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John Cage (1912-1992)

John Cage composerEven after his death, John Cage remains a controversial figure. Famously challenging the very notion of what music is, Cage remained on the leading edge of both playful and profound experimentalism for the greater part of his career, collaborating with and influencing generations of composers, writers, dancers, and visual artists. One of his best-known and most sonically intriguing innovations, the prepared piano, had become an almost commonplace compositional resource by the end of the twentieth century. Years before the invention of the synthesizer, he was in the forefront in the exploration of electric and electronic sound sources, using oscillators, turntables, and amplification to musical ends. He pioneered the use of graphic notation and, in employing chance operations to determine musical parameters, was the leading light for one cadre of the avant-garde that included Morton Feldman, Christian Wolff, Earle Brown, and Pauline Oliveros. Cage produced works of "performance art" years before the term was coined, and his 4'33'' (1952) -- in which the performers are instructed to remain silent for four minutes and thirty-three seconds -- takes a place among the most notorious touchstones of twentieth century music.  -  Michael Rodman, All Music Guide


COMPOSITIONS                                                                           Cage  Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Cage on Cage
[under construction]
Untitled Composition, any instruments with specified ranges (1931)
Piano Etudes (1931 or 32; lost?)
Greek Ode, voice and piano (1932)
First Chapter of Ecclesiastes (The Preacher), piano (and voice?) (1932)
Three Songs for Voice and Piano (1933)
Three Easy Pieces, piano (1933)
Sonata For Clarinet, clarinet (1933)
Sonata For Two Voices, 2 or more instruments/ranges: I, c' - c"'; II, c - c" (1933)
Duet for Two Flutes (1934; lost?)
Composition For 3 Voices, 3 unspecified instruments (1934)
Music for Xenia, piano (1934; lost?)
Six Short Inventions, any 3 or more insts w/specific range (1934; rev. 1958) [see Solo with Obbligato ...]
Solo with Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon, and Six Short Inventions on the Subjects of the Solo, any 3 or more instruments/range of g - g" (1934)
Allemande, clarinet (1934; lost/destroyed?)
Quartet, any percussion instruments (1935)
Quest, various amplified sound producing objects (first movement) and piano (second movement) (1935)
Two Pieces for Piano (1935; rev. 1974)
Three Pieces for Flute Duet (1935)
String Quartet (1936; lost?)
Trio, 3 percussionists (1936)                                                                                                              ~ top of page ~
Music for an Aquatic Ballet, [instrumentation unknown, though included watergongs] (1938; lost?)
Metamorphosis, piano (1938)
Five Songs for Contralto, voice and piano (1938)
Music for Wind Instruments, woodwind quintet (1938)
25 Ballets in 1 act for a solo dancer, [instrumentation unknown] (1939; lost?)
Ho to AA, voice and piano (1939; lost?)
Marriage at the Eiffel Tower, 2 pianos (partially four-hands), various toy-whistles and sirens (1939)
Imaginary Landscape No. 1, 2 variable-speed turntables, frequency recordings, muted piano and cymbal (1939)
First Construction (in Metal), percussion sextet w/assistant (1939)
A Chant With Claps, voice and hand clapping (1940/1947?)
America Was Promises, speaker and piano 4-hands (1940; lost?)
Four Songs of the Moment, piano w/dancer (1940; lost?)
Spiritual, piano w/dancer (1940; lost?)
Dance Music: for Elfrid Ide, 6 percussionists (and piano) (1940)
Second Construction, percussion ensemble (4 players) (1940)
Bacchanale, prepared piano (1940)
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 [1st version], records of constant and variable frequency, string pf and perc (4 players) (1940)
Fads and Fancies in the Academy, 5 players (percussion, pianos, dance, speech) (1940)
Living Room Music, percussion and speech quartet, w/ or w/o an instrumental solo with perc trio (1940)
Opening Dance for Sue La[ub], piano (1940-41?)
Third Construction, percussion quartet (1941)
Double Music, percussion quartet (1941)
Dance to the West, piano (1942)
Forever and Sunsmell, low voice and 2 percussionists (1942)
Opening Dance, piano (1942; lost?)
Totem Ancestor, prepared piano and dancers (1942) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Jazz Study, piano (1942)
Imaginary Landscape No. 3, 6 percussion players (1942)
Fourth Construction (1942; unfinished, or possibly original title for Imaginary Landscape No. 2: March)
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March), percussion quintet (originally for percussion orchestra, 5 players) (1942)
The City Wears a Slouch Hat, narrator and 6 percussion players (1942)
Credo in Us, 4 players w/dancers (pf; 2 perc; radio or phonograph) (1942) [choreography by M. Cunningham and J. Erdman]
And The Earth Shall Bear Again, prepared piano w/dancers (1942) [choreography by Valerie Bettis]
The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, voice and piano (1942)                                   ~ top of page ~
Primitive, prepared piano (1942)
In the Name of the Holocaust, prepared piano w/dancers (1942) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Shimmera, prepared piano w/dancers (1942; lost?) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Ad Lib, piano w/dancers (1943) [choreography by Merce Cunningham and Jean Erdman]
Chess Pieces, piano (1943)
Lidice, prepared piano w/dancers (1943; lost) [choreography by Marie Marchowsky]
Our Spring Will Come, prepared piano (1943)
A Room, prepared piano (1943)
She Is Asleep, I: quartet for percussion (12 tom-toms); II: voice and prepared piano (1943)
Amores, prepared piano and 3 percussion players (1943) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham, 1949]
Four Dances (What So Proudly We Hail), wordless tenor voice, prepared piano (also handclap) and percussion (1943)
Tossed As It Is Untroubled, perpared pf (1943) [originally called Meditation] [choreographed by Cunningham, 1944]
Triple-Paced (first version), piano (1943) [second version, 1944, w/choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Arrangement of first mvt of "Socrate" (Erik Satie), 2 pf (1944) [choreographed by Cunningham: Idyllic Song]
Four Walls, piano (w/singing voice) and dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Prelude for Meditation, prepared piano (1944)
Root of an Unfocus, prepared piano w/dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Spontaneous Earth, prepared piano w/dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
The Unavailable Memory of, prepared piano w/dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Triple-Paced (second version), prepared piano w/dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
The Perilous Night, prepared piano (1944)
A Valentine Out of Season, prepared pf (1944) [choreographed by Cunningham: Effusions avant l'heure/Games/Trio, 1949]
A Book Of Music, 2 prepard pianos (1944)
Crete, piano (1944/1945)
Dad, piano (1944/1945)
Party Pieces, any melody or keyboard instruments (1945)
Mysterious Adventure, prepared piano w/dancers (1945) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Soliloquy, piano w/dancers (1945) [one of the dances from Four Walls, 1944] [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Experiences I, 2 pianos w/dancers (1945) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
The Feast, piano (1945; lost?)                                                                                                            ~ top of page ~
Thin Cry, piano w/dancers (1945; lost?) [choreography by Yuriko]
Three Dances, 2 prepared pianos (1945) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham: Dromenon, 1947]
Daughters of the Lonesome Isle, prepared piano w/dancers (1945) [choreography by Jean Erdman]

