Cage: Music for Prepared Piano, Vol. 2

John Cage (Composer), Boris Berman (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Boris Berman
• Composer: John Cage
• Audio CD (March 20, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos American
• ASIN: B00005A8A6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,719 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank You, Naxos!, January 19, 2006

By 

Shota Hanai (Torrance, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cage: Music for Prepared Piano, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

The term "John Cage" seems to haunt my mind as long as I live. He certainly was one of the most controversial American composers during his days; he was the key figure to introduce "chance" and the "prepared piano" - by placing different small objects on the strings, the instrument produces various timbre, thus creating sort of a one-man percussion ensemble!

"4:33" is the first piece I knew by Cage, and I did listen to bits and pieces from radios and such, but I didn't have a single CD to own and have myself fully introduced to Cage's radical music. Plus, all this avant-garde albums are incredibly hard to find in high-profile Classical labels including Deustche Grammophon and Sony.

That's when I relied on Naxos, which currently holds one of the largest arrays of Classical music. And sure enough, I immediately bought what I needed; the first two Cage CDs released, performed by Russian pianist Boris Berman - the first one featuring "Sonatas and Interludes" for prepared piano, and this album. At a budget price, there is only little risk out of my wallet. So thank you, Naxos! Now I can listen to Cage's music wherever I can.

Of the two albums, I like this one better, because it features (except for the brief cycle "The Perilous Night") different separate pieces, each with distinct "preparations", moods, and colors the instrument can produce with all those objects inside. My favorite are "Tossed as it is Untroubled" and "Music for Marcel Duchamp", both with a foreign folk-like quality. I also like the extravagant "Mysterious Adventure" and the percussive "Primitive". Another particularly bizarre work is "Root of an Unfocus". There are some relatively calm pieces too, including "The Unavailable Memory of", "A Room", and "Prelude for Meditation".

A great CD for other people new with John Cage's music, but a good CD for Cage fans and experts too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncaged, June 11, 2004

By 

Robert E. Finley (Palm Springs, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cage: Music for Prepared Piano, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Try this album, patiently listening all the way through, and I think you will want immediately to play it again. Cranky music, perhaps, but absolutely fascinating. Cage was a grand experimenter, and here he even reconstructs a piano to achieve just the exact sonorities he wants, brilliantly played by Boris Berman. Haunting music, like nothing heard before. Bob Finley

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Berman's Cage, May 8, 2001

By 

LeDucSocialiste (Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cage: Music for Prepared Piano, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

My only complain comes from his choice of tempo for a piece such as "Music For Marcel Duchamp", which is the fastest i've ever heard (at 5'06 aprox)and lacks the mesmeric atmosphere that got me hooked on it the first time I listened to it.