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John Cage
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
John Cage, from Los Angeles, studied with Schoenberg and then worked in New York, often together with the choreographer Merce Cunningham. He placed screws and rubber erasers between the piano strings and so created the prepared piano, a percussion ensemble under ten fingers. Later he let the Chinese oracle book I Ching determine his compositions. His 4'33'' from 1952, in which the musicians stay silent, turns the sounds in the hall into the music.
Listening
Listening tip. Listen to the sonata and hear how the prepared piano sounds like a small gamelan orchestra of gongs, wood blocks and muffled bells.
Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata II (John Tilbury) · John Cage, 1948
In a Landscape (Stephen Drury) · John Cage, 1948- Dream (Stephen Drury) · John Cage, 1948
4'33'' · John Cage, 1952Apple Music ↗
Imaginary Landscape No. 4, voor twaalf radio's (Maelström Percussion Ensemble) · John Cage, 1951
Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata V (Boris Berman) · John Cage, 1948
Discography
Studio albums
- 1951Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 1961Berio: Circles / Bussotti: Frammento / Cage: Aria With Fontana Mix
- 1966Fontana Mix - Feed (Six Realizations of John Cage)
- 1967Electronic Music
- 1967New Electronic Music From Leaders of the Avant-Garde
- 1968Cage: Concerto for Prepared Piano & Orchestra / Foss: Baroque Variations
- 1969Cage & Hiller: HPSCHD / Johnston: String Quartet no. 2
- 1969John Cage: Atlas Eclipticalis • Winter Music • Cartridge Music / Dieter Schnebel: Glossolalie
- 1970Americana
- 1973John Cage: Three Dances / Steve Reich: Four Organs
- 1974John Cage
- 1976Voices and Instruments
- 1977Cheap Imitation
- 1978John Cage
- 1980Nocturne / Six Melodies / Amores / A Valentine Out of Season / Music for Marcel Duchamp
- 1981Digital Percussion
- 1984Sixteen Dances
- 1984The Kroumata Percussion Ensemble 2
- 1985Etudes Boreales / Ryoanji
- 1986Contemporary Piano Music
- 1986Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 1986Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 1987Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 1987Thirty Pieces for Five Orchestras / Music for Piano
- 1988Music of Changes
- 1988Sonic Encounters
- 1988Works for Piano & Prepared Piano, Vol. I
- 1988Works for Piano & Prepared Piano, Vol. II
- 1989Four Walls (soundtrack)
- 1989Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 1989The Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1
- 1989Three Constructions
- 1990Microtonal Works by Partch, Cage, Labarbara, Drummond
- 1990Singing Through
- 199145′ / 34′46.776″ / 31′57.9864″ / 27′10.554″ / 26′1.1499″ / 4′33″ / Music for Five / Two
- 1991Chorals / Cheap Imitation / Freeman Etudes I-VIII
- 1991John Cage
- 1991First Construction
- 1991Music for Merce Cunningham
- 1991Sixty-Two Mesostics re Merce Cunningham
- 1991The Perilous Night / Four Walls
- 1991Works for Cello / Lecture on Nothing
- 1991Works for Percussion
- 1991Works for Piano, Toy Piano & Prepared Piano, Vol. III
- 1992Atlas Eclipticalis
- 1992Fifty-Eight
- 1992Indeterminacy: New Aspect of Form in Instrumental and Electronic Music
- 1992Litany for the Whale
- 1992Pianos and Voices
- 1992Roaratorio
- 1992John Cage
- 1993Concert for Piano and Orchestra / Atlas Eclipticalis
- 1993Etudes Australes
- 1993Music for ...
