Cage-Four 4 (1991)(P)

Four4 uses flexible time-brackets. The instruments are not specified. The performers have to choose their instruments, attaching a number to each of them. In the parts Cage gives a number in each of the time-brackets, referring to these instruments. The beginnings and endings of the sounds are sometimes widely seperated, at times covering more than 5 minutes. Every time-brackets features only one sound. The four performers have 22, 16, 10 and 15 time-brackets each. The composition was written especially to be recorded on a CD, hence its duration, then the maximum duration of a CD.

Number of Players: 4
Difficulty: Grade 6
Instrumentation: Indeterminate

John Cage was born on September 5, 1912 in Los Angeles, California and died in New York City on August 12, 1992. He studied liberal arts at Pomona College. Among his composition teachers were Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg. Cage was elected to the American National Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and received innumerable awards and honors both in the United States and in Europe.