| Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March No. 1) | |
|---|---|
| by John Cage | |
 John Cage (1988) | |
| Composed | 1942 |
| Performed | May 7, 1942 - San Francisco |
| Published | Edition Peters |
| Movements | 1 |
| Scoring | Five percussionists |
Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March No. 1) is a composition for five percussionists by American composer John Cage and the second in the series of Imaginary Landscapes. It was also the first march in the set, the second being Imaginary Landscape No. 4 (March No. 2) . It was composed in 1942.
The title Imaginary Landscape No. 2 was first used in 1940, after Cage composed Bacchanale and premiered it on April 28, 1940, for a solo recital at the Repertory Playhouse given by Bonnie Bird's student Syvilla Fort. The piece that was meant to be played at the recital was a piece for percussion ensemble. However, given the small space left on stage for performers, it seemed impractical and Cage decided to write Bacchanale, which is scored for a solo prepared piano. Two weeks after this recital, Bird presented a new series of recitals to take place between May 7 to 11, 1940, and they would feature Cage's Imaginary Landscape No. 2, a composition for four percussionists. [1]
This piece was recorded in a radio studio by four players, two assistants, and a technician. As in Imaginary Landscape No. 1, this work would feature two turntables, a tom-tom, chinese cymbal and a prepared piano, and the turntables would shift speeds as specified in the score. [2] The two assistants would just regulate the dynamics of the piece, raising or lowering the volume of the microphones where necessary. However, this piece was recorded and withdrawn shortly afterwards. It was not until 1942, when Cage moved to San Francisco and started working with Lou Harrison, that Cage wrote the piece entitled Fourth Construction . [3] This piece was scored for five percussionists and featured no turntables nor pianos. It was composed in San Francisco in 1942 and premiere exactly two years later, on May 7, 1942, [4] merely two months after premiering his Imaginary Landscape No. 3 in Chicago. [5] After its premiere, Cage changed its title to March (Imaginary Landscape No. 2) and, subsequently, Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March No. 1). It was dedicated to Lou Harrison and was eventually published by Edition Peters. [1]
This piece consists of only one movement and has a total duration of seven minutes. It is scored for five percussionists playing tin cans, a conch shell, a ratchet, a bass drum, a buzzers, a water gong, a metal wastebasket, a lion's roar and an amplified coil of wire attached to a phonographic tone arm. This latter technique was first used in Imaginary Landscape No. 2 , composed just two months before. Cage learned to use it after talking to a sound effects producer. [6] According to Cage himself, "when I got to Chicago, I had a commission to do a piece for CBS and I worked with a sound effects engineer at the radio station in Chicago, and he showed me the thunderous sound of the coil wire in contact with the microphone - which I loved". [7] As was the case of Imaginary Landscape No. 4 (March No. 2) , this is no conventional march and offers no recognizable traits as such to the listener.
The following is an incomplete list of recordings of Imaginary Landscape No. 2:
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, artist, and philosopher. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives.
A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects on or between the strings.
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American avant-garde composer John Cage (1912–1992) started composing pieces for solo prepared piano around 1938–40. The majority of early works for this instrument were created to accompany dances by Cage's various collaborators, most frequently Merce Cunningham. In response to frequent criticisms of prepared piano, Cage cited numerous predecessors. In the liner notes for the very first recording of his most highly acclaimed work for prepared piano, Sonatas and Interludes, Cage wrote: "Composing for the prepared piano is not a criticism of the instrument. I'm only being practical." This article presents a complete list of Cage's works for prepared piano, with comments on each composition. All of Cage's indeterminate works for unspecified forces can also be performed on or with Prepared Piano.
Construction is the title of several pieces by American composer John Cage, all scored for unorthodox percussion instruments. The pieces were composed in 1939–42 while Cage was working at the Cornish School of the Arts in Seattle, Washington and touring the West Coast with a percussion ensemble he and Lou Harrison had founded. The series comprises three Constructions. A piece titled Fourth Construction, mentioned in several sources, is apparently either an unfinished work from 1942 or, more likely, an early title of the work we now know as Imaginary Landscape No. 2 .
Imaginary Landscape is the title of a series of five pieces by American composer John Cage, all of which include instruments or other elements requiring electricity. The series comprises the following works:
Imaginary Landscape No. 1 is a composition for records of constant and variable frequency, large chinese cymbal and string piano by American composer John Cage and the first in the series of Imaginary Landscapes. It was composed in 1939.
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But what about the noise of crumpling paper which he used to do in order to paint the series of "Papiers froissés" or tearing up paper to make "Papiers déchirés?" Arp was stimulated by water, forests, sometimes shortened as But what about the noise..., is a composition for percussion ensemble by American composer John Cage. It was finished in 1985.
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