Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage.

[Edward Crooks <>]

Dear all,

I thought members of the list might be interested in a new open-access SONUS publication from the Orpheus Instituut, The Performer-Composer: Dual Identities in New Music, Volume 1, edited by Luk Vaes.

 

The volume includes two chapters devoted specifically to John Cage:

Ann Warde, “John Cage, Pianist”

From Grieg recordings and early radio broadcasts to women’s music clubs and the enduring influence of his aunt and teacher Phoebe Harvey James, this chapter maps the sounds and musical communities that surrounded the young John Cage, illuminating formative influences on his later performances and compositions.

 

Clare Lesser, “‘Voice and Shocking Things’: John Cage’s Performances of Water Walk and Four6”

Drawing on Cage and Derrida and focusing on performances of Water Walk and Four⁶, this exploration of indeterminate works questions whether composers, performers, and listeners can ever occupy stable or separate roles, and how creative agency is redistributed between them.

 

Cage also features in You Nakai’s chapter “Like an Instrument That Only I Know How to Play”, which also discusses David Tudor, Sara Caneva’s “With or Without Visual Cues? The Idiomatic Conductor in Experimental Composition,” and Audrey Riley’s “Conversations with Gavin Bryars.”

 

The volume also contains chapters on Pauline Oliveros and other American experimental performer-composers, Olivier Messiaen, Trond Reinholdtsen, and Fernando Grillo and features numerous audio and video examples.

 

The complete publication is freely available here:
https://sonus.orpheusinstituut.be/publication/performer-composer-1

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47041/SONUS.2026.3

 

all the best,
Ed

Dr Edward Crooks

Managing Editor

Orpheus Instituut

Advanced studies and research in music

Korte Meer 12  /  9000 Ghent  /  Belgium  

www.orpheusinstituut.be