John Cage
American composer, philosopher, writer and printmaker. He was educated in California and then made a study tour of Europe (1930-31), concentrating on art, architecture and music. On his return to the USA he studied music with Richard Buhlig, Adolph Weiss, Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg; in 1934 he abandoned abstract painting for music. An interest in extending the existing range of percussion instruments led him, in 1940, to devise the 'prepared piano' (in which the sound is transformed by the insertion of various objects between the strings) and to pioneer electronic sound sources.
American composer, philosopher, writer and printmaker. He was educated in California and then made a study tour of Europe (1930-31), concentrating on art, architecture and music. On his return to the USA he studied music with Richard Buhlig, Adolph Weiss, Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg; in 1934 he abandoned abstract painting for music. An interest in extending the existing range of percussion instruments led him, in 1940, to devise the 'prepared piano' (in which the sound is transformed by the insertion of various objects between the strings) and to pioneer electronic sound sources.
Fourteen-Seven-Ten-Three²
Extremely rare 2006 CD of monumental and radical John Cage late compositions by the Barton Workshop.
Five Hanau Silence
Scarce 1992 book with enclosed EP released in a limited edition of 500 numbered copies.
Etudes Australes, Libro I (N. 1-8)
1978 double LP set on the obscure Italian label I Dischi Dell'Ippopotamo with a landmark performance of John Cages' composition by pianist extraordinnaire Bruno Canino, never re-issued since.
Empty Words - Parte III
Long out of print 2011 double CD set of the legendary live performance in Milano by John Cage in 1977. With slipcase.
Cheap imitation
The second of the two glorious John Cage albums released by Cramps Records on the unparalleled Nova Musicha series. Superb copy with original innersleeve.
Sonatas and Interludes
Fylkingen first CD re-issue of Yuji Takahashi's landmark performance of Cage's prepared piano masterwork recorded in 1965.
Indeterminacy: New Aspect Of Form In Instrumental And Electronic
Perfect copy of Cage & Tudor's landmark album for Folkways from 1959 released as 2xLP box set with booklet.
The Music of John Cage and Harry Partch
Superb selection of historical recordings (1947 to 1973) of music by two undisputed masters of the American avant-garde.
The City Wears A Slouch Hat
Long out of print 2000 first CD re-issue on Cortical label in an edition limited to 1000 copies of very early John Cage electro-acoustic pieces from the 40's including his collaboration with experimental writer Kenneth Patchen. With OBI.
Sonatas And Interludes For Prepared Piano
Solid copy of John Cage's 1951 first album as a double LP set, it can't get more seminal than this. A piece of history in gatefold heavy cardboard embossed sleeve with stickers.
An Anthology
Essential and visually stunning 1963 anthology edited by Young and Maciunas featuring most of the artist who would be take part in Fluxus. Very rare second edition published in 1970 of this important book.
Sugar, Alcohol, & Meat (The Dial-A-Poem Poets)
** Original copies of this rarity. Factory sealed. Few copies available ** A pioneer of performance poetry—one of the leading cultural trends of the nineties—John Giorno has fashioned a signature style of intense, highly amplified, repetitive verse, with subtle shifts of phrasing, volume, and pitch to alter time and sense. Giorno has also been crucial to expanding the range of avant-garde poetry and music via new media technologies - and this compilation, also including five John Cage's tracks, …
Totally Corrupt (The Dial-A-Poem Poets)
** Original copies of this rarity. Sealed! Few copies available ** Volume five of the series, again a double-LP, with Anne Waldman, John Giorno, William S Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg & John Cage all gracing the iconic cover, sitting in business attire at a boardroom-style table. Including readings from them, and Amiri Baraka, Ted Berrigan, Ed Dorn, Jackie Curtis, Frank O’Hara, Maureen Owen, Charles Bukowski Ken Kesey, Tony Towle, Jack Spicer, Peter Orlovsky, Taylor Mead, Michael McClure "Don't yo…
Biting Off The Tongue Of A Corpse
** Original copies of this rarity. Factory sealed. Few copies available ** The third in the Dial-a-Poem Poets LP series. Features many of the same artists included on previous volumes plus, for the first time, Kenneth Koch and Gary Snyder. Since 1962, John Giorno has been disseminating his streetwise, pioneering poetry to audiences worldwide. He lifts his poems off the page, delivering them through rhythmic performances; paintings, prints, and installations; and in LPs, mixed with music. Among …
Disconnected (The Dial-A-Poem Poets)
** Original copies of this rarity. Factory sealed. Few copies available ** Volume two of the series, again a double-LP, with many of the same participants as the first volume plus the likes of Greg Corso, Peter Orlovsky, Imamu Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones), Paul Blackburn, John Ashbery, and Charles Amirkhanian. "As album covers go,this must be one of the worst ever?...or one of the best ever? Maybe even the Best ever? A disco shirt clad John Giorno, knealing on a beach in the surf as if bathing in…
The Dial-A-Poem Poets
** Original copies of this rarity. Few copies available ** The first of several releases documenting John Giorno’s dial-a-poem project. The album was released at the height of protest against the Vietnam war and of confrontation between the US establishment and radical domestic organisations such as the Yippies and the Black Panthers. Running along the bottom of the front cover is the message: “At this point, with the war and the repression and everything, we thought this was a good way for the …
Rozart Mix
So excited and honored to finally release the vinyl document of my realization of John Cage’s Rozart Mix. Back in the extremely strange year of 2020, I was approached by Wave Farm and John Cage Trust to stage a performance of this seldomly performed piece that Cage wrote for Alvin Lucier. The piece is comprised of 88 tape loops (one for each key of a piano), spliced together with multiple non-musical sounds played back on 12 reel to reel machines.
In January 2021 I spent a wonderful and intense …
John Cage - Silence Happening
*2024 stock* Anthology of Cage's "protominimalist" compositions, from "Prelude for meditation" of 1944 to 1952, the year of the silent piece 4'33". In between beautiful and magical pages such as "In a landscape" and "A room"... Performers Boris Berman, Paul Hillier, Juan Hidalgo and others.
50 Years
In 2012, the Wergo label celebrates its 50th anniversary. For half a century, Wergo has been synonymous with contemporary music. The label's catalog reads like a virtual who's-who of modern music, both in terms of composers and performers. From the beginning, the intent of founder Werner Goldschmidt (from whom the label derives its name) was to provide listeners with a snapshot of current musical activity and innovation. Goldschmidt's label and mission, now managed by the publisher Schott, is ma…
Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse) Continued Part Three (Book)
** 2024 Stock ** The third in John Cage’s series of “Diary” essays (the other parts were published in different contexts), defined broadly as “collections of thoughts that develop out of working and being alive.” The text is formally and discursively roving: its margins, typeface, and color undergo continuous alteration by chance methods as Cage contemplates computers, Erik Satie; life on the road with Merce Cunningham; death; encounters with Mies van der Rohe, Duchamp, and Marshall McLuhan; boo…