John Cage Online

compiled by Josh Ronsen

last update: 17 December 2007

This is a collection of links to infomation on composer John Cage. Please send any corrections and updates to me at jronsen (ate) grandecom (dote) net If you have any questions about Cage, the perfect place to ask them is SILENCE, the John Cage Discussion List, which can be joined at http://list.mail.virginia.edu/mailman/listinfo/silence



Contents

Lists of Works

  1. Edition Peters -- a list of works available from his publisher, Edition Peters; scores can be ordered from here.
  2. NY Public Library Collection -- Annotated list of scores and manuscripts in the NY Public Library collection; provides detailed info on each item
  3. Larry Solomon's List -- Detailed list of pieces arranged chronologically and alphabetically
  4. Andre Chaudron's List -- Detailed worklist by André Chaudron
  5. James Pritchett's List -- A list compiled by James Pritchett
  6. NEW! Paul van Emmerik's List -- detailed list of compositions with notes

Discographies/Filmographies

  1. Andre Chaudron's Discography -- very detailed discography by André Chaudron
  2. picture discography -- CD discography with cover images and track listings
  3. A John Cage Filmography -- a list of films that feature Cage or his music
  4. NEW! Paul van Emmerik's Discography -- detailed discography by label with notes
  5. NEW! Paul van Emmerik's List of Art Works -- detailed list of art works, with notes

Interviews

  1. 1963 interview by Jonathan Cott in .mp3 audio format
  2. Cage on Ives -- 1966 interview with Michael Zwerin, taken from "John Cage, an Anthology"
  3. John Cage and Morton Feldman in Conversation -- 1967 conversation in .mp3 audio format
  4. Cage on Fuller -- interview with Cage concerning Buckminster Fuller, 19??
  5. Quicktime movie interview -- excerpt of 1969 interview, Quicktime movie
  6. 1969 interview -- with Richard Friedman
  7. French interview -- Interview in French by Jean-Yves Bosseur, 1970
  8. 1970 interview with Max Nyffeler -- 1970
  9. interview on "Empty words" -- brief excerpt of radio interview, 1974, also includes audio sample
  10. interviewed by Paul Cummings -- 1974
  11. interview with Art Lange -- 1977, originally published in "Brilliant Corners"
  12. Laughtears: A conversation on Roaratorio (excerpt) -- Real Audio file taken from Mode Records release of Roaratorio
  13. 1982 interview -- Cage interviewed by Peter Gena, 1982
  14. 1983 interview -- from Audio Arts book
  15. 1983 interview -- by Charles Amirkhanian, .mp3 audio format, with musical examples
  16. 1985 interview -- by Stephen Montague
  17. interview with John Held -- interview with John Held, 1987
  18. shhh... you know who -- 1988 interview with Brian Morton published in the Wire
  19. 1988 interview -- by John Diliberto
  20. Cage on Slonimsky -- 1988? Quicktime video interview with Cage on Slonimsky
  21. NEW! 1989 Q and A Session -- at Norton Lectures, in .mp3 format. Part 2 is here.
  22. interview with Serizawa, Kanesaka, and Takagishi -- 1989
  23. interview with Ed Herrmann -- 1989, there are also 5 audio exceprts on the site
  24. 1990 interview with Pataphysics Magazine -- 1990
  25. Cage on his paintings -- brief excerpts of interview with Cage on his paintings, 1990?
  26. Interview with Steve Sweeney-Turner -- second part of interview is here and the third here
  27. Miami interview -- brief interview in Miami, 1991
  28. 1991 interview -- by Alan Anderson in .pdf format
  29. Interview with Laurie Anderson -- Cage interviewed by Laurie Anderson, 1992