******************************************************************************************************************************************
Encounter, piano w/dancers (1946, incomplete) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Foreboding, piano [w/dancers?] (1946; lost?) [choreography by Nina Fonaroff?]
Ophelia, piano w/dancers (1946) [choreography by Jean Erdman]
Two Pieces for Piano (1946)
Prelude for Six Instruments in A Minor, pf, fl, bsn, tpt, vln and vc (1946) [same as 2nd of Two Pieces for Piano, 1946]
Arrangement of mvt 2 & 3 of 'Socrate' (Erik Satie), 2 pf (1947)
Music for Marcel Duchamp, prepared piano (1947)
Nocturne for Violin and Piano (1947)
The Seasons, ballet in one act, piano or orchestra (1947) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Dream, piano, or viola and ensemble of 4 violas, w/dancers (1948) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Experiences II, voice unaccompanied w/dancers (1948) [choreography by Cunningham] [see also Experiences I, 1945]
In a Landscape, piano or harp solo w/dancers (1948) [choreography by Louise Lippold]
Orestes, piano? (1948/1946?; sketches only) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Sonatas and Interludes, prepared pf (1948) [16 Sonatas; 4 Interludes]
Suite for Toy Piano, toy piano or piano w/dancers (1948) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham: A Diversion, 1948]
Triple Music (1948; never realized)
A Flower, voice and (closed) piano w/dancers (1950) [choreography by Louise Lippold]
Music for "Works of Calder", music for a film, prepared piano and magnetic tape (1950)
Six Melodies for Violin and Keyboard, violin and keyboard or piano (1950)
String Quartet in Four Parts, string quartet (1950)
Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1951)
Haiku, piano (1951)
Imaginary Landscape No. 4 (March No.2), 12 radios, 24 performers and conductor (1951)
Music of Changes (in 4 Books), piano (1951)
Seven Haiku, piano (1951-52)
Sixteen Dances, fl, tpt, 4 perc, pf, vln & vc w/dancers (1951) [chor./Cunningham: 16 Dances for Soloist & Company of 3, 1951]
Black Mountain Piece, 3 spkrs, pf, dancer, gramophone, radios, film, slideprojectors & paintings (1952) [chor./Cunningham]
For M.C. and D.T., piano (1952)
4'33", any instrument or combination of instruments (1952)                                                     ~ top of page ~
Imaginary Landscape No. 5, score to make a recording, using any of 42 LPs (1952) [chore./Jean Erdman: Portrait of a Lady]
Music for Carillon No. 1, carillon (1952)
Music for Piano 1, piano (1952)
Two Pastorales, prepared piano w/dancer(s) (1952) [choreography by Merle Marsicano: "Idyl"/for Pastorale No. 1]
Water Music, for pianist w/radio, 3 whistles, deck of cards, etc (1952)
Waiting, piano w/dancer(s) (1952) [choreography by Louise Lippold]
Williams Mix, tape (1952)
1' ˝" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
1' 14" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
1' 18" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
1' 5˝" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
57˝" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
59˝" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
Music for Piano 2, piano w/dancer(s) (1953) [choreography by Louise Lippold & Merce Cunningham/multiple works]
Music for Piano 3, piano w/dancer(s) (1953) [choreography by Merce Cunningham/multiple works]
Music for Piano 4-19, piano w/dancer(s) (1953) [choreography by Merce Cunningham/multiple works]
Music for Piano 20, piano w/dancer(s) (1953) [choreography by Merce Cunningham/multiple works]
(Unfinished Work for Voice) (1953)
(Unfinished Work for Magnetic Tape) (1953)

