In a Landscape

John Cage (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: John Cage
• Audio CD (January 10, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003EL7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,795 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #80 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Keyboard > General
  • #81 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Short Forms > Character Pieces

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: CAGE,J.
Title: IN A LANDSCAPE
Street Release Date: 01/10/1995
Domestic
Genre: CLASSICAL COMPOSERS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for old and new listeners, August 3, 2002

By 

Aaron C. Burkhalter "aaronburkhalter" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In a Landscape (Audio CD)

...For a new listener this album is perfect. It's beautiful, and accessible and just all around pleasing to listen to. The piece "In A Landscape" is the first piece I play for anyone who says they don't like John Cage. They're usually sold within the first 30 seconds of the piece. The ambience and simplicity of this piece is so striking, but Cage's take on harmony (which is especially challenging in a piece that's so focused on melody) keeps the piece from sounding new age.
Anyone just starting out with John Cage, start here. If this strikes you well, check out "Music For Changes" and then the Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano. Beyond that I highly encourage anyone to do some research, read some of Cage's writings, especially a collection of essays and lectures titled "Silence." As his life progresses, his music becomes more minimal and disjointed, and his words really strike down exactly what it is he's trying to accomplish with his music, and that really helps the listener.
For listeners that are already very familiar with Cage's work, this still isn't a waste. These recordings are a great collection of some nice Cage pieces that don't get as much attention, and is still a really pleasing album to listen to.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be intimidated!, October 17, 1999

By 

ADP (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In a Landscape (Audio CD)

Don't be intimidated by what you may have heard about John Cage; his music can be much more accessible than that of many other 20th-century composers, and perhaps even some earlier ones (I'll take Cage over Wagner any day). Drury plays Cage's early piano music, some of it written as dance accompaniment, with knowledge and respect. The title piece, which opens the album, sounds superficially like new-age music, but isn't the least bit boring--it's as boring as a beautiful woman, or a view from a mountain. More idiosyncratic and humorous (Cage *always* had a great sense of humor) are the "Music for Toy Piano," which shows Cage's ability to see more possibilities than the rest of us, and the short "Prelude to Meditation," which says an enormous amount with a few light touches on the keys. There's even an organ piece, which provides a nice variation. Please forget what you may have heard about Cage and buy this CD!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cage for the new listener, August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In a Landscape (Audio CD)

A good collection for those unfamiliar with the wonderful, witty work of John Cage. These early piano pieces from the 1940s could almost be 1990s New Age music; but I don't mean that perjoratively; In fact, Cage wanted the music to create a state of meditation in the listener. As he said, his objective was to "quiet the mind and make it more receptive to divine influence." A divine collection...