Writings by Cage

  1. autobiographical statement -- An autobiographical statement on the New Albion website
  2. Indeterminacy -- An adaptation of 90 "1 minute" stories to the web.
  3. Cage on Feldman -- 4 excerpts of writings from "Silence" concerning Morton Feldman
  4. stories -- More short stories from Silence and A Year from Monday; refresh browser to get different story.
  5. quotes -- a collection of 12 quotes by Cage, some from his book Silence
  6. stories about David Tudor -- stories about David Tudor from "Indeterminacy"
  7. quotes -- quotations from Silence, within an eulogy by James Nye
  8. Vexations -- Cage writes about Satie's Vexations
  9. NEW! Diary: How to Improve the World -- section of work published in Aspen No. 4 (1966)
  10. NEW! Anarchist Poem -- written in 1966?
  11. NEW! Mesostics from "M" -- 4 mesostics
  12. NEW! Memogram Correspondences -- 15 typed and hand written letters from 1976-1986
  13. Roaratorio -- Cage writes about this work Roaratorio, taken from the liner notes to the Mode Records recording
  14. Composition in Retrospect -- excerpt from 1992 writing
  15. Writing Through Howl -- excerpt from "Writing through Howl" (the Alan Ginsberg poem)
  16. Mark Tobey -- excerpt from "25 Mesostics Re and Not Re Mark Tobey"
  17. Raphael Mostel -- Cage's mesostic on the name "Raphael Mostel"
  18. mesostic on Nicolas Slonimsky -- mesostic written in 1989
  19. Anarchic Harmony
  20. Score to Cartridge Music
  21. written instructions for Five Hanau Silences (1991)

