1979, 16; Vaughan 1997, 199-202.
Ten
Medium: flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat, tenor trombone, percussionist using any ten different instruments, piano, two violins, viola, and violoncello
Extent: instructions for performance (14 sentences, 1 system); flute (43 systems), oboe (44 systems), clarinet (46 systems), tenor trombone (44 systems), percussion (42 systems), piano (42 systems), violin 1 (44 systems), violin 2 (44 systems), viola (42 systems), violoncello (56 systems)
Duration: between 29 minutes and 45 seconds and 30 minutes
Dedication: for the Ives Ensemble
Date: October 1991
First performance: 24 February 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 873-874
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67432)
Literature: Cage/Retallack 1996, 122-124, 127, 182, 250, 346; Gronemeyer 1993.
Theatre Piece
Medium: one to eight performers (musicians, dancers, singers, actors) presenting indeterminate actions; materials to be used in whole or part, in any combination
Model: John Cage, Fontana Mix, 1958
Extent: eight parts, each having 18 unpaginated pages
Duration: 30 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: January 1960
First performance: 7 March 1960
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 5 folder 7; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 271-273
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 6759a-h)
Literature: Bayo 2010; Bayo 2019; Cage 1962e, 42, 43; Cage/Charles 1976, 165-166; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Chase, G. 1969; Cunningham, M. 1982b; Fetterman 1996a, 104-117, 234-242; Göhl 1979; Goldstein, M. 1988, 40; Goldstein, M./Rivest 1997; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 36, 38; Klein, Rolf 1989.
Thin Cry
Choreography: Yuriko [Yuriko Amemiya Kikuchi] (1920)
Medium: piano
Extent: unknown
Duration: 4 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 30 December 1945
First performance: 30 December 1945
Sources: present location unknown (score apparently lost)
Publication: none
Literature: Hayakawa 2018.
Third Construction
Medium: four percussionists using wooden North West Indian rattle, five graduated tin cans, three graduated drums (tom toms), claves, large suspended Chinese cymbal, maracas, teponaxtle (player 1); three graduated drums (tom toms), five graduated tin cans, claves, two cowbells, wooden Indo-Chinese rattle with many separate chambers, lion's roar (player 2); three graduated drums (tomtoms), tambourine, five graduated tin cans, quijadas, claves, cricket callers (split bamboo), blown conch shell (player 3); tin can with tacks (rattle), five graduated tin cans, claves, maracas, three graduated drums (tom toms), wooden ratchet, bass drum roar (player 4)
Extent: 577 bars
Duration: approximately 15 minutes
Dedication: for Xenia Cage “for our anniversary”
Date: March-April 1941
First performance: 14 May 1941
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 64-65, 932
Publication: cop. ed. by Charles Madden. New York: Henmar Press, 1970 (Peters; 6794)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 39; Cage/Gagne and Caras 1982; Florea 2009; Instrumentalist 1981; Nicholls 1990a, 214-215; Price, P. 1981; Pritchett 1993, 19-20; Schick 1995; Shultis 2002b.
Thirteen
Medium: flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat, bassoon, trumpet in C, tenor trombone, tuba, two xylophones, two violins, viola, and violoncello
Note: originally planned as Seventeen
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); flute (46 systems), oboe (46 systems), clarinet (39 systems), bassoon (41 systems), trumpet in C (43 systems), tenor trombone (42 systems), tuba (45 systems), xylophones 1 and 2 (89 systems), violin 1 (44 systems), violin 2 (49 systems), viola (51 systems), violoncello (47 systems)
Duration: between 29 minutes and 45 seconds and 30 minutes
Commission: City of Gütersloh
Dedication: for Manfred Reichert and the Ensemble 13
Date: May 1992
First performance: 17 February 1993
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folders 874, 890
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67499)
Literature: Cage/Retallack 1996, 182-184, 209, 216-217, 233, 234, 260, 328-330; Swed 1993d.
Thirty Pieces for Five Orchestras
Medium: orchestra and radio or radios ad libitum, the orchestra divided into five groups; full orchestra: piccolo, flute, alto flute, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets in B flat, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, five trumpets in B flat, five horns in F, two tenor trombones, two bass trombones, two contrabass trombones, two percussionists (any instruments with a maximum of fourteen for each player), timpani, piano, fourteen violins I, twelve violins II, ten violas, eight violoncellos, six contrabasses; radio or radios tuned to the same station ad libitum
Extent: 24 sentences (instructions for performance) and 150 systems
Duration: 30 minutes and 15 seconds
Commission: Orchestre Philharmonique de Lorraine and the Fondation Gulbenkian for the Rencontres Internationales de Musique Contemporaine
Dedication: for Jean-Luc Choplin, Claude Lefebvre and the Centre Européen pour La Recherche Musicale (Metz)
Date: Early-April 1981
First performance: 22 November 1981
Sources: Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University, Music Library, drawer 1985-1986; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 592-597, 1023-1029, 1031
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1981 (Peters; 66879)
Literature: Anonymous 1981g; Brandt 1983; Busch 1998; Busch 2011; Cage 1981h; Cage/Charles 1976/1981, 109n; Cage/Darter 1982; Cage/Masson 1981; Cage/Emmerik 1991, 79-81; Cage/Kraglund 1982; Cage/Timar, Frasconi, and Ingelevics 1981; Pritchett 1993, 185-186, 200; Weisser 2003; Wilheim 1987.