- 1993New Piano Works From Europe and the Americas
- 1993Prelude for Meditation
- 1993Sonatas and Interludes / Music for Marcel Duchamp / The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs
- 1993The Complete String Quartets, Vol. 2
- 1993Thirteen
- 1993Winter Music
- 199416 Dances
- 1994Carter: Variations for Orchestra / Schuller: Spectra / Babbitt: Correspondences / Cage: Atlas Eclipticalis
- 1994Daughters of the Lonesome Isle
- 1994Europera 5
- 1994Freeman Etudes, Books One and Two
- 1994Freeman Etudes, Books Three and Four
- 1994Orchestral Works 1: 101 / Apartment House 1776 / Ryoanji
- 1994Roaratorio
- 1994Ten / Ryoanji / Fourteen
- 1995Annum per annum
- 1995Brant / Scelsi / Wolpe / Xenakis / Cage / Glass / Feldman
- 1995Cage: In a Landscape / Solo for Piano with Bassoon / Bussotti: Aquila imperiale / Aquila imperiale con l'allodola e il topino da "Voliera - due soliiloqui"
- 1995Europeras 3 & 4
- 1995Freeman Etudes
- 1995In a Landscape
- 1995New York School 3
- 1995Six Melodies / Thirteen Harmonies
- 1995Sixty-Eight / Quartets I-VIII
- 1995The Contemporary American ‘C’
- 1995The Number Pieces I
- 1995Thirteen Harmonies
- 1996Cage / Pisaro / Frey / Beuger
- 1996Dream / Sonatas and Interludes
- 1996Imaginary Landscapes
- 1996John Cage
- 1996Music for Eight
- 1996Ryoanji
- 1996The Lost Works
- 1996The Piano Works 2: Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 1996Two⁴ / Two⁶ / Five² / Five⁵ / Seven / Seven²
- 1996Works for Piano & Prepared Piano, Vol. IV
- 1997Cage: Two⁴ / Hosokawa: In die Tiefe der Zeit
- 1997Complete Piano Music, Volume 1: The Prepared Piano 1940-1952
- 1997Etudes Australes
- 1997Lou Harrison: A Portrait
- 1997Sonatas and Interludes
- 1997The Piano Concertos
- 1997Two² / Experiences / 3 Dances
- 1998Complete Piano Music, Volume 2: Music for Piano 1-85 / Electronic Music for Piano
- 1998Complete Piano Music, Volume 3: Music of Changes
- 1998Dream
- 1998Music for Percussion Quartet
- 1998Music of Changes
- 1998ONEviolin
- 1998Sonatas and Interludes
- 1998The Piano Works 3: The Seasons, Cheap Imitation, ASLSP
- 1998Thirteen Harmonies
- 1998Works for Prepared Piano
- 1999Complete Piano Music, Volume 4: Pieces 1950-1960
- 1999Januskopf Bach - Cage
- 1999Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 1999The Choral Works I
- 1999The Number Pieces 2: Five³
- 1999Three² / Twenty-Three / Six / Twenty-Six
- 1999Variations II / Eight Whiskus / Music For Two / Ryoanji
- 1999Works for Percussion, Volume 1: 1935-1941
- 2000Atlas Eclipticalis & Winter Music / 103
- 2000Bird Cage
- 2000Complete Piano Music, Volume 5: Two Pianos
- 2000Glass Cage
- 2000Music for Non-Prepared Piano
- 2000Piano
- 2000The City Wears a Slouch Hat
- 2000The Seasons
- 2000The Works for Violin 3: Two⁴
- 2000Works for Percussion, Volume 2: 1941-1950
- 2001Complete Piano Music, Volume 6: Pieces 1960-1992
- 2001Complete Piano Music, Volume 7: Pieces 1933-1950
- 2001Credo in Us... More Works for Percussion
- 2001Four⁴
- 2001Music for Prepared Piano, Vol. 2
- 2001Music of Changes
- 2001One⁷ [from One¹³] / One⁸
- 2001Sonatas and Interludes
- 2001Voice and Piano
- 2001Works for Violin 4
- 2002A Cage of Saxophones, Volume 1
- 2002Angel Artistry: Cage: Three Dances / Reich: Four Organs / Stravinsky: Rite of Spring
- 2002Complete Piano Music, Volume 10: Etcetera
- 2002Complete Piano Music, Volume 8: Hommage à Satie
- 2002Complete Piano Music, Volume 9: Etudes Australes
- 2002One⁴ / Four / Twenty-Nine
- 2002John Cage
- 2002Will You Give Me to Tell You
- 2002ジョン・ケージ：鍵盤楽器のための音楽 1935-1948
- 2003John Cage
- 2003Cage (Re) Mix
- 2003HPSCHD
- 2003Locations
- 2004A Tribute
- 2004John Cage
- 2004The New York School: Nine Realizations of Cage, Feldman, Brown
- 2004Two³ / Inlets / Two⁴
- 200544 Harmonies From Apartment House 1776 / Cheap Imitation
- 2005Early Piano Music