1954
Music for Carillon No.2 (1954)
Music for Carillon No.3 (1954)
34'46.776" For a Pianist (1954)
31'57.9864" for a Pianist (1954)

1955
26'1.1499" For a String Player (1955)
Music for Piano 21-36; 37-52 (1955)
Speech 1955 (1955)

1956
27'10.554" For a Percussionist (1956)
Music For Piano 53-68 (1956)
Music For Piano 69-84 (1956)
Radio Music (1956)                                                                                                                               ~ top of page ~

1957
Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957-58)
For Paul Taylor and Anita Dencks (1957)
Solo for Piano (1957-58)
Solo for Violin(s) (1957-58)
Solo for Viola(s) (1957-58)
Solo for Cello (1957-58)
Solo for Double Bass (1957-58)
Solo for Flute (1957-58)
Solo for Clarinet (1957-58)
Solo for Bassoon (1957-58)
Solo for Trumpet (1957-58)
Solo for Sliding Trombone (1957-58)
Solo for Tuba (1957-58)
Winter Music (1956)

1958
Adaptation of 'Ixion' (Morton Feldman) (1958)
Aria (1958)
Fontana Mix (1958)
Haiku (1958)
Music Walk (1958)
Six Short Inventions, alto fl, cl, tpt, vln, 2 va and vc (1958) [revision of 1934 work]
Solo for Voice 1 (1958)
TV Köln (1958)
Variations I (1958)

1959
Sounds of Venice (1959)
Water Walk (1959)

1960
Cartridge Music (1960)
Duet for Cymbal (1960)
Music for Amplified Toy Pianos (1960)
Music for "The Marrying Maiden" (1960)
Piano Duet (1960)
Solo for Voice 2 (1960)
Theatre Piece (1960)
WBAI (1960)
Where Are We Going? And What Are We Doing? (1960)                                                         ~ top of page ~

