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2. John Cage: Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1958)

Commentary

  • Michael Gallope
  • Nancy Perloff
On 15 May 1958, the pianist David Tudor, accompanied by a small orchestra of eight players, performed a compendium of John Cage’s inventive, chance-derived musical notations in front of an audience of hundreds at New York’s Town Hall. To prepare for his performance—one that critics associated with insanity, violence, and grotesque comedy—Tudor devised a customized system that translated Cage’s notations into a fastidiously detailed score.

Score

Playback

Archive

  • Michael Gallope

Highlights

Sketches and materials (18 items)

Programs and flyers (10 items)

Photographs (7 items)

Press clippings (29 items)

Correspondence (3 items)

Archival materials (4 items)