List of compositions by John Cage


This is a list of compositions by John Cage, arranged in chronological order by year of composition.

List of works

Apprenticeship period (1932–36)

Greek Ode, for voice and piano First Chapter of Ecclesiastes, for voice and piano Three Easy Pieces, for piano Three Songs for voice and piano, Sonata for Clarinet Sonata for Two Voices, for two instruments with specified ranges Composition for 3 Voices for three unspecified instruments Solo with obbligato accompaniment of two voices in canon, and six short inventions on the subjects of the solo, for three or more instruments Three pieces, for two flutes Quartet, for any four percussion instruments Two pieces, for piano Trio, for three percussionists

Modern dance, prepared piano, and the transition to chance (1937–51)

Metamorphosis, for piano Five Songs, for contralto soloist and piano Music for Wind Instruments, for wind quintet Bacchanale, for prepared piano Imaginary Landscape No. 1, for two variable-speed phono turntables, frequency recordings, muted piano and cymbal First Construction (in Metal), for six percussionists and an assistant Second Construction, for four percussionists Third Construction, for four percussionists Dance to the West, for piano Forever and Sunsmell, for voice and two percussionists Totem Ancestor, for prepared piano Jazz Study, for piano Imaginary Landscape No. 3, for six percussionists Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March No. 1) The City Wears a Slouch Hat, for narrator and six percussionists Credo in Us, for four performers with various objects And The Earth Shall Bear Again, for prepared piano The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, for voice and closed piano Primitive, for prepared piano In the Name of the Holocaust, for prepared piano Ad lib, for piano Our Spring Will Come, for prepared piano A Room, for piano or prepared piano She Is Asleep: 1. Quartet for percussion, 2. Duet for voice and prepared piano Amores, for percussion and prepared piano Four Dances (What So Proudly We Hail), for voice and prepared piano Tossed As It Is Untroubled, for prepared piano Triple-Paced No. 1, for piano Four Walls, for piano and voice Prelude for Meditation, for prepared piano Root of an Unfocus, for prepared piano Spontaneous Earth, for prepared piano The Unavailable Memory of, for prepared piano Triple-Paced No. 2, for prepared piano The Perilous Night, suite for prepared piano A Valentine Out of Season, for prepared piano A Book of Music, for two prepared pianos Crete, for piano Dad, for piano Mysterious Adventure, for prepared piano Soliloquy, for piano Experiences No. 1, for two pianos 4 hands Three Dances for two prepared pianos Daughters of the Lonesome Isle, for prepared piano Ophelia, for piano Prelude for six instruments in A minor for flute, bassoon, trumpet, violin, cello and piano Two Pieces, for piano Music for Marcel Duchamp, for prepared piano Nocturne, for violin and piano

First chance works (1951–59)

Sixteen Dances for flute, trumpet, 4 percussionists, piano, violin and cello Imaginary Landscape No. 4 (March No. 2), for 12 radios, 24 performers and a conductor Music of Changes, for piano Seven Haiku, for piano Waiting, for piano Imaginary Landscape No. 5 for any 42 recordings Two Pastorales, for piano or prepared piano Water Music for pianist using various objects For M.C. and D.T., for piano Music for Carillon No. 1, for carillon 4′33″ for any instrument or combination of instruments Music for Piano 1, for piano Williams Mix, for tape Music for Piano 2, for piano Music for Piano 4–19, for any number of pianos Music for Piano 3, for piano 59½" For a String Player, for any 4-string instrument Music for Piano 20, for piano Music for Carillon No. 2, for carillon Music for Carillon No. 3, for carillon 34'46.776" For a Pianist, for prepared piano 31'57.9864" For a Pianist, for prepared piano 45' for a Speaker 26'1.1499" For a String Player, for string instrument Music for Piano 21–36, 37–52, for piano solo or in an ensemble Speech 1955, for news reader and 5 radios 27'10.554" For a Percussionist, for percussion Music for Piano 53–68, for piano solo or in an ensemble Music for Piano 69–84, for piano solo or in an ensemble Radio Music, for 1 to 8 performers using radios Winter Music, for piano For Paul Taylor and Anita Dencks, for piano Haiku, for any instruments or objects Variations I, for any number of performers and any kind and number of instruments Concert for piano and orchestra Solo for Voice 1, for voice Music Walk, for piano and various objects TV Köln, for piano, optionally with other objects Fontana Mix, for tape Aria, for voice