1961
Atlas Eclipticalis (1961-62)
Music for Carillon No.4 (1961)
Variations II (1961)

1962
Music for Piano 85 (1962)
Variations III (1962-63)
0'00" (4'33" No.2) (1962)

1963
Variations IV (1963)

1964
Collage of some 'Studies for Player Piano' (Conlon Nancarrow) (1964)
Electronic Music for Piano (1964)

1965
Rozart Mix (1965)
Variations V (1965)

1966
Variations VI (1966)
Variations VII (1966)

1967
Music For Carillon No.5 (1967)
Music for "Museum Event No.5" (1967)
Musicircus (1967)
Newport Mix (1967)

1968
Arrangement of "Socrate" (Erik Satie) (1968)
Assemblage (1968)
Reunion (1968)
0'00" No. 2 (1968)

1969
Adaptation of some "Studies for Player Piano" (Conlon Nancarrow) (1969)
Cheap Imitation (piano) (1969)
HPSCHD (1969)                                                                                                                                   ~ top of page ~
Mewantemooseicday (1969)
Program (KNOBS) for the listener (1969)
Sound Anonymously Received (1969/1978?)
33 1/3 (1969)
Untitled (work for Antoinette Vischer) (1969)

1970
Dialog(ue) (1970? 1977?)
First Week of June (1970)
Mureau (1970)
Song Books (Solos for Voice 3-92) (1970)
Untitled (work for Joao Miró) (1970)

1971
Demonstration of the Sounds of the Environment (1971)
Les chants de Maldoror pulvérises par l'assistance męme (1971)
WGBH-TV (1971)

1972
Bird Cage (1972)
Cheap Imitation (orchestra) (1972)
52/3 (1972)

1973
Etcetera (1973)
Exercise (1973-84)

1974
Etudes Australes (1974-75)
Music for "Westbeth" (1974)
Score (40 Drawings by Thoreau) and 23 parts (1974)
Two Pieces for Piano - revised from 1935 version (1974)

1975
Child of Tree (Improvisation I) (19750)
Lecture on the Weather (19750)
Renga (1975-76)

1976
Branches (1976)                                                                                                                                       ~ top of page ~
Imitations II (1976)
Quartets I-VIII 24 players (1976)
Quartets I-VIII 41 players (1976)
Quartets I-VIII 93 players (1976)
Apartment House 1776 (1976)

1977
Address (1977)
Alla Ricerca del Silenzio Perduto (1977)
Cassette (1977)
Cheap Imitation violin (1977)
Dialog(ue) (1970? 1977?)
49 Waltzes for the five boroughs (1977)
Freeman Etudes (1977-80/1989-90)
Il Treno (1977)
Inlets (Improvisation II) (1977)
Quartets I, V and VI (1977)
Telephones and Birds (1977)

1978
A Dip in the Lake: Ten Quicksteps, Sixty-two Waltzes, and Fifty-six Marches for Chicago and Vicinity (1978)
Chorals (1978)
Etudes Boreales I-IV (1978)
Pools (1978)
Sound Anonymously Received (1969/1978?)
Sounday (1978)
Some of "The Harmony of Maine"(Supply Belcher) (1978)
Variations VIII (1978)

1979
__, __ __ circus on __ (1979)
Concerto Grosso (1979)
Hymns and Variations (1979)
Paragraphs of Fresh Air (1979)
Roaratorio: An Irish Circus on Finnegans Wake (1979)
Silent Environment (1979)

1980
Furniture Music Etcetera (1980)
Improvisation III (1980)                                                                                                                   ~ top of page ~
Litany for the Whale (1980)

1981
Evéne/Environne METZment (1981)
Thirty Pieces for Five Orchestras (1981)

1982
Alphabet (1982)
Dance/4 Orchestras (1982)
Fifteen Domestic Minutes (1982)
A House Full of Music (1982)
Improvisation IV (1982)
Instances of Silence (1982)
Postcard from Heaven (1982)

1983
ear for EAR (Antiphonies)(1983?)
HMCIEX (1983-84)
R/13 (where R=Ryoanji) (1983)
Ryoanji (1983-85)
Souvenir (1983)
Thirty Pieces for String Quartet (1983)

1984
A Collection of Rocks (1984)
Eight Whiskus (voice) (1984)
Exercise (1973/84)
Haikai (1984)
Mirakus[2] (1984)
Music For ________(1984-87)
Musicircus for Children (1984)
Nowth Upon Nacht (1984)
Perpetual Tango (1984)
Selkus[2] (1984)
The first meeting of the Satie society the socie satiety (1984-85)