Thirty Pieces for String Quartet
Medium: two violins, viola and violoncello
Extent: instructions for performance (*** sentences); violin 1 (57 systems), violin 2 (54 systems), viola (58 systems), violoncello (55 systems)
Duration: between 29 minutes and 30 seconds and 30 minutes and 15 seconds
Dedication: for the Kronos Quartet
Date: September 1983
First performance: 27 July 1984
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 605, 1036-1038; San Diego, California, University of California San Diego, Betty Freeman Papers (MSS 0227), Box 21 Folder 11, Oversize FB 219-02
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1983 (Peters; 66987); excerpt in MusikTexte no. 5 (July 1984), 28-29
Literature: Böttinger 1990; Cage 1984cTHIRTY; Cage 1993WRITER, 136; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Heilgendorff 2002b; Metzger, H.-K. 1990; Oehlschlägel 1985.
Three
Medium: three recorder players using fifteen instruments: sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor (player 1); sopranino, soprano, alto, basset, tenor, bass (player 2); soprano, alto, basset, tenor, double bass (player 3)
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences); 1 (2 systems); A (each part 3 systems); B (each part 3 systems); C (each part 3 systems); D (each part 3 systems); E (each part 3 systems); F (each part 3 systems); G (each part 3 systems); H (each part 3 systems); I (each part 3 systems); 2 (2 systems)
Duration: indeterminate between ca.***
Dedication: for Trio Dolce
Date: July 1989
First performance: 27 July 1990
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folders 786-789, 923
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1989 (Peters; 67303)
Literature: Emmerik, P. van 2001; Geddert 1994; Gronemeyer 1993; Haskins 2004a; McLellan 1989.
Three2
Medium: three percussionists each using any three instruments
Extent: instructions for performance (2 sentences); each part 9 systems
Duration: between 8 minutes and 15 seconds and 9 minutes
Dedication: for Michael Pugliese and the Talking Drums
Date: May 1991
First performance: 25 October 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 853-854
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67412)
Literature: none.
Three Dances
Medium: two prepared pianos
Extent: I (240 bars); II (351 bars); III (627 bars)
Duration: approximately 20 minutes
Dedication: for Robert Fizdale and Arthur Gold (original version); for Maro Ajemian and William Masselos (revised version)
Date: December 1944; revised and completed October 1945
First performance: 21 January 1945 (original version); 10 December 1946 (revised version)
Sources: New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, Mary Flagler Cary Collection, Cary 311; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 904, 905, 939
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 6760) [revised version]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 19; Cage 1973d, [vi]; Cage 1979c, 8; Cage 1991c, 65; Cage 1993d, 10, 40-41, 75, 118; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 173; Turner, J.R. 1998-1999, 547, 562.
Three Easy Pieces
Medium: piano
Extent: Round (31 bars); Duo (43 bars); Infinite Canon (12 bars)
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: for E.P.S. (1), M.M. (2), and C.M. (3)
Date: May 1933
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 9
Publication: in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, 1-2 (Peters; 68030)
Literature: Erdmann 1996c.
Three Pieces for Flute and Piccolo. See Three Pieces for Flute Duet.
Three Pieces for Flute Duet
Note: original title Three Pieces for Flute and Piccolo
Medium: two flutes
Extent: I. Allegro giocoso (21 bars); II. Andante cantabile (flute 1 [96 bars]; flute 2 [93 bars]); III. Grave adagio (51 bars)
Duration: approximately 6 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1935; second movement completed March 1935; instructions for copyist November-December 1961
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 18-20, 929
Publication: facs. ed. by Charles Madden. New York: Henmar Press, 1969 (Peters; 6761)
Literature: Blum 1981; Cage 1962e, 24; Cage/Holmes 1981; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 6, 12; Instrumentalist 1976; Nicholls 1990a, 184.
Three Songs
Note: 1. “Twenty Years After”; 2. “If It Was to Be”; 3. “At East and Ingredients”
Text: Gertrude Stein, Useful Knowledge. New York: Payson & Clarke, 1928, “Van or Twenty Years After: A Second Portrait of Carl Van Vechten” (two excerpts), and “Near East or Chicago A Description” (opening lines)
Medium: voice (basso cantante) and piano or piano alone
Extent: Twenty Years After. Plaintive (11 bars); If It Was to Be [not: Is It As It Was] (40 bars); At East and Ingredients. Tempo rubato (21 bars)
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to October 1932 and 1933
First performance: November 1932 (third song only); 29 September 1991 (possibly first complete performance)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 2-4; Los Angeles, California, University of Southern California, USC Libraries, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Harry Hay papers, Coll2011-003, Box 2, Folder 24
Publication: as Three Early Songs. New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67417)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 29; Cage/Dnnnn***; Daugaard 2018, 117; Dickinson 1986; Petkus 1986, 11-28; Vogels 2014, 19-24, 159.
Tossed As It Is Untroubled
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Tossed As It Is Untroubled, subtitled An Externalization of a Laugh within the Mind
Medium: prepared piano
Note: the title derives from James Joyce, Finnegans Wake. New York: Viking Press, 1939; earlier title Meditation
Extent: 91 bars
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: for Merce Cunningham; on manuscript “for Xenia [Cage] (on our 8th anniversary)” (JPB 94-24 Folder 937)
Date: [presumably late] 1943
First performance: 5 April 1944
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 104-105, 937
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6722); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 1: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 38-41 (Peters; 67886a)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 16; Cage 1993d, 9; Fürst-Heidtmann 1979, 159, 263; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 15, 17.
Totem Ancestor
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 104 bars
Duration: 2 minutes
Dedication: for Merce Cunningham
Date: 1942, prior to 20 October
First performance: 20 October 1942
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 88-90
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6762); repr. in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, 3-7 (Peters; 68030); with choreography by Merce Cunningham in Labanotation by Lena Belloc, ed. Ann Hutchinson. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6762a)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 18; Cage 1993d, 8, 67, 68; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 173-174; Hilger 1990.
