Sonatas and interludes (Cage)

The Sonatas and interludes for piano prepared are works of John Cage made up between 1946 and 1948.

The sixteen sonatas and the four preludes are dedicated to the pianist Maro Ajemian. Ajemian interpreted part of work on April 14th, 1946 then December 10th and 11th in New York, then completely with the Carnegie Hall January 12th and 13rd 1949. Work supplements was interpreted for the first time in 1948 per John Cage itself.

1946 were the year when Cage started to approach the Eastern thought and works to Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Indian philosopher, were directly at the origin of this composition. John Cage had fixed himself for goal to restore the nine emotions of the Indian Musique: " heroism, erotism, astonishment, joy, sadness, fear, anger, hatred and tendency to tranquillité".

The parts are made up for a Piano prepared: objects of different matters, placed between the cords of the piano, deteriorate the emitted sound. Among the 88 sounds of the piano, 49 are prepared with 53 metal parts (bolts, nuts, screw), 16 out of rubber (including a gum with paper) and 4 out of plastic.

The sonatas often follow a simple diagram (binary format AABB), sonatas 9 to 11 comprising a prelude, an interlude and a postlude. The two interludes of first half of work are in free form without repetition. Both of second half are made up in 4 parts AABBCCDD.

Sonatas XIV and XV carry the subtitle of " Gemini" - according to the work of Richard Lippold - and are played after one the other. These two sonatas have the same part B and one can think that work " Gemini" of Richard Lippold, plastics technician famous for his works using of metal wire, had the same structure.

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