Articles/essays about Cage

  1. bio -- brief bio
  2. bio -- brief bio
  3. Early works for keyboards -- liner notes written by Stephen Drury
  4. The City Wears a Slouch Hat -- liner notes by James Pritchett
  5. Sonatas and Interludes -- liner notes by James Pritchett
  6. Sonatas and Interludes -- analysis of first three Sonatas
  7. A Piano Piece's Nuts and Bolts -- By Mark Swed, with considerable interview material from James Tenney
  8. The Sound collector - The Prepared Piano of John Cage -- by Tim Ovens
  9. prepared piano demonstration -- Real Audio video of Margaret Leng Tan demonstrating how to prepare the piano for "Bacchanle." For modem users, view the lofi version. A Real Audio sound interview with MLT on the prepared piano can be found here.
  10. The Piano Works -- liner notes written by Stephen Drury
  11. Work for Violin and Piano -- liner notes written by Stephen Drury
  12. 4'33" -- by Larry Solomon
  13. 4'33" -- Another essay on 4"33" by Peter Gutmann
  14. Margaret Leng Tan talks about 4'33" -- Real Audio interview with MLT
  15. 4'33" -- Margaret Leng Tan performs 4'33" on its 50th anniversary
  16. Toy Piano -- Margaret Leng Tan interviewed about Toy Piano
  17. Ten Thousand Things -- chapter from James Pritchett's disertation "The use of chance techniques in the music of John Cage, 1950-1956"
  18. Atlas Eclipticalis -- brief analysis by James McHard
  19. Iannis Xenakis and John Cage: Two Sides of a Tossed Coin -- by Tako Oda, compares use of chance in "Fontana Mix" and "Pithoprakta"
  20. The Shapes of Indeterminacy: John Cage's Variations I and Variations II -- by David P. Miller
  21. Variations II -- David Tudor's realization of Variations II, written by James Pritchett
  22. John Cage at the University of Illinois, 1952-69 by Johanne Rivest, including info on HPSCHD
  23. The Cage Style -- essay by Greg Sandow decribing performance of "Song Books" and other pieces
  24. Song Books -- A Marvelous Madness: John Cage's Song Books by Rob Haskins
  25. NEW! Song Books Score -- 1995 essay by Richard Kostelanetz
  26. NEW! Song Books -- Zac Bond explains each solo in detail.
  27. Etceteras -- liner notes written by Stephen Drury
  28. Freeman Etudes -- liner notes by James Pritchett
  29. Hymnkus -- by Peter Gena
  30. Marcel Duchamp, James Joyce, Erik Satie: An Alphabet -- Info on Cage's radio play "Marcel Duchamp, James Joyce, Erik Satie: An Alphabet"
  31. Essay -- Text that accompanied an installation of Cage's "Essay" in Berlin in 1993, written by James Pritchett
  32. A Dip in the Lake -- brief article by Peter Gena
  33. Europeras -- essay by Stefan Beyst
  34. Europeras 3 and 4 -- liner notes by James Pritchett
  35. I_VI -- "A Man Inspired by Chance" by John Rockwell
  36. Two^2 -- The Harmony of Emptiness: John Cage's Two^2 by Rob Haskins
  37. Two^4 -- liner notes written by Stephen Drury
  38. One^4, Four, Twenty-Nine -- A Mix RE: some Number Pieces: Notes for Recording of One^4, Four, and Twenty-Nine by Rob Haskins
  39. Four^4 -- Anarchism and the Everyday: Cage's Number Pieces by Rob Haskins (with emphasis on Four^4)
  40. John Cage and the Squat -- about Five Hanau Silences (1991)
  41. Atlas Eclipticales, Winter Music, 103 -- liner notes written by James Pritchett
  42. Atlas Eclipticales, Winter Music, 103 -- review of Atlas Eclipticales, Winter Music, 103
  43. One^9 and 108 -- Notes for One^9 and 108 by Rob Haskins
  44. Rolywholyover -- brief article about the Rolywholyover museum event.
  45. Introduction to "The music of John Cage". -- the introduction to James Pritchett's excellent book on Cage's music
  46. Analysis of Scores -- Peter Gena analyzes Cage's scores from the 1950s
  47. John Cage: Choral music (a timeline) -- liner notes by James Pritchett
  48. Notes on Cage, Harmony and Analysis -- by Rob Haskins
  49. Cage, Mallame and Duchamp -- academic article linking Cage with Mallame and Duchamp, also an interactive "underground" map of related ideas and thinkers
  50. Duchamp and Cage -- Glasswanderers by Julia Dur
  51. John Cage: Composed In America - Kenneth Goldsmith reviews the book "John Cage: Composed in America"
  52. Cage and Joyce -- brief analysis of Cage's use of James Joyce texts in his work
  53. Heidegger's Hölderlin and John Cage -- by Michael Eldred
  54. "Something like a hidden glimmering:" John Cage and recorded sound -- by James Pritchett
  55. American Master -- brief bio on PBS's American Masters page, includes video clip
  56. Cage and Cunningham -- essay on Cage's working relationship with Merce Cunningham by Connie Sunday
  57. Renaldo & Clara Meet John Cage: Aleatory Cinema and the Aesthetics of Incompetence -- by David Sterritt
  58. John Cage's Dublin, Lyn Hejinian's Leningrad: Poetic Cities as Cyberspaces -- by Marjorie Perloff
  59. The Music of Verbal Space: John Cage's "What You Say" -- by Marjorie Perloff
  60. Cage: Chance: Change -- by Marjorie Perloff
  61. Postmodernism and the Music of John Cage -- by Nancy Perloff
  62. The Anarchist Art of John Cage -- by Richard Kostelanetz
  63. Crises of Authenticity -- by Joe Panzner; examines Variations II, Song Books, and 103
  64. Blame it on Cage -- by Steev Hise
  65. Cage and Rauschenberg -- by Peter Gena
  66. Freedom in experimental music: the New York Revolution -- by Peter Gena
  67. John Cage: morphological systems for scoring -- by M. Blair Ligon
  68. Morton Feldman speaks of Cage -- Interview with Morton Feldman about Cage
  69. John Cage['s] Visual Art: To Sober and Quiet the Mind -- review of Kathan Brown's book "John Cage['s] Visual Art: To Sober and Quiet the Mind"
  70. John Cage and the "Project of Modernity" -- by David W. Bernstein
  71. What John Cage Did -- by Kenneth Maue
  72. Writings by Wierzbicki -- 6 essays and reviews of Cage by James Wierzbicki
  73. Wiring John Cage: Silence as a Global Sound System -- by Charles A. Baldwin
  74. interview with Merce Cunningham -- concerning "Oceans," their last collaboration together
  75. John Cage's Queer Silence -- by Jonathan Katz
  76. Feldman on Cage and 1950s society -- Feldman speaks at length about Cage's relationships with other artists in the 1950s
  77. NY Times Obituary -- from August 13, 1992
  78. Cage Speaks Faster When the Street Gets Noisy -- article by Greg Sandow
  79. Silent Revolution -- by Margaret Leng Tan
  80. EC=JC2: John Cage as Exemplary Creator by David Nicholls
  81. Art & Life: John Cage, Avant-gardism & Technology by Martin J.C. Dixon
  82. 12 stories -- 12 people tell stories about their meetings with Cage
  83. 11 Stories -- 11 more remembrances

Paintings/Visual Art by Cage

  1. Not Wanting to Say Anthing about Marcel -- 3 versions of "Not Wanting to Say Anthing about Marcel" (1969)
  2. Mesostinatostics -- two "Mesostinatostic" writings on colored discs, 1978?
  3. 20 paintings -- 20 images of paintings made at Crown Point Press, plus a photo of Cage working in 1980
  4. watercolors -- 6 images of Cage's watercolor/stone paintings
  5. Matress Factory Installation -- picture gallery of installation of artwork by Cage and others
  6. 2 watercolors -- 2 1989 watercolor at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery
  7. Mozart Mix -- photo of Mozart Mix suitcase, with tape players and tapes