Trio
Medium: three percussionists using three graduated pieces of wood (not Chinese woodblocks), three small tom-toms played with wire brush, bamboo sticks (player 1); tom tom, bass drum, two graduated pieces of wood (not Chinese woodblocks) (player 2); three graduated pieces of wood (not Chinese woodblocks), tom tom, bamboo sticks (player 3)
Extent: Allegro (24 bars); March (24 bars); Waltz (33 bars)
Duration: approximately 12 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: circa (late?) 1936
First performance: late 1936 or winter 1936-1937 (private); 9 December 1938 (public)
Note: the Waltz, with slight modifications, was incorporated into Amores, III
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 24-27
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 6763)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 39; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 4-5, 11-12; Nicholls 1990a, 187-189.
Triple Music
Note: with Lou Harrison and Meiron Brown
Date: ca. 1948, unfinished.
Triple-Paced (First Version)
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: piano
Extent: I. 23 bars; II. 24 bars; III. 35 bars
Duration: approximately 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: [presumably late] 1943
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 106-107
Publication: in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, 17-20 (Peters; 68030).
Triple-Paced (Second Version)
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 86 bars
Duration: approximately 2 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: prior to 5 April 1944
First performance: 5 April 1944
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 107-108
Publication: in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, 21-25 (Peters; 68030).
TV Köln
Medium: piano and indeterminate sound sources
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences), 4 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: 6 or 7 October 1958
First performance: 6 or 7 October 1958
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 252-253
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6764)
Literature: Cage 1959f, 104, 119; Cage 1962e, 11; Cage 1967o, 136; Francis, J.R. 1976, 87; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 35.
Twenty-eight
Medium: twenty-eight wind instruments (three flutes, alto flute, three oboes, English horn, four clarinets in B flat, three bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns in F, four trumpets in C, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, and tuba) ; may be performed with Twenty-nine, Twenty-six, or both
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); flute 1 (1 system), flute 2 (12 systems), flute 3 (15 systems), alto flute (10 systems), oboe 1 (5 systems), oboe 2 (10 systems), oboe 3 (8 systems), English horn (16 systems), clarinet 1 (11 systems), clarinet 2 (13 systems), clarinet 3 (5 systems), clarinet 4 (6 systems), bassoon 1 (12 systems), bassoon 2 (15 systems), bassoon 3 (9 systems), contrabassoon (13 systems), horn 1 (7 systems), horn 2 (9 systems), horn 3 (11 systems), horn 4 (9 systems), trumpet 1 in C (8 systems), trumpet 2 in C (12 systems), trumpet 3 in C (8 systems), trumpet 4 in C (5 systems), tenor trombone 1 (13 systems), tenor trombone 2 (5 systems), bass trombone (4 systems), tuba (8 systems)
Duration: between 27 minutes and 15 seconds and 28 minutes
Commission: Frankfurt Feste and Saarländischer Rundfunk with support of the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Alten Oper
Dedication: for the Sinfonieorchester des Saarländischen Rundfunks and the Frankfurt Feste ’92/Alte Oper
Date: December 1991
First performance: 5 September 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 875-877
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67466a)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 204.
Twenty-nine
Medium: two timpanists, two percussionists, piano, ten violas, eight violoncelli, and six contrabasses; may be performed with Twenty-eight, Twenty-six, or both
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); timpani 1 (9 systems), timpani 2 (4 systems), percussion 1 (6 systems), percussion 2 (7 systems), piano (16 systems), viola 1 (4 systems), viola 2 (2 systems), viola 3 (4 systems), viola 4 (4 systems), viola 5 (1 system), viola 6 (2 systems), viola 7 (6 systems), viola 8 (3 systems), viola 9 (16 systems), viola 10 (8 systems), violoncello 1 (1 system), violoncello 2 (10 systems), violoncello 3 (15 systems), violoncello 4 (9 systems), violoncello 5 (13 systems), violoncello 6 (9 systems), violoncello 7 (5 systems), violoncello 8 (5 systems), contrabass 1 (5 systems), contrabass 2 (2 systems), contrabass 3 (4 systems), contrabass 4 (7 systems), contrabass 5 (8 systems), contrabass 6 (3 systems)
Duration: between 28 minutes and 15 seconds and 29 minutes
Commission: Frankfurt Feste and the Saarländischer Rundfunk with support of the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Alten Oper
Dedication: for the Sinfonieorchester des Saarländischen Rundfunks and the Frankfurt Feste ’92/Alte Oper
Date: December 1991
First performance: 5 September 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 875-877
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67466c)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 204.
Twenty-six
Medium: twenty-six violins; may be performed with Twenty-eight, Twenty-nine, or both
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); violin I-1 (11 systems), violin I-2 (19 systems), violin I-3 (15 systems), violin I-4 (7 systems), violin I-5 (5 systems), violin I-6 (16 systems), violin I-7 (12 systems), violin I-8 (10 systems), violin I-9 (6 systems), violin I-10 (11 systems), violin I-11 (22 systems), violin I-12 (6 systems), violin I-13 (15 systems), violin I-14 (12 systems), violin II-1 (13 systems), violin II-2 (21 systems), violin II-3 (10 systems), violin II-4 (15 systems), violin II-5 (16 systems), violin II-6 (15 systems), violin II-7 (8 systems), violin II-8 (6 systems), violin II-9 (6 systems), violin II-10 (3 systems), violin II-11 (5 systems), violin II-12 (13 systems)
Duration: between 25 minutes and 15 seconds and 26 minutes
Commission: Frankfurt Feste and the Saarländischer Rundfunk with support of the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Alten Oper
Dedication: for the Sinfonieorchester des Saarländischen Rundfunks and the Frankfurt Feste ’92 / Alte Oper
Date: December 1991
First performance: 5 September 1992
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 875-877
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67466b)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 204.