1985
ASLSP (1985)
But What About the Noise of Crumpling Paper (1985)                                                             ~ top of page ~
Eight Whiskus (violin) (1985)
Etcetera 2/4 Orchestras (1985)
Sonnekus[2] (1985)
Voiceless Essay (1985-86)
Thirteen Harmonies (1985)

1986
Haikai (1986)
Hymnkus (1986)
Improvisation A+B (1986)
Rocks (1986)
Vis-ŕ-vis (1986)
Wishing Well (1986)

1987
Essay (1987)
Europeras 1 & 2 (1987)
One (1987)
Organ[2]/ASLSP (1987)
Truckera (1987)
Two (1987)

1988
Five (1988)
Five Stone (1988)
Five Stone Wind (1988)
Four Solos for Voices (1988)
1O1 (1988)
Seven (1988)
Twenty-Three (1988)

1989
Four (1989)
One[2] (1989)
One[3] (1989)
Sculptures Musicales (1989)
Sports: Swinging (1989)                                                                                                                                 ~ top of page ~
Three (1989)
Two[2] (1989)

1990
c Composed Improvisations (1990)
Europeras 3&4 (1990)
Four[2] (1990)
Fourteen (1990)
One[4] (1990)
One[5] (1990)
One[6] (1990)
One[7] (1990)
Scottish Circus (1990)
Seven[2] (1990)
The Beatles 1962-1970 (1990)

1991
Eight (1991)
Europera 5 (1991)
Five[2] (1991)
Five[3] (1991)
Five[4] (1991)
Five[5] (1991)
Five Hanau Silence (1991)
Four[3] (1991)
Four[4] (1991)
Four[5] (1991)
Lullaby (1991)
Mozart Mix (1991)
One[8] (1991)
One[9] (1991)
103 (1991)
108 (1991)
Six (1991)
Ten (1991)
Three[2] (1991)
Twenty-Six, Twenty-Eight and Twenty-Nine (1991)                                                                  ~ top of page ~
Twenty-Six (1991)
Twenty-Eight (1991)
Twenty-Nine (1991)
Two[3] (1991)
Two[4] (1991)
Two[5] (1991)

1992
Eighty (1992)
Fifty-Eight (1992)
Four[6] (1992)
Muoyce II (1992)
One[10] (1992)
One[11] (1992)
One[12] (1992)
One[13] (1992)
Otte (1992)
Seventeen (1992)
Seventy-Four (1992)
Sixteen (1992)
Sixty-Eight (1992)
Thirteen (1992)
Two[6] (1992)


WORKS BY GENRE (Under Construction)                                                        Cage  Links     ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
[under construction]

