John Cage’s Concert for Piano and Orchestra [Invited paper]

John Cage’s Concert for Piano and Orchestra is one of the seminal pieces of twentieth century composition, known both for its elaborate indeterminate notations (especially in the part for piano, the Solo for Piano) and its many and various possibilities for performers to construct a version for performance. How the Concert is, and has been, performed, however, is frequently overlooked in favour of the compositional and notational concerns. This presentation examines the delicate balance of freedom and control across all the instrumental parts, including the Solo for Piano, and also in relation to the unusual part for conductor. As part of a major AHRC-funded research project, and drawing upon interviews and performances with the ensemble ‘Apartment House’, including Philip’s own experiences performing the Solo for Piano, we explore the creative possibilities of Cage’s notations and how they respond to their complexities and ambiguities, and consider how these perspectives might contribute to a developing performance practice surrounding the work and to the performance of indeterminate music more widely. Discussion of contemporary approaches to performing the Concert are combined with archival and historical sources which speak to its troubled performance history. Finally we will briefly discuss the interpretative issues arising from our current work on audio and notation apps which serve to enable further explorations and engagement with the Concert for Piano and Orchestra.