Twenty-three
Medium: thirteen violins, five violas, and five violoncellos
Extent: instructions for performance (5 sentences); violin 1 (14 systems), violin 2 (8 systems), violin 3 (2 systems), violin 4 (2 systems), violin 5 (14 systems), violin 6 (12 systems), violin 7 (2 systems), violin 8 (13 systems), violin 9 (10 systems), violin 10 (8 systems), violin 11 (13 systems), violin 12 (8 systems), violin 13 (9 systems), viola 1 (15 systems), viola 2 (7 systems), viola 3 (11 systems), viola 4 (3 systems), viola 5 (17 systems), violoncello 1 (8 systems), violoncello 2 (10 systems), violoncello 3 (1 system), violoncello 4 (4 systems), violoncello 5 (11 systems)
Duration: between 22 minutes and 15 seconds and 23 minutes
Dedication: for the Yellow Barn Festival, Putney, Vermont
Date: prior to 19 June 1988
First performance: 22 July 1988
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 778, 1079; San Diego, California, University of California San Diego, Betty Freeman Papers (MSS 0227), Box 21 Folder 11, Oversize FB 219-02
Publication: engr. New York: Henmar Press, 1988 (Peters; 67228)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 197, 246; Cage/Emmerik 1991, 82.
Two
Medium: flute and piano
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences); each part 10 systems
Duration: between 9 minutes and 15 seconds and 10 minutes
Date: April 1987
First performance: 6 August 1988
Dedication: for Roberto Fabbriciani and Carlo Neri
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 768, 1065
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1987 (Peters; 67176)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 196-197, 246; Gronemeyer 1993; Hünermann 2011.
Two2
Medium: two pianos
Extent: instructions for performance (7 sentences); 180 bars
Duration: indeterminate
Date: after 28 July 1989
First performance: 4 May 1990
Dedication: for Double Edge
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 783-785, 925, 1073
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1989 (Peters; 67302)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 199, 246; Cage/Sweeney-Turner 1991; Erdmann 1992i; Haskins 2003; Haskins 2004a; Haskins 2009b.
Two3
Medium: shô and a performer using five amplified water-filled conch shells
Note: any three pieces of Two3 may be performed simultaneously with 108
Note: the shô part is identical with One9
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences); shô player (100 systems, each piece having 10 systems), conch shell player (10 systems, each piece having 1 system)
Duration: indeterminate between 9 minutes and 30 seconds and 121 minutes: I (between 10 minutes and 25 seconds and 11 minutes and 40 seconds); II (between 12 minutes and 13 minutes); III (between 13 minutes and 25 seconds and 14 minutes and 40 seconds); IV (between 11 minutes and 45 seconds and 12 minutes and 45 seconds); V (between 9 minutes and 30 seconds and 10 minutes and 15 seconds); VI (between 10 minutes and 25 seconds and 11 minutes and 40 seconds); VII (between 11 minutes and 25 seconds and 12 minutes and 25 seconds); VIII (between 9 minutes and 50 seconds and 10 minutes and 20 seconds); IX (between 12 minutes and 30 seconds and 13 minutes and 45 seconds); X (between 10 minutes and 10 minutes and 30 seconds)
Date: July 1991
First performance: 24 June 1992
Dedication: for Mayumi Miyata
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 844, 846-848
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67411)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 201; Cage/Retallack 1996, 271n23.
Two4
Medium: violin and piano or violin and shô
Extent: instructions for performance (2 sentences, 1 system); violin (30 systems); piano or shô (30 systems)
Duration: between 29 minutes and 30 seconds and 30 minutes
Commission: McKim Fund in the Library of Congress
Dedication:
Date: July 1991
First performance: 15 November 1991
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 849-850, 1074
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67418).
Two5
Medium: tenor trombone and piano
Extent: instructions for performance (4 sentences, 1 system); tenor trombone (40 systems); piano (29 systems)
Duration: between 38 minutes and 45 seconds and 40 minutes
Date: October 1991
First performance: 30 January 1992
Dedication: for Hildegard [not Hildegaard] Kleeb and Roland Dahinden
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 851-852, 924
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1991 (Peters; 67419)
Literature: Cage 1993d, 200-201; Sluchin and Malt 2012.
Two6
Medium: violin and piano
Model: Erik Satie, Vexations
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences, 1 system); violin (46 systems), piano (72 systems)
Duration: between 19 minutes and 15 seconds and 20 minutes
Date: April 1992
First performance: 5 December 1992
Dedication: for Ami Flammer and Martine Joste
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 889
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1992 (Peters; 67498)
Literature: Cage/Retallack 1996, 177-181, 206, 208, 213-214, 320-326; Haskins 2004a; Zomer 2017; Zomer and Barros 2015.
Two Pastorales
Choreography: (of Pastorale No. 1 only) Merle Marsicano, Idyl
Medium: prepared piano (with cymbal beater, bass drum stick, wooden stick, New Year’s Eve whistle, Aztec clay whistle and 25 cent coin)
Note: Pastorale No. 1 originally entitled Pastorale, No. 2 originally entitled 2nd Pastorale
Extent: First Pastorale (122 bars); Second Pastorale (122 bars)
Duration: approximately 14 minutes
Date: 9 November 1951 (First Pastorale) and 31 January 1952 (Second Pastorale)
Dedication: for Merle Marsicano
First performance: 9 December 1951 (first only); 10 February 1952 (complete)
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 6; New York, Public Library, *MNZ-Amer., JPB 94-24 Folder 170
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6765)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 18; Pritchett 1988a, 174-178; Vaes 2009, 752-753.
