In the 1930s, John Cage set about inventing a one-man percussion ensemble using what he had at hand: the piano. By putting rubber erasers, metal bolts, bits of wood and similar materials at predetermined places on the strings inside the piano, Cage completely altered the sounds that occurred when he hit the keys. The resulting "prepared piano" evoked Indonesia and West Africa instead of Central Europe. 

In this 1996 show, Pandit Ravi Shankar and his then 15-year old daughter, Anoushka Shankar visited the studio.  The Indian sitar maestro discussed the importance of teaching the vocal repertoire so that one might sing on the sitar, and made mention of his new 4-CD retrospective, then just-released.  The father-daughter duet also performed an adapted South Indian raga (actually it was performed as a family, with the time kept by Ravi's wife, since there was not a tabla player at the session.) 

For this, the twelfth edition of the John Cage: City Circus programs, listen to the final concert performance by John Cage, featuring Joan La Barbara, Leonard Stein, and William Winant.  It was a world premiere of his work, Four6, recorded by WNYC at Central Park Summerstage, just two weeks before his death in July of 1992. Four6 invites its players to individually choose and number 12 sounds that they are willing to make, and to begin and end them sometime during a set of fixed durations and was dedicated to Pauline Oliveros on the occasion of her 60th birthday.

In the eleventh of these special City Circus programs, hear a 1982 concert performance of duo piano music by Erik Satie along with Cage’s “Credo in Us” for piano & percussion. Both are from the massive day-long festival, Wall-to-Wall John Cage, recorded at Symphony Space. Also, there’s keyboard music by David Borden for the Mother Mallard Portable Masterpiece Company based on the four letters of Cage’s name, and more.

For this, the tenth edition of the John Cage: City Circus programs, hear a live performance in our studio of a work by Wendy Mae Chambers for twelve percussionists, written in memory of John Cage.  It's a voodoo tone poem called "Twelve Squared," where the number of movements was chosen by the chance operations of a tarot card reading.  There's also a choral work by Robert Moran, "Seven Sounds Unseen," introspective settings of passages from letters John Cage wrote to Moran, along with music made by the city of Tokyo in Japan.

From the New Sounds archives, this is the ninth program in a series celebrating the life and legacy of John Cage, who would have been 100 this year.  Every Wednesday at 10pm until the end of November, we’re bringing you these archival “John Cage: CityCircus” programs. For this show, hear a live studio performance by Margaret Leng Tan of Cage's prepared piano music for a 1950 film about the sculptor Alexander Calder.  Plus, music by Erik Satie and more.

From the New Sounds archives, this is the eighth program in a series celebrating the life and legacy of John Cage, who would have been 100 this year.  Every Wednesday at 10pm until the end of November, we’re bringing you these archival “John Cage: CityCircus” programs. For this show, listen to an archival WNYC recording of John Cage himself, live from the Kitchen in 1989, performing his reading, “As It Were.” Plus, hear Cage’s masterwork, Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano, as performed by Joshua Pierce.

For this, the seventh edition of the John Cage: City Circus programs, hear the final radio appearance with John Cage, from July of 1992, just a few weeks before his death.  (This aired originally on the daily music performance show, Around New York.)  In this interview, Cage talks about the connection that his music shares with Erik Satie’s, and pianist Michael Torre performs live in the studio.  Plus, Cage charmingly shocks host John Schaefer with the tidbit that he does not have a sound system for playing music back at home.  The recording of the work, “Sonnekus” that rounds out the show, (featuring longtime Cage collaborator, Joan LaBarbara) is the first that Cage had heard. 

In the sixth of these special City Circus programs, listen to a show based around Cage’s connection to Japan and fascination with things Japanese, like Haiku poetry, Zen Buddhism, and traditional Japanese instruments.  Listen to a WNYC recording of a live performance on traditional Japanese instruments of Cage’s work “Ryoanji” inspired by the famous rock garden in Japan.  

For this show, the fifth in the John Cage: City Circus series, hear words and music by John Cage. From an entire program of "Singing Through John Cage," recorded live at Central Park Summerstage in July of 1992, just a month before Cage died that August, vocalist Joan La Barbara performs Cage's setting of a text by e.e. cummings. Also, the Dutch ensemble The Barton Workshop, performs Cage's "Music for Six," where each player is an individual, reacting personally to pitches in a time frame and not to one another.

For this show, the fourth in the John Cage: City Circus series, listen to music from a tribute double album collection of John Cage pieces performed by friends, colleagues, and admirers called, “A Chance Operation.” Laurie Anderson tells Merce Cunningham tales, Percussionist/composer David Van Tieghem contributed “Living Room Music,” and bass player Robert Black performs a work by Larry Austin.  Plus, hear an exclusive live performance of Cage’s Suite for Toy Piano, as performed by Margaret Leng Tan. 

In the third of these special City Circus programs, listen to highlights from a "Wall to Wall Cage & Friends" concert recorded live at Symphony Space back in 1982.  There's a percussion piece by John Cage, another percussion work by Henry Cowell, as well as some unplanned readings by the composer himself. 

For this New Sounds, check out music by Philip Glass.  From his album "Glassworks," we'll hear "Facades."  Plus, an excerpt of a live performance of "In the Woods" by Michael Sahi.