[|Happenings], theater (1959–68)

Sounds of Venice, for television set Water Walk, a work for a TV show for one performer with a variety of objects Cartridge Music, for amplified sounds Music for Amplified Toy Pianos, for any number of toy pianos Music for "The Marrying Maiden", for tape Solo for Voice 2, for solo voice or chorus Theatre Piece, for 1 to 8 performers WBAI – auxiliary score for performance with other worksWhere Are We Going? And What Are We Doing?, composed lecture, tapes Atlas Eclipticalis for an ensemble of 86 instruments Music for Carillon No. 4, for electronic instrument with accompaniment Variations II, for any number of performers and any kind and number of instruments Music for Piano 85, for piano and electronics Variations III, for any number of people performing any actions 0′00″ , solo for any performer with maximum amplification Variations IV for any number of performers, any sounds or combinations of sounds produced by any means, with or without other activities Electronic Music for Piano, for solo piano with electronics Rozart Mix, tape loops Variations V Variations VI, for a plurality of sound systems Music for Carillon No. 5, for a four-octave instrument Variations VIII, no music or recordings Assemblage, for electronics

Return to composition (1969–86)

HPSCHD, for 1 to 7 amplified harpsichords and 1 to 51 tapes Cheap Imitation, for piano Sound Anonymously Received, for an unsolicited instrument Untitled , for harpsichord Dialog, for two performers with various objects Song Books, for one or more voices Mureau, for one or more speakers and tape ad lib WGBH-TV, for composer and technicians Bird Cage, for 12 tapes Etcetera, for small orchestra, tape and, optionally, 3 conductors Exercise, for an orchestra of soloists Etudes Australes, for piano Score and 23 Parts, for 23 performers; any instruments and/or voices Child of Tree , for percussion made of plants and/or plants used as percussion Lecture on the Weather, lecture for 12 voices and tapes Renga, 78 parts for any instruments and/or voices Quartets I–VIII, for orchestra Branches, for percussion made of plants or plants used as percussion Telephones and Birds, for three performers 49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs, for performer, or listener, or record maker Freeman Etudes, for violin Inlets , for four performers with conch shells and the sound of fire Cassette for five performers with any number of tapes Alla ricerca del silenzio perduto, for "prepared train" A Dip in the Lake: Ten Quicksteps, Sixty-two Waltzes, and Fifty-six Marches for Chicago and Vicinity, for performer or listener or record maker Some of the "Harmony of Maine", for organist and three assistants Etudes Boreales, for cello and/or piano Hymns and Variations, for twelve amplified voices Roaratorio, an Irish circus on Finnegans Wake, tape Improvisation III, for four or more cassette players Furniture Music Etcetera, for two pianos Litany for the Whale, for two voices Thirty Pieces for Five Orchestras, for five orchestras Instances of Silence, for any number of cassette players and tapes Postcard from Heaven, for 1 to 20 harps Improvisation IV , for three cassette players Dance/4 Orchestras, for four orchestras Fifteen Domestic Minutes, for record players at different radio stations An Alphabet, radio play ear for EAR , for voices Ryoanji, for double bass, trombone, oboe, voice, percussion, small orchestra R/13 , for percussionist with thirteen found objects Souvenir, for organ Thirty Pieces for String Quartet, for string quartet HMCIEX, tape for radio Perpetual Tango, for piano Haikai, for flute and zoomoozophone Nowth upon Nacht, for voice and piano A Collection of Rocks, for choir and orchestra Eight Whiskus, for low voice Mirakus2, for voice Selkus2, ASLSP, for piano or organ Sonnekus2, for voice The first meeting of the Satie society the socie satiety, for two speakers, one female singer, musicians and/or tapes But what about the noise of crumpling paper which he used to do in order to paint the series of "Papiers froissés" or tearing up paper to make "Papiers déchirés?" Arp was stimulated by water (sea, lake