| Category: | Musical composition |
| Dated: | August 1950 (part 1); October 3, 1950 (part 2); New York City, February 1951 (part 3). |
| Instrumentation: | Prepared piano and chamber orchestra: 1, 1 (+ cor Anglais), 1, 1 - horn, trumpet, tenor trombone, bass trombone, percussion, harp, strings |
| Duration: | 21' |
| Premiere and performer(s): | |
| Dedicated to: | |
| Choreography: | --- |
| Published: | Edition Peters 6706 © 1960 by Henmar Press |
| Manuscript: | Instructions concerning editing for publication (typescript - 1 lf.); 5 parts (holograph in ink - 64 p.); Score (holograph,
signed, in ink - 4+67 p.); Charts concerning preparations of the orchestra and the piano for parts 2 & 3 (holograph in
pencil - 17 p.); All these in the New York Public Library. Worksheets for parts 2 & 3 (7 lv.); Sketches for orchestra for part 2 (incomplete - 2 lv.); Sketches for prepared piano for part 2 (incomplete - 2 lv.); Draft of part 2 for orchestra (2 lv.); All in the Getty Center in Santa Monica, California. |
| This is a composition in 3 parts, with the rhythmic structure 3, 2, 4; 4, 2, 3; 5. In parts 1 and 2 the piano and the
orchestra never sound together. Only in the third part we hear a combination of sounds of piano and orchestra. Cage created a 14 by 16 chart, with different sonorities in every box, a technique he used in quite a few of his compositions from this period. By moving across the chart, the Concerto got its music. In part 1 the piano part is still improvisatory, following Cage's own ideas, while the orchestral parts are determined through the rules and diagrams on the chart. In the second part, Cage brings the piano under the rules of a second (parallel) chart, creating a sense of confluence between the soloist and the orchestra. In the final movement both the piano and the orchestra are governed through the same chart (the version from part 1). Thus the prepared piano is released from its hunger of self-expression. This opened the door to Cage's later works, where self expression, as well as Cage's own taste, were banned from his compositions. |