Sound Files

  1. Story from Living Room Music -- voices by Arnold Marinissen
  2. Sonata XIII -- excerpt of "Sonata XIII" (on poorly designed page with frames: click on the little picture of the screw and then click on Sonata XIII icon)
  3. Sonatas and Interludes -- performed by James Tenney
  4. NEW! String Quartet in Four Parts -- Zehetmair Quartet performs 2 parts, in Real Media format
  5. 27'10.554" for a Percussionist -- FLAC format, 1960s performance by Donald Knaack
  6. 26'1.1499" for a String Player -- FLAC format, 1960s performance by Bertram Turetzky
  7. NEW! 26'1.1499" for a String Player -- .mp3 of Charlotte Moorman realization
  8. Radio Music (1956) -- Real Audio file from Fluxus Anthology
  9. Electronic Music for Piano -- .mp3, performed by John Tilbury and Sebastian Lex
  10. Mushroom Haiku -- .mp3 of Cage reading. Another reading from Silence is here.
  11. Aria with Fontana Mix -- .FLAC format of Cathy Berberian performance with Magnetic tape
  12. NEW! Fontana Mix - Feed -- .mp3 of 1967 Max Neuhaus realization
  13. Solos for Voice 2 -- .FLAC format of The Brandeis University Chamber Chorus performance
  14. Variations I -- .FLAC format of Gerd Zacher (organ) performance
  15. NEW! Variations I -- .mp3 of 2004 live version by Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Mihaela Ursuleasa (here is the score).
  16. Variations III -- .FLAC format of New Music Ensemble of the San Francisco Conservatory performance.
  17. Diary: How to Improve the World I (excerpt) -- Real Audio file taken from Wergo CD
  18. 62 Mesostics Re - Merce Cunningham (1971) -- .mp3 of Jack Briece performance
  19. Mureau -- .mp3s of Cage reading this work in Germany, 1972
  20. Mureau -- .mp3 excerpt of Cage reading this work
  21. Song, Derived from the Journal of Henry David Thoreau (1976) -- .mp3 of Cage reading
  22. Writing for the Second Time Through Finnegans Wake (1978) -- .mp3 of Cage reading
  23. NEW! A Dip in the Lake -- .mp3s of a 2000 version
  24. Mesostic I-VI Part I (1989) -- .mp3, read by CageMesostic I-VI Part II (1989) -- .mp3, read by Cage
  25. Themes and Variations -- read by Al Filreis, Shawn Walker, and George Blaustein
  26. Composition in Retrospect -- read by Cage
  27. John Cage Meets Sun Ra -- .mp3 file taken from LP of same name. The other half of this can be found here.
  28. What You Say (On Jasper Johns) (excerpt) -- Real Audio file taken from Mode Records release The Text Pieces I
  29. ASLSP -- current note in 639 year long performance of ASLSP

Online Video

  1. NEW! A Room -- 2007 version for harp by Floraleda Sacchi
  2. In the Name of the Holocaust -- performed by Margaret Leng Tan
  3. NEW! Dreams that Money Can Buy -- video and audio from Hans Richter film, with Marcel Duchamp's rotating art and prepared piano music from Cage.
  4. NEW! In A Landscape -- Luciane Cardassi performs
  5. In A Landscape -- 2007 version for harp by Floraleda Sacchi
  6. NEW! Sonata I & II? -- 2002 performance by James Tenney, two more Sonatas XIV & XV? by Tenney can be found here.
  7. NEW! Sonata V -- from the Sonatas and Interludes (1946-48), terrific view from inside the piano
  8. Cage playing 4'33" on piano in street -- 1976 clip from Nam June Paik's "Tribute to John Cage" [the video clip didn't play too well on my work PC]
  9. 4'33" -- Margaret Leng Tan performs 4'33" on a toy piano
  10. NEW! Water Walk -- 1960 performance on I've Got a Secret TV show.
  11. Speech -- 1982? rehearsal supervised by Cage
  12. Variations III -- 2007 rehearsals by Motion Ensemble
  13. Variations V -- 1965? clip (2 minutes) of Cage, Tudor, Gordon Mumma performing Variations V with Merce Cunningham dancers
  14. NEW! John Cage and David Tudor -- 1966 electronic performance + Cage speaking from "Sound?" (Variations V? VII?)
  15. 1969 interview -- excerpt of 1969 interview, Quicktime movie
  16. mushroom picking -- video of Cage collecting mushrooms and speaking, from 1980?
  17. 1987 interview
  18. NEW! 27 Sounds made in a kitchen -- 27 kitchen sounds and voice-over by Cage, 1990?