Dance
[under construction]
Music for an Aquatic Ballet, [instrumentation unknown, though included watergongs] (1938; lost?)
25 Ballets in 1 act for a solo dancer, [instrumentation unknown] (1939; lost?)
Four Songs of the Moment, piano w/dancer (1940; lost?)
Spiritual, piano w/dancer (1940; lost?)
Fads and Fancies in the Academy, 5 players (percussion, pianos, dance, speech) (1940)
Totem Ancestor, prepared piano and dancers (1942) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Credo in Us, 4 players w/dancers (pf; 2 perc; radio or phonograph) (1942) [choreography by M. Cunningham and J. Erdman]
And The Earth Shall Bear Again, prepared piano w/dancers (1942) [choreography by Valerie Bettis]
In the Name of the Holocaust, prepared piano w/dancers (1942) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Shimmera, prepared piano w/dancers (1942; lost?) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Ad Lib, piano w/dancers (1943) [choreography by Merce Cunningham and Jean Erdman]
Lidice, prepared piano w/dancers (1943; lost) [choreography by Marie Marchowsky]
Amores, prepared piano and 3 percussion players (1943) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham, 1949]
Tossed As It Is Untroubled, perpared pf (1943) [originally called Meditation] [choreographed by Cunningham, 1944]
Triple-Paced (first version), piano (1943) [second version, 1944, w/choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Arrangement of first mvt of "Socrate" (Erik Satie), 2 pf (1944 or 1947) [choreographed by Cunningham: Idyllic Song]
Four Walls, piano (w/singing voice) and dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Root of an Unfocus, prepared piano w/dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Spontaneous Earth, prepared piano w/dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
The Unavailable Memory of, prepared piano w/dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Triple-Paced (second version), prepared piano w/dancers (1944) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
A Valentine Out of Season, prepared pf (1944) [choreographed by Cunningham: Effusions avant l'heure/Games/Trio, 1949]
Mysterious Adventure, prepared piano w/dancers (1945) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Soliloquy, piano w/dancers (1945) [one of the dances from Four Walls, 1944] [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Experiences I, 2 pianos w/dancers (1945) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
The Feast, piano (1945; lost?) [choreography ?]
Thin Cry, piano w/dancers (1945; lost?) [choreography by Yuriko]
Three Dances, 2 prepared pianos (1945) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham: Dromenon, 1947]
Daughters of the Lonesome Isle, prepared piano w/dancers (1945) [choreography by Jean Erdman]
Encounter, piano w/dancers (1946, incomplete) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Foreboding, piano [w/dancers?] (1946; lost?) [choreography by Nina Fonaroff?]
Ophelia, piano w/dancers (1946) [choreography by Jean Erdman]
The Seasons, ballet in one act, piano or orchestra (1947) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Dream, piano, or viola and ensemble of 4 violas, w/dancers (1948) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Experiences II, voice unaccompanied w/dancers (1948) [choreography by Cunningham] [see also Experiences I, 1945]
In a Landscape, piano or harp solo w/dancers (1948) [choreography by Louise Lippold]
Orestes, piano? (1948/1946?; sketches only) [choreography by Merce Cunningham]
Suite for Toy Piano, toy piano or piano w/dancers (1948) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham: A Diversion, 1948]
A Flower, voice and (closed) piano w/dancers (1950) [choreography by Louise Lippold]
Sixteen Dances, fl, tpt, 4 perc, pf, vln & vc w/dancers (1951) [chor./Cunningham: 16 Dances for Soloist & Company of 3, 1951]
Black Mountain Piece, 3 spkrs, pf, dancer, gramophone, radios, film, slideprojectors & paintings (1952) [chor./Cunningham]
Imaginary Landscape No. 5, score to make a recording, using any of 42 LPs (1952) [chore./Jean Erdman: Portrait of a Lady]
Two Pastorales, prepared piano w/dancer(s) (1952) [choreography by Merle Marsicano: "Idyl"/for Pastorale No. 1]
Waiting, piano w/dancer(s) (1952) [choreography by Louise Lippold]
Music for Piano 2, piano w/dancer(s) (1953) [choreography by Louise Lippold & Merce Cunningham/multiple works]
Music for Piano 3, piano w/dancer(s) (1953) [choreography by Merce Cunningham/multiple works]
Music for Piano 4-19, piano w/dancer(s) (1953) [choreography by Merce Cunningham/multiple works]
Music for Piano 20, piano w/dancer(s) (1953) [choreography by Merce Cunningham/multiple works]

Orchestral
[under construction]
Imaginary Landscape No. 4 (March No.2), 12 radios, 24 performers and conductor (1951)

Band
[under construction]

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
[under construction]
Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1951)

Chorus w/Orchestra
[under construction]

Choral
[under construction]

Chamber/Unspecified instruments
[under construction]
Untitled Composition, any instruments with specified ranges (1931)
Sonata For Two Voices, 2 or more instruments/ranges: I, c' - c"'; II, c - c" (1933)
Composition For 3 Voices, 3 unspecified instruments (1934)
Six Short Inventions, any 3 or more insts w/specific range (1934; rev. 1958) [see Solo with Obbligato ...]
Solo with Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon, and Six Short Inventions on the Subjects of the Solo, any 3 or more instruments/range of g - g" (1934)
Party Pieces, any melody or keyboard instruments (1945)
Prelude for Six Instruments in A Minor, pf, fl, bsn, tpt, vln and vc (1946) [same as 2nd of Two Pieces for Piano, 1946]
4'33", any instrument or combination of instruments (1952)

