Cage: Works for 2 Keyboards, Vol. 1

Featuring

Xenia Pestova Bennett
Pascal Meyer
John Cage

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Composition History

John Cage's Suite for Toy Piano, composed in 1948, is considered the first serious concert music written for the instrument.

Compositional Technique

A Book of Music uses 'prepared pianos,' where objects are inserted into the piano strings to alter their timbre, making them sound like a percussion ensemble.

Composer's Artistic Vision

John Cage's view on music's purpose shifted after critics failed to hear emotion in his prepared piano work, leading him to study Indian aesthetic philosophies.

Composer Biography

John Cage composed A Book of Music during a troubled period in his personal life, following his wife Xenia Cage's departure due to his relationship with dancer Merce Cunningham.

Compositional Technique

The form of A Book of Music is based on John Cage's 'rhythmical structure' technique, which uses time structures and durational proportions instead of traditional harmonic progressions.

Compositional Technique

Music for Amplified Toy Pianos uses chance and indeterminacy, providing performers with tools to generate a unique score for each performance rather than a fixed one.

Performer Biography

The Pestova/Meyer Piano Duo's 2010 recording of Stockhausen's Mantra for Naxos was praised as a highly accomplished presentation of a landmark 20th-century piece.