For John Cage, the American composer, silence was a crucial element in music, considering it a note or noise in itself.
Compositional Technique
John Cage, an American composer, invented the 'Prepared Piano' around 1940 by placing small objects inside a piano to create new percussion-like sounds.
Compositional Technique
Each of John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano is associated with a 'rasa,' an emotional state from ancient Indian performing arts treatises.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Debussy, the French composer featured on this album, believed a musician should achieve a trance-like state, letting the music flow through them as a vessel.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Toru Takemitsu, a Japanese composer, integrated 'Ma' (the metaphysical continuum of silence) into his music, believing it lives from the countless sounds in the space.
Album & Artwork
The album is a 'declaration of love' to the piano by the performer, Sheila Arnold, who describes the instrument as both unsettling and soothing, demanding and giving.
Performer Biography
Sheila Arnold, the pianist on this album, is a professor at Cologne Musikhochschule and is equally adept at playing modern concert grand pianos and fortepianos.