Chamber
[under construction]
Duet for Two Flutes (1934; lost?)
Quest, various amplified sound producing objects (first movement) and piano (second movement) (1935)
Three Pieces for Flute Duet (1935)
String Quartet (1936; lost?)
Music for Wind Instruments, woodwind quintet (1938)
Imaginary Landscape No. 1, 2 variable-speed turntables, frequency recordings, muted piano and cymbal (1939)
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 [1st version], records of constant and variable frequency, string pf and perc (4 players) (1940)
Fads and Fancies in the Academy, 5 players (percussion, pianos, dance, speech) (1940)
Amores, prepared piano and 3 percussion players (1943) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham, 1949]
Four Dances (What So Proudly We Hail), wordless tenor voice, prepared piano (also handclap) and percussion (1943)
Nocturne for Violin and Piano (1947)
Six Melodies for Violin and Keyboard, violin and keyboard or piano (1950)
String Quartet in Four Parts, string quartet (1950)
4'33", any instrument or combination of instruments (1952)

Percussion
[under construction]
Quartet, any percussion instruments (1935)
Trio, 3 percussionists (1936)
First Construction (in Metal), percussion sextet w/assistant (1939)
A Chant With Claps, voice and hand clapping (1940/1947?)
Dance Music: for Elfrid Ide, 6 percussionists (and piano) (1940)
Second Construction, percussion ensemble (4 players) (1940)
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 [1st version], records of constant and variable frequency, string pf and perc (4 players) (1940)
Living Room Music, percussion and speech quartet, w/ or w/o an instrumental solo with perc trio (1940)
Third Construction, percussion quartet (1941)
Double Music, percussion quartet (1941)
Forever and Sunsmell, low voice and 2 percussionists (1942)
Imaginary Landscape No. 3, 6 percussion players (1942)
Fourth Construction (1942; unfinished, or possibly original title for Imaginary Landscape No. 2: March)
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March), percussion quintet (originally for percussion orchestra, 5 players) (1942)
The City Wears a Slouch Hat, narrator and 6 percussion players (1942)
She Is Asleep, I: quartet for percussion (12 tom-toms); II: voice and prepared piano (1943)
Amores, prepared piano and 3 percussion players (1943) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham, 1949]
4'33", any instrument or combination of instruments (1952)

Solo Instrument
[under construction]
Sonata For Clarinet, clarinet (1933)
Allemande, clarinet (1934; lost/destroyed?)
Nocturne for Violin and Piano (1947)
Six Melodies for Violin and Keyboard, violin and keyboard or piano (1950)
4'33", any instrument or combination of instruments (1952)
Music for Carillon No. 1, carillon (1952)
1' ˝" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
1' 14" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
1' 18" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
1' 5˝" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
57˝" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)
59˝" For a String Player, any four stringed instrument (1953)

Piano     see also Prepared Piano
[under construction]
Piano Etudes (1931 or 32; lost?)
First Chapter of Ecclesiastes (The Preacher), piano (and voice?) (1932)
Three Easy Pieces, piano (1933)
Music for Xenia, piano (1934; lost?)
Two Pieces for Piano (1935; rev. 1974)
Metamorphosis, piano (1938)
Marriage at the Eiffel Tower, 2 pianos (partially four-hands), various toy-whistles and sirens (1939)
America Was Promises, speaker and piano 4-hands (1940; lost?)
Opening Dance for Sue La[ub], piano (1940-41?)
Dance to the West, piano (1942)
Opening Dance, piano (1942; lost?)
Jazz Study, piano (1942)
Chess Pieces, piano (1943)
Arrangement of first mvt of "Socrate" (Erik Satie), 2 pf (1944 or 1947) [choreographed by Cunningham: Idyllic Song]
Crete, piano (1944/1945)
Dad, piano (1944/1945)
The Feast, piano (1945; lost?) [choreography ?]
Two Pieces for Piano (1946)
Arrangement of mvt 2 & 3 of 'Socrate' (Erik Satie), 2 pf (1947)
In a Landscape, piano or harp solo w/dancers (1948) [choreography by Louise Lippold]
Haiku, piano (1951)
Music of Changes (in 4 Books), piano (1951)
Seven Haiku, piano (1951-52)
For M.C. and D.T., piano (1952)
4'33", any instrument or combination of instruments (1952)
Music for Piano 1, piano (1952)
Water Music, for pianist w/radio, 3 whistles, deck of cards, etc (1952)