Two Pieces for Piano (circa 1935)
Medium: piano
Extent: I. Slowly (left hand 34 bars, right hand 26 bars); II. Quite fast (left hand 95 bars, right hand 98 bars)
Duration: approximately 4 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: circa (early?) 1935; revised 1974
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 21-22
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1974 (Peters; 6813) [revised version]; repr. in John Cage, Piano Works 1935-48. New York: Henmar Press, 1998, 5-8 (Peters; 67380)
Literature: Andraschke 2008; Clavier 1981; Erdmann 1993f, 30-35; Francis, J.R. 1976, 23-25; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 4; Nicholls 1990a, 182-184; Peloquin 1995.
Two Pieces for Piano (1946)
Medium: piano
Extent: I. 3-5-2 (100 bars); II. 2¼-3¾-1¾-2¼ (102 bars)
Note: originally intended as a composition for orchestra; first piece is a first version of Prelude I of The Seasons; bars 1-23 [***fully?] of the second piece nearly identical with Prelude for Six Instruments in A Minor, bars 1-23
Duration: approximately 8 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: July 1946 (1) and May-August 1946 (2)
First performance: unknown
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 133-134
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1970 (Peters; 6814); repr. in John Cage, Piano Works 1935-48. New York: Henmar Press, 1998, 50-56 (Peters; 67380)
Literature: Erdmann 1990c; Fetterman 1996a, 15-16, 70; Francis, J.R. 1976, 43; Hilger 1990.
The Unavailable Memory of
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: prepared piano
Extent: 89 bars
Duration: approximately 4 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: 1944
First performance: 5 April 1944
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 120-122
Publication: ed. Richard Bunger. New York: Henmar Press, 1977 (Peters; 66764); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 2: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 10-13 (Peters; 67886b).
Literature: Hilger 1990.
Unstratified Essay. See Essay.
A Valentine out of Season
Medium: prepared piano
Note: choreographed by Helaine Blok ca. 1944***
Extent: I (60 bars); II (34 bars); III (34 bars)
Duration: approximately 4 minutes
Date: July 1944
First performance: presumably 19 December 1948
Dedication: for Xenia Cage
Sources: Detroit, Michigan, collection Gilbert Silverman and Lila Silverman; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 112
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6766); repr. in John Cage, Prepared Piano Music Volume 2: 1940-47. New York: Henmar Press, 2000, 14-20 (Peters; 67886b)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 19; Cage 1993d, 10; Fetterman 1996a, 8, 70; Nodine 2007.
Variations I
Medium: any number of performers using indeterminate instruments or sound sources
Note: earlier title Variations
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences) and 6 diagrams; extra materials instructions for performance (3 sentences) and 6 diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for David Tudor
Date: 20 January 1958
First performance: 15 March 1958
Note: at least three realizations by Cage for piano solo exist
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 6; New York, private collection; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 254
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6767); New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6767a) [extra materials]; facsimiles of the two-page and three-page realizations in Res [Cambridge, Massachusetts] no. 6 (Fall), 121 and 122-123
Literature: Bärtschi and Schibler 1969; Boehm 2006; Böttinger 1990; Buckinx 1972, passim; Cage 1961h, 28, 31; Cage 1962e, 28; Cage 1967o, 134; Cage 1982b, 49; Cage 1983j, 139; Cage 1993d, 59, 62; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Casey 2016; Duckworth 1972, 110-111, 117; Fowler, M. 2019b; Gligo 1987-1988, 148-161; Holzaepfel 2012; Hope, Vickery, Wyatt and James 2013; Iddon 2013a; La Motte-Haber 2006; Lochhead 1994; Meschendörfer 2002; Metzger, H.-K. 1978; Metzger, H.-K. 1985; Metzger, H.-K. 1994; Metzger, H.-K. 2012f; Miller, D.P. 2003; Müller, H.-C. 1994; Rebhahn 2012d; Vickery, Hope and James 2012; Wüthrich-Mathez 1987; Zacher 1997; Zimmerschied 1974a.
Variations II
Medium: any number of performers using indeterminate sound sources
Extent: instructions for performance (9 sentences), 11 diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: February-March 1961
First performance: 24 March 1961
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 7; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 276-278
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6768)
Literature: Böttinger 1990; Buckinx 1972, passim; Cage 1962e, 29; Cage 1982b, 49; Cage 1983j, 139; Cage 1993d, 62; Cage/Charles 1976, 124-125, 178; Cage/Fletcher and Moore 1983; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Christensen, E. 2004; Cross, L.M. 1974, 769; DeLio 1980-1981; DeLio 1981a; Donahue 2016; Fowler, M. 2009; Hilberg 1991; Hilberg 1996; Hope, Vickery, Wyatt and James 2013; LaBelle 2012b; Lochhead 1994; Miller, D.P. 2003; Panzner 2003; Popoff 2013b; Pritchett 2000; Pritchett 2001; Pritchett 2004; Rønningsgrind 2012; Teitelbaum 1970; Thomas, P. 2009; Vickery, Hope and James 2012.
Variations III
Medium: any number of people performing any actions
Extent: instructions for performance (14 sentences); 42 diagrams; 1 blank sheet
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: December 1962-January 1963
First performance: 21 January 1963
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 7; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 287-289
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1963 (Peters; 6797)
Literature: Böttinger 1990; Buckinx 1972, passim; Cage 1967o, 26; Cage/Bodin and Johnson 1965; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Cage/Mimaroğlu 1965; Fetterman 1996a, 198-202; Fowler, M. 2012; Hope, Vickery, Wyatt and James 2013; Lochhead 1994; Rønningsgrind 2012; Shultis 1995; Straebel 2015; Vickery, Hope and James 2012.
