Eliza Garth: Celebrating the John Cage Centennial
Pianist Eliza Garth celebrates the John Cage centennial with a performance of Cage’s masterpiece for prepared piano, Sonatas and Interludes.
Described by the writer James Pritchett as “a big piece with a quiet voice,” Sonatas and Interludes is meditative in its esthetic; the “preparation” of the piano transforms its sound into an ensemble of gongs, chimes, and magical effects.
Although Cage did not invent the instrument he named the “prepared piano,” he was a major force behind its development and is often associated with it.
An explorer at heart, Cage studied with trailblazers Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg, and then in turn opened up musical pathways that would later be traveled and extended by minimalist composers. In his mature years a disciple of Buddhism, he overturned conventional Western conceptions of the nature of sound and music.
He is regarded to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.