John Cage Sonatas and Interludes

• David Robertson, speaker
• Peter Henderson, prepared piano

• Sonata I
  
• Sonata II
  
• Sonata III
  
• Sonata IV
  

• First Interlude
  
• Sonata V
  
• Sonata VI
  
• Sonata VII
  
• Sonata VIII
  

• Second Interlude
  

• Third Interlude
  
• Sonata IX
  
• Sonata X
  
• Sonata XI
  
• Sonata XII
  

• Fourth Interlude
  
• Sonata XIII
  
• Sonata XIV and XV, "Gemini"
  
• Sonata XV

Cage's work reflects his interest in portraying the eight "permanent emotions" of Indian aesthetics - the erotic, the heroic, the odious, anger, mirth, fear, sorrow and the wondrous - and their common tendency towards tranquility. Cage composed the work while he was first encountering Hindu philosophy and reading the works of the Indian art historian and critic Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. The sonic inventiveness of the prepared piano and the quiet immobility of the Asian imagery make Sonatas and Interludes a truly exceptional work.