Variations IV
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Field Dances
Medium: any number of performers using indeterminate sound sources, with or without other activities
Note: second of a group of works of which Atlas Eclipticalis is the first and 0'00" is the third
Extent: instructions for performance (31 sentences); 9 diagrams
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for Peter Pesic
Date: 10 July 1963
First performance: 17 July 1963
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 290
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1963 (Peters; 6798)
Literature: Block 1980, 125; Böttinger 1990; Buckinx 1972, passim; Byrd, Jo. 1993; Cage 1964b; Cage 1965c; Cage 1967o, 143; Cage 1980e; Cage 1993d, 62; Cage/Charles 1968, 9; Cage/Charles 1976, 130-131, 211; Cage/Kurtz 1983; Cage/Mimaroğlu 1965; Cage/Smalley and Sylvester 1972, [12]; Dasilva and Hunchuk 1989; Fetterman 1996a, 125-128; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 39-40; Hope, James and Vickery 2012; Hope, Vickery, Wyatt and James 2013; Kumpf 1976, 90; Nicholls 2002g; Rønningsgrind 2012; Shaw-Miller 2002; Whitney, K. 2000, 211-214.
Variations V
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Medium: any number of performers using photo-electric cells and twenty-four amplified sound sources (twelve tape recorders and twelve radios) triggered by twelve capacitance antennas ***diss
Extent: 38 sentences
Duration: indeterminate
Commission: New York Philharmonic French-American Festival
Dedication: for Mary Sisler
Date: September-6 October 1965
First performance: 23 July 1965
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 261, 292-294***
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1965 (Peters; 6799)
Literature: Buckinx 1972, passim; Cage 1965c; Cage 1967o, 22, 142, 144; Cage/Charles 1976, 171; Cage/Charles 1976, 171 Cage/Kostelanetz 1968; Cage/Kostelanetz 1970, 21-22; Cunningham, M. 1982b, 180-181; Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Damkjær 2005; Duckworth 1972, 111-13, 118; Fetterman 1996a, 128-130; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 40, 43; Holmes 1985/2005; Hoover, E.A. 2010; Hoover, E.A. 2012; Hope, James and Vickery 2012; Hope, Vickery, Wyatt and James 2013; Jordan 1979, 19; Miller, D.P. 2009; Miller, L.E. 2001; Miller, L.E. 2002a; Mumma 1967a; Mumma 1967c; Rønningsgrind 2012; Schröder, J.H. 2011, 173-214; Vanel 2008; Zacher 1974.
Variations VI
Medium: any combination of sound systems consisting of sound sources, components (amplifiers, pre-amplifiers, modulators, filters) and loudspeakers
Extent: 18 sentences and 221 symbols
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: for William Copley and Noma Copley
Date: March 1966
First performance: 27 April 1966
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 968
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1966 (Peters; 6802)
Literature: Buckinx 1972, passim; Cage 1967o, 85; Cage 1979c, 185; Cage/Smalley and Sylvester 1972, [12]; DeLio 1981b; Fetterman 1996a, 133-136; Hope, James and Vickery 2012; Hope, Vickery, Wyatt and James 2013.
Variations VII
Medium: any number of performers picking up sounds present in the air at the moment of performance
Note: employed for the first performance were thirty photo-electric cells and lights mounted at ankle level around the performance area, activating the different sound sources as the performers move around, and a large number of amplified sound sources: six contact microphones attached to the performance platform, amplified sounds of activities of the heart, brains, lungs, and stomach of four assistants, two Geiger counters, twelve contact microphones on various electric household appliances (fan, juicer, eggbeater, blender, toaster, washing machine), devices for receiving electromagnetic communication transmission: twenty radios, two televisions, magnetic pickups on ten telephone receivers (lines connected to various places in New York City: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals lost dog kennel, New York Department of Sanitation, turtle tank in Terry Riley’s apartment, Luchow’s German restaurant [Union Square], Merce Cunningham’s dance studio, the Aviary, the 14th Street Consolidated Edison electric power station, the New York Times press room, a bus depot), oscillators (sine waves, square waves), pulse generator, all routed to seventeen loudspeakers
Extent: 10 sentences
Duration: indeterminate (approximately 85 minutes)
Date: October 1966; notated September-December 1972
First performance: 15 October 1966
Sources: Montréal, Québec, The Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science, and Technology; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 295-297
Publication: none
Literature: Buckinx 1972, 170; NNB***Cage 1966[VARIATIONS VII < xcAW: TTB missing: in 9 evenings…]; Cage/Charles 1976, 222; Cage, Foreman, and Kostelanetz/Marranca 1979; Cage/Nyffeler 1970; Fetterman 1996a, 136-138; Hope, Vickery, Wyatt and James 2013; Klüver 1967; Klüver 1969; Klüver 1980; Miller, D.P. 2009; Miller, L.E. 2001; Miller, L.E. 2002a; Morris, C. 2006; O’Brien 2018; Pritchett 1993, 153.
Variations VIII
Medium: any number of performers potentially producing sounds using instruments or machines which happen to be present at the venue of performance
Extent: six sentences (first version); *** sentences (revised version)
Duration: indeterminate
Date: conceived 1967; composed 1976; revised January or February 1978
First performance: May 1967 (original version); 7 April 1978 (revised version)
Dedication: second version for Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 542
Publication: revised version, color. As part of Metzger 1979a. In Cage Box: Originalbeiträge, ed. Hans Rudolf Zeller. Bonn: Kulturamt der Stadt Bonn, 1979, 22 (revised version); incomplete, black and white. New York: Henmar Press, 1978 (Peters; 66766)
Literature: Buckinx 1972, 170; Fetterman 1996a, 202-203; Hope, Vickery, Wyatt and James 2013; Metzger, H.-K. 1979a; Miller, D.P. 2009.
