Cage Edition 17 – The Piano Works 3

The Seasons – Ballet in One Act  (1947)
1. Prelude I  (1:56)
2. Winter  (1:36)
3. Prelude II  (0:51)
4. Spring  (2:40)
5. Prelude III  (2:18)
6. Summer  (4:30)
7. Prelude IV  (0:59)
8. Fall  (2:31)
9. Finale (Prelude I)  (1:10)

ASLSP  (1985)
10. 1  (2:26)
11. 2  (2:00)
12. 3  (2:07)
13. 4  (2:30)
14. 5  (2:34)
15. 6  (1:47)
16. 7  (2:23)
17. 8  (2:33)

Cheap Imitation  (1969)
18. I  (7:15)
19. II  (9:20)
20. III  (2:06)

Stephen Drury, piano

The three major solo piano works on this disc make a fascinating traversal of three distinct periods of Cage’s compositional style.

The Seasons (1947) was a commission from The Ballet Society of New York with choreography by Merce Cunningham. This beautiful, tranquil work reflects Cage’s newfound interest in Eastern philosophies.

Cheap Imitation (1972), also for a dance by Cunningham, was originally a transcription of Erik Satie’s Socrate for two pianos. This plan was thwarted at the last minute when the French publisher of Socrate refused permission of the Cage transcription. Cage then took the rhythm of Satie’s vocal line and, through the use of chance operations, created new melodic lines that were deconstructed and then reassembled making a “cubist” realization of Satie’s music. The result is this three movement work, rhythmically identical to the original Socrate, which could still be used to accompany Cunningham’s dance without alteration.

ASLSP, written sixteen years after Cheap Imitation, consists of pointillist melodies played along with long-sustained notes whose open strings resonate with new tones to create a faint halo to the music. In its tendency towards extreme slowness, sparse textures and great delicacy, ASLSP looks towards the visionary and lonely works of Cage’s late period.

New music champion Stephen Drury – one of Cage’s favored pianists – continues his Cage series on Mode with these authoritative performances.