- 2005Eight / Two / One⁴
- 2005In due tempi
- 2005Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 2005Works for Percussion, Volume 4: 1940-1956
- 2006A Cage of Saxophones, Volume 2
- 2006Cage, J.: Sonata for 2 Voices / One4 / Wolff, C.: Pulse / Trio I / Walter, C.J.: Reigen (Trumpet and Percussion)
- 2006Complete Music for Prepared Piano
- 2006Fourteen-Seven-Ten-Three²
- 2006James Joyce, Marcel Duchamp, Erik Satie: An Alphabet
- 2006Music for Trombone
- 2006Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano
- 2006Trumpet & Percussion
- 2007Atlas Eclipticalis with Winter Music
- 2007Cabaret per nulla
- 2007Early Music
- 2007John Cage
- 2007Music For Piano 1-84
- 2007Solo for 'cello
- 2007Solo for Voice 58: 18 Microtonal Ragas
- 2007Three / Twenty-Eight / Fifty-Four / Fifty-Seven
- 2008Percussion Masterpieces
- 2008Sculptures Musicales / Fifty-Five / Eight-Three / Eighty
- 2008The Works for Piano 8: Complete Short Works for Prepared Piano
- 2008Three
- 2008Trombone and Piano
- 2008Two²
- 2008Works for Percussion, Volume 5: 1936 - 1991
- 2009A Place Between
- 2009Cage Performs Cage: Empty Words with Music for Piano / One⁷
- 2009DeConstruction: Tzenka Dianova Plays Satie & Cage
- 2009Dream
- 2009In a Silent Way
- 2009Piano Music
- 2010108 / 109 / 110
- 2010A Cage of Saxophones, Volumes 3 & 4
- 2010American Counterpoint
- 2010ASLSP
- 2010Different Perceptions
- 2010Etudes Boreales / Harmonies / 10'40.3"
- 2010In Norway
- 2010John Cage
- 2010Lost Daylight
- 2010Melodies & Harmonies
- 2010The Works For Saxophone 3 & 4
- 2010Three Dances: four prepared 17-stringed kotos version
- 2011bachCage
- 2011Boulez: Structures / Cage: Music for Piano
- 2011Sonata and Interludes for Prepared Piano: Canons and Studies
- 2011Works for Percussion Volume 6: 1975 - 1991
- 2012As It Is
- 2012Electronic Music for Piano
- 2012Happy Birthday John!
- 2012John Cage
- 2012Indeterminacy
- 2012John Cage
- 2012John Cage
- 2012John Cage
- 2012Ligeti / Pintscher / Cage / Xenakis
- 2012Musica ricercata: Música para piano de Ligeti, Messiaen, Takemitsu y Cage
- 2012Sonatas & Interludes
- 2012Sonatas & Interludes
- 2012Song Books
- 2012The Works For Percussion 2
- 2013Cage: One - One2 - One5
- 2013Cartridge Music
- 2013Gamelan Cage
- 2013Solo for Piano
- 2014Cage +
- 2014Early Electronic and Tape Music
- 2014Extended Voices
- 2014Music for Piano and Percussion
- 2015Music for Prepared Piano
- 2015Rothko Chapel
- 2016Complete Song Books
- 2017Choräle
- 2017Klang der Wandlungen
- 2017Winter Music
- 2018Écoutez!
- 2018Electronic Music for Piano
- 2019Two²
- 2020Renga
- 2020John Cage
- 2021American Percussion Works
- 2021Berlin FREIZeit
- 2021Cage
- 2021Cheap Imitation
- 2021In a Landscape / Dream / Haiku
- 2021Number Pieces
- 2022Choral Works
- 2022Hymnkus Thoreau Drawings Two
- 2022Jamie Saft Plays Cage and Granelli
- 2022Kristine Scholz Plays Otte and Cage
- 2022Le monde selon George Antheil
- 2023Michael Tilson Thomas in Verbier
- 2023Modern Horn Trios
- 2023Overtones
- 2024John Cage
- 2024All We Get Is Life
- 2024Bach Uncaged
- 2024Cage²
- 2024Music for Three
- 2024Rozart Mix
- 2024Winter Music
- 2025American Classical Masterpieces
- 2025Chamber Works 1943-1951
- 2026Lunaris
- ?Cage: Sonnekus² / Satie: Cabaret Chansons
- ?Four Walls
- ?John Cage
- ?Organ² / ASLSP
- ?She Herself Alone: The Art of the Toy Piano 2
- ?Solos for Voice 93-96
- ?The Piano Works 1: Music for Two / One / One⁵ / Music Walk
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 1NL Reader
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 5NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Chance and silence: John Cage Genre
At first John Cage prepared the piano with screws and rubber; from 1951 he let chance take part in the composing and determined notes, durations and volumes with the Chinese oracle book I Ching.