Vis-à-Vis
Note: composed in collaboration with Tōru Takemitsu and [THE] (Edwin Harkins and Philip Larson)
Text: Marcel Duchamp, Sculpture musicale; Makoto Ooka, The Sea Is Still
Medium: two performers using recordings, film, photos, piano; Cage’s contribution consisted of a mesostic based on videotapes sent to him by Harkins and Larson; Takemitsu responded with Ooka’s poem, a tape and two-color graphic (to be interpreted as a score); [THE] made an audiocassette out of this material, which again went to Cage, who wrote another mesostic; this went to Takemitsu, and so on; final result was prepared by [THE]
Extent: unknown (IV parts)
Duration: unknown
Date: 1986
First performance: 29 April 1986
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none
Literature: Saville 1986.
Voiceless Essay
Medium: Electronically transformed and synthesized recording of text on magnetic tape (mix of four tracks); tapes to be mixed or manipulated live by four musicians
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Points in Space
Text: four of the Writings through the Essay: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (IV, IX, XV, and XVI), consonants only
Extent: unknown
Duration: 27 minutes
Commission: British Broadcasting Corporation 2, conceived for television
Realization: John Cage, in collaboration with Charles Dodge, Victor Friedberg, Frances White, Kenneth Worthy, Paul Zinmann, at the Center for Computer Music at Brooklyn College of the University of New York
Date: early 1987
Date: 1987? and completed early 1987
First performance: 10 March 1987
First broadcast: 18 July 1987
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 767*** (sketch [Stratified Essay], 1 leaf, 28 cm, white paper, print-out, ballpoint).
Publication: New York: Henmar Press (C.F. Peters 67180), 19***; aut. facs. sketch (CF. MSS***) in Goedl, Frohne and Lemanczyk 1987, vol. 3, [32]-[33]
Literature: Cunningham, M./Kuhn 1998; Frego 1996; Schöning 1987JOHN/46-47; NNB Schöning 1987***; Thorman 2002, 166-169.
Waiting
Choreography: Louise Lippold
Medium: piano
Extent: 36 bars
Duration: 3 minutes and 36 seconds
Dedication: for Louise Lippold
Date: 7 January 1952
First performance: 4 February 1952
Sources: New York, Public Library, *MNZ-Amer., JPB 94-24 Folder 186-187
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6769); repr. in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, 75 (Peters; 68030); an unauthorized Soviet edition exists
Literature: Cage 1962e, 11; Cage 1993d, 53; Erdmann 1993f, 56-57; Francis, J.R. 1976, 56; Naglia 1989-1990; Pritchett 1988a, 185-192.
Wan Fine Night
Medium: voice
Date: circa 1984, unfinished [presumably became Nowth upon Nacht]
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 917.
Water Music
Note: title may change to be that of the place or date of the performance
Medium: piano and various sound-producing objects and props: water warbler, siren whistle, plastic duck whistle, bowl of water, two receptacles for receiving and pouring water, radio, deck of playing cards, wooden stick, four objects for preparing a piano, score (to be mounted as a poster on a presentation easel during performance)
Extent: *** systems
Duration: 6 minutes and 40 seconds
Dedication: none
Date: Spring 1952
First performance: 2 May 1952
Sources: Bochum, Galerie Inge Baecker; Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 8; New York, Whitney Museum of American Art; New York, Public Library, *MNZ-Amer.
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6770)
Literature: Cage 1962e, 43; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Danuser 1986a; Duckworth 1972, 101-3, 113, 115, 116; Fetterman 1996a, 25-32, 41-43; Foster, G. 1980b; Hüppe 2002; Mount 2011; Nodine 2007; Pritchett 1988a, 192-197; Tan 2009; Vaes 2009, 754; Vogels 2014, 171-174.
Water Music No. 2. See Water Walk.
Water Walk
Note: original title Water Music No. 2
Medium: solo television performer using piano (also using timpani stick), percussion (suspended Chinese gong with yarn-covered beater, Turkish cymbal with handle), and [34] sound-producing objects and props [properties]: five portable radios of inferior quality, three tables, bath tub 3/4 filled with water, toy fish automotive in water, 1 25 cent coin (optional), explosive paper bottle which ejects confetti, electric hot plate, pressure cooker with hot water, supply of ice cubes and means for containing them (ice bucket or insulated paper bag), ordinary drinking glass, pitcher, nondescript whistle, toy rubber duck which sounds when squeezed, one dozen fresh or artificial red roses, vase with water if fresh roses are used, garden sprinkling tin can with handle and water, bottle of campari, electric mixer (with ice cubes in it), iron pipe, soda syphon, quail call activated by squeezing a rubber bulb, goose whistle) and magnetic tape made especially for this composition (by John Cage, 1959)
Model: John Cage, Fontana Mix, 1958
Extent: 1 diagram and 6 systems
Duration: 3 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: January 1959
First performance: January 1959
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 257-260
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6771); New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6771a) [single-track reel tape, 19 cm/second]
Literature: Cage 1962e, 43; Cage/Kirby and Schechner 1965; Fetterman 1996a, 32-36, 43-46, 236; Green, J.M. 2020; LaBelle 2012b; Mount 2011; Vaes 2009, 766-767.
WBAI
Medium: performer using one to four machines*** for an operator of machines (tape machines [in a performance of Fontana Mix with Solo for Piano from Concert for Piano and Orchestra [1958], Aria, etc.], LP playbacks with amplifiers and tone controls and amplifier tone control of the speaker’s voice [in a performance of the lectures, Indeterminacy: New Aspect of Form in Instrumental and Electronic Music, or Communication]); may also be used to control the amplitude in the lecture, Where Are We Going? And What Are We Doing?
Model: John Cage, Fontana Mix, 1958
Extent: instructions for performance (6 sentences), 1 diagram and 60 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Dedication: none
Date: January-May 1960
First performance: February 1960
Sources: Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 8; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 274
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6772)
Literature: Cage 1961h, 194; Cage 1962e, 40-41; Metzger, H.-K. 2012c.