Photos (dates with ? are approximated by Josh Ronsen)

  1. spikey hair -- 1948?
  2. more spikey hair -- Cage on cover of Critical Inquiry
  3. car -- Cage driving his Model A, 1952?
  4. New School Class -- Cage and students in the infamous New School class, 1958/9?
  5. Cage and Cathy Berberian -- 1962?
  6. Cage and Cathy Berberian -- 1962?
  7. NEW! Cage and James Drew -- 1964
  8. NEW! Cage and David Tudor -- 1964
  9. in performance -- photo of Cage in performance with Tudor, Gordon Mumma, and Merce Cunningham dancers (also 2 minute video clip), 1965
  10. William Gedney Photos -- 38 black and white photos of Cage taken by William Gerdney in the late 1960s, photos include the electronic chessboard from "Reunion" and Cage hunting for mushrooms
  11. 4 photos of Cage -- 1967-8
  12. NEW! performing Vexations -- 1969
  13. dark Cage -- 1970? portrait
  14. Cage and Mumma with headphones -- 1970, Cage and Gordon Mumma in radio studio
  15. 4 photos -- 4 photos of Cage from 1970? to 1990?
  16. 4 photos -- 4 other photos of Cage from 1970? to 1990?
  17. laugh -- Cage with beard and laugh
  18. lecturing to young people -- 1973 at Oberlin
  19. collage photos -- 8 photos of Cage on poster for 1980 lecture
  20. painting -- Cage working on art at Crown Point Press, 1980
  21. reading -- Cage performs at The University of Maryland, 1981
  22. 2 photos of Cage and Cunningham -- 1983
  23. Cage and Cunningham in Italy -- 1985?
  24. Cage meeting Sun Ra -- image from rare album cover, 1986
  25. smile -- Cage giving a smile while posing, 1987
  26. painting -- Cage painting, 1988
  27. C and LaBarbara -- Cage and Joan LaBarbara, 1988?
  28. Cage and Margaret Leng Tan -- 1988?
  29. NEW! Cage making soup -- 1989
  30. holding box of mysterious objects -- 1990?
  31. Cage explaining -- closeup of face, 1990?
  32. Cage with players -- Cage with SF Contempoary Players, Gordon Mumma, William Winnat, 1992

Misc info

  1. SILENCE: The John Cage Discussion List -- an email discussion list run by Joseph Zitt. Searchable archives of the list can be found at the New Albion Records website. NEW! The archives for the list from 1994-199 are here.
  2. upcoming Cage concerts around the world
  3. John Cage Compendium -- a detailed list of what Cgae did, when and where.
  4. NEW! Chronology 1912-1972 and Chronology1972-1992 -- Detailed day-to-day activies compiled by Paul van Emmerik
  5. NEW! Detailed bibliography A-B -- compiled by Paul van Emmerik, continued in C, D-J, K-P and Q-Z.
  6. bibliographic index of pieces -- an index of where each composition is mentioned in Cage literature
  7. index for book "Conversing with Cage" -- compiled by Larry Solomon
  8. computer programs -- list of computer programs designed by Andrew Culver and used by Cage in his work.
  9. Cage/Fluxus bibliography -- bibiolography of Cage interviews pertaining to Fluxus
  10. Cage bibliography -- from Corner magazine
  11. CDs of Cage's music can be ordered from Forced Exposure (US), Mode (US), Ogre Press @ CD Baby (US)
  12. Edition Peters -- Cage's primary publisher, Cage's scores can be ordered from here
  13. Fonts -- Computer fonts based on Cage's handwriting.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. SILENCE: The John Cage Discussion List -- this email discussion list is the perfect place to ask questions concerning John Cage. Searchable archives of the list can be found at the New Albion Records website.
  2. What can I do? One thing that is needed that I do not have time to do is to compile lists of web sites about Cage in German and French. Also, I would like to post interviews with Cage from out of print sources. I need help in getting permission to post these.

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