Is this John Cage’s most beautiful piece? – SAMUEL ANDREYEV

An analysis of John Cage’s Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1950-1951) by composer Samuel Andreyev.

The recording used for the musical excerpts is by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Lukas Foss, with soloist Yuji Takahashi.

1. Introduction

2. The Structure

3. Instrumentation

4. Prepared Piano

5. Compositional Process

6. The Rhythmic Structure

7. The Score

8. Two Different Worlds

9. Breakdown

10. Favourite Moment

11. Conclusions

I found the following texts helpful while researching this video:

• James Pritchett, ‘From Choice to Chance: John Cage’s Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra’ • ‘John Cage’s Concert for Piano and Orchestra’ by Martin Iddon and Phillip Thomas • ‘Silence’, by John Cage