Sonatas and Interludes

E508600

Sonatas and Interludes is a landmark cycle of prepared piano pieces by John Cage, celebrated for its innovative timbral experiments and exploration of rhythmic and meditative sound worlds.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf cycle of piano pieces
musical composition
prepared piano work
basedOn Indian aesthetics
catalogueNumber none (commonly referenced by title only)
composer John Cage NERFINISHED
compositionEndYear 1948
compositionStartYear 1946
contains 16 sonatas
4 interludes
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
criticalReception considered a landmark of 20th-century piano literature
widely regarded as one of John Cage's early masterpieces
dedicatedTo Marjorie Fulton NERFINISHED
exploresConcept meditative listening
non-traditional piano sound
rasa (emotional flavors)
firstCompletePerformanceYear 1949
firstPerformer Marjorie Fulton NERFINISHED
genre contemporary classical music
hasInfluenced 20th-century experimental composers
prepared piano repertoire
influencedBy Ananda K. Coomaraswamy NERFINISHED
Indian rasa theory
instrumentation prepared piano
inTheFormOf binary forms
ternary forms
keyCharacteristic balance between strict rhythmic organization and free sound associations
use of fixed prepared-piano setup specified in detail
language none
movement American avant-garde
experimental music
notableFeature complex rhythmic structures
exploration of timbre and percussive sonorities
meditative and introspective character
use of prepared piano with screws, bolts, rubber, and other objects
numberOfPieces 20
period mid-20th century
placeInComposerOutput major work of Cage's pre-chance period
publisher C.F. Peters NERFINISHED
recordedBy Aleksandra Vrebalov NERFINISHED
Boris Berman NERFINISHED
Herbert Henck NERFINISHED
John Cage NERFINISHED
relatedWorkByComposer Amores NERFINISHED
Music of Changes NERFINISHED
structure short character pieces

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

John Cage notableWork Sonatas and Interludes