Catalogue # 9263

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Cage specialist Giancarlo Simonacci continues his survey into\nthe works of John Cage with this newly recorded 3-CD set of music\nfor piano solo. In these experimental works Cage offers an enormous\nfreedom to the pianist, not only in the interpretation but also in\nthe course of the work itself, where the pianist decides upon the\nactual outcome of the composition itself, so that every performance\nmay have a different end result. Simonacci’s earlier issue of the\nmusic of Cage (Brilliant Classics 8189, 8850, 9176) have met with\ngreat critical acclaim, hailing him as one of the foremost Cage\nprotagonists.

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This release is dedicated to two of his most monumental\ncreations, separated by almost 30 years of prolific composition.\nWritten between 1952 and 1956, Music for piano 1–84 is the first to\nbe featured. It’s a case in point as regards Cage’s belief that the\ninterpretation of music is just as important as its composition,\nand although the score includes many a musical event, all of the\ndetail – dynamics, tempi, character, quality of sound – is left to\nthe pianist.

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This concept of handing power to the performer also applies to\nASLSP for piano, whose purpose is revealed in its full title As\nSLow aS Possible; composed in 1985 and later revised for organ (so\nthat its notes could sustain for even longer), the work typically\nranges between 20 minutes and several hours in length. Cage wrote\nthese pieces in full knowledge that the choices of each interpreter\nwould produce substantially different artistic outcomes. Featuring\na wealth of timbres and including such experimental techniques as\nstriking the inside of the piano’s iron framework, Simonacci’s\nperformance is an authoritative one that seeks to challenge the\nlistener’s perception of what exactly constitutes music.

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