_ Week of _
Choreography: Merce Cunningham, Signals
Note: title to be that of the particular week and month of performance, for example Third Week of June
Medium: three or four musicians performing their own musics prepared in advance
Duration: ***
Dedication: none
Date: 1970
First performance: 5 June 1970
Sources: present location unknown
Literature: Cage/Charles 1976, 123-124.
WGBH-TV. See Art.
What So Proudly We Hail. See Four Dances.
Williams Mix
Medium: eight monaural magnetic tapes to be played back on eight machines and loudspeakers
Extent: 20 sentences, 384 systems
Duration: 4 minutes
Dedication: none
Date: May-October 1952
First performance: 22 March 1953
Realization: Earle Brown, John Cage, and David Tudor, with technical assistance of Louis Barron and Bebe Barron (May 1952-16 January 1953)
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 188, 190-191, 906, 953
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6774a) [realization for 8 single-track reel tapes, 19 cm/second]; New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6774b) [realization for 4 double-track reel tapes, 19 cm/second]; score remains unpublished
Literature: Aeberhard 2017; Austin, L. 2004a; Bernstein, D.W. 2002a; Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1961h, 26, 29-32; Cage 1962e, 41; Cage 1967o, 142, 143; Cage/Charles 1976, 36, 120-121; Cage/Kostelanetz 1970, 19; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Cage/Mimaroğlu 1965; Kostelanetz 1970d, 19, 109-111, 129-130; Kostelanetz 1989d; Pritchett 1988a, 197-216; Pritchett 1996; Rigoni 1990-1991; Vale and Juno 1994; Valiquet 2012; Vogels 2014, 81-82; Wierzbicki 2005; Wolff, C./Patterson 1994.
Winter Music
Medium: one to twenty pianos
Note: may be performed with Atlas Eclipticalis and Solo for Voice 45 and Solo for Voice 48 from Song Books
Extent: instructions for performance (12 sentences) and 100 systems
Duration: indeterminate
Date: Winter 1956-prior to 12 January 1957
First performance: 12 January 1957
Dedication: for Bob Rauschenberg (1925-2008) and Jasper Johns (1930)
Sources: Present location unknown (previously Beverly Hills, California, private collection Betty Freeman); Los Angeles, California, Getty Center, 940073 box 6 folder 9-box 7 folder 1; New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 958-959
Publication: New Departures [Oxford] no. 2-3 (1960), 57-77; repr. New York: Henmar Press, 1960 (Peters; 6775)
Literature: Beeler 1973; Cage 1962e, 14; Cage 1964b; Cage 1967o, 135; Cage 1986e; Cage 1987n; Cage/Katz 1990; Downes 1970; Erdmann 1993e; Francis, J.R. 1976, 61-77, 97-98, 102-103 passim; Holzaepfel 2002; Metzger, H.-K. 2012d.
Wishing Well
Medium: four speaking voices
Text: Francisco Tanzer, Wishing Well
Extent: unknown
Duration: approximately 30 seconds
Dedication: for the Continuum Ensemble (Joel Sachs)
Date: before 1 March 1986
First performance: 1 March 1986
Sources: present location unknown
Publication: none.
The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs
Text: James Joyce, Finnegans Wake. New York: Viking Press, 1939, p. 556
Medium: voice (any range) and closed piano; may be combined with Nowth upon Nacht
Extent: 33 bars
Duration: approximately 2 minutes
Dedication: for Janet Fairbank (1903-1947)
Date: November 1942
First performance: 5 March 1943
Sources: Chicago, Illinois, Newberry Library, Janet Fairbank collection; Washington, D.C., Library of Congress, Moldenhauer Archives (Box 79), Format A. Mus. ms. S. Record number 1168 [Mylar N]
Publication: New York: Henmar Press, 1961 (Peters; 6297)
Literature: Andraschke 2008; Bloch 1990; Cage 1959e; Cage 1959h; Cage 1962e, 22; Cage 1979c, 133; Cage/Schöning 1982, 81; Duckworth 1972, 78-80, 84; Griffiths, P. 1981a, 16-17; Kim, R.Y. 2005; Kostelanetz 1970d, 128; Manning, J. 1986; Novak 2004; Petkus 1986, 60-77; Reinhardt 2000; Revill 1992, 82, 254; Thiemann 1962.
Works of Calder
Film: Herbert Matter, 1950. Works of Calder. New York: Burgess Meredith
Medium: prepared piano and magnetic tape (recording of percussive sounds from Alexander Calder’s studio)
Extent: prepared piano sequences: I (30 bars); III (67 bars)
Note: in February 1950 Maro Ajemian performed the sequences for prepared piano for the soundtrack
Note: on 8 February 1950 Cage performed a “suite from Works of Calder” in four movements [sic]: (1) I Went to the Beach; (2) I Wandered about and Investigated; (3) Like a Factory, but Somehow the Things Came out Differently; (4) A Private Sky
Duration: approximately 20 minutes (piano sequence I approximately 5 minutes; piano sequence III approximately 10 minutes; magnetic tape soundtrack approximately 5 minutes)
Dedication: none
Date: November or December 1949-January 1950
First performance: 8 February 1950 (partial); film first shown 1-3 September 1951
Sources: New York, Public Library, JPB 94-24 Folder 158-161
Note: Cage 1951a, 15 includes a partial table of preparations different from the published one
Publication: [prepared piano sequences] in Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4 (1933-1952), ed. Margaret Leng Tan. New York: Henmar Press, 2004, 60-74 (Peters; 68030)
Literature: Boulez/Cage 1990, 149-150; Brown, R.H. 2014; Cage 1951a; Cage/Charles 1976, 193-194; Cage/Kostelanetz 1986; Lipman, J. 1976; Rausch 1999b.
“The Year Begins to Ripe.” See Song Books.