Prepared Piano
see also Dance
[under construction]
Bacchanale, prepared piano (1940)
Primitive, prepared piano (1942)
Our Spring Will Come, prepared piano (1943)
A Room, prepared piano (1943)
Tossed As It Is Untroubled, perpared pf (1943) [originally called Meditation] [choreographed by Cunningham, 1944]
Prelude for Meditation, prepared piano (1944)
The Perilous Night, prepared piano (1944)
A Valentine Out of Season, prepared pf (1944) [choreographed by Cunningham: Effusions avant l'heure/Games/Trio, 1949]
A Book Of Music, 2 prepard pianos (1944)
Three Dances, 2 prepared pianos (1945) [choreographed by Merce Cunningham: Dromenon, 1947]
Music for Marcel Duchamp, prepared piano (1947)
Sonatas and Interludes, prepared pf (1948) [16 Sonatas; 4 Interludes]

Vocal
[under construction]
Greek Ode, voice and piano (1932)
First Chapter of Ecclesiastes (The Preacher), piano (and voice?) (1932)
Three Songs for Voice and Piano (1933)
Five Songs for Contralto, voice and piano (1938)
Ho to AA, voice and piano (1939; lost?)
A Chant With Claps, voice and hand clapping (1940/1947?)
Forever and Sunsmell, low voice and 2 percussionists (1942)
The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, voice and piano (1942)
She Is Asleep, I: quartet for percussion (12 tom-toms); II: voice and prepared piano (1943)
Four Dances (What So Proudly We Hail), wordless tenor voice, prepared piano (also handclap) and percussion (1943)
(Unfinished Work for Voice) (1953)

Incidental/Film
[under construction]
Music for "Works of Calder", music for a film, prepared piano and magnetic tape (1950)

Electronic
[under construction]
Imaginary Landscape No. 5, score to make a recording, using any of 42 LPs (1952) [chore./Jean Erdman: Portrait of a Lady]
Williams Mix, tape (1952)
(Unfinished Work for Magnetic Tape) (1953)


CAGE LINKS                                                                                                             Works by Genre          ~ top of page ~
[under construction]
Guide to the John Cage Mycology Collection, 1873-1994 (Bulk 1950-1990) (Online Archive of California)
James Pritchett: Writings on John Cage (and others)
A John Cage Compendium (Paul van Emmerik, in collaboration with Herbert Henck and András Wilheim)
John Cage's 4'33" (Peter Gutmann, Classical Notes)
silence -- Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage

Books
The Music of John Cage (James Pritchett, books.google.com)

Composer website (site by André Chaudron)
Solomon's John Cage Pages (site by Larry Solomon)

Cage @ Wikipedia
Cage @ 20th Century Arts and Humanities (Dr. Michael Delahoyde, Washington State University)
Cage @ Answers.com
Cage @ Art of the States
Cage @ John Cage Online (compiled by Josh Ronsen)
Cage @ Classic Cat
Cage @ Classical Music Pages
Cage @ Classical Net
Cage @ composition:today
Cage @ Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
Cage @ Edition Peters
Cage @ EPC/Electronic Poetry Center (University at Buffalo, New York)
Cage @ glbtq.com
Cage @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Cage @ Karadar Classical Music
Cage @ Javier Torres Maldonado
Cage @ Lori Kennedy's Webpage
Cage @ Lovely Music
Cage @ The Modern Word
Cage @ Music Academy Online
Cage @ The Music Chamber
Cage @ musicianguide.com
Cage @ NationMaster
Cage @ The New York Times
Cage @ W.W. Norton
Cage @ W.W. Norton/The Enjoyment of Music
Cage @ PBS's American Masters
Cage @ Present Music

Streaming Audio                                                                                                                                ~ top of page ~
Cage @ The Classical MIDI Connection
Cage @ last.fm
Cage @ NPR    -    John Cage's "As Slow As Possible"
Cage @ NPR's Performance Today
Cage @ PRX (Public Radio Exchange)
Cage @ Rhapsody

Recordings
Cage @ ArkivMusic
Cage @ ClassicsOnline

Cage @ YouTube

 Cage on Cage: Opus 20 Modern Masterworks (Documentary)






 Cage on Cage: About Sound







 Cage on Cage: Preparing for "Speach (1955)"






 Cage on Cage: "Water Walk" on "I've Got a Secret" [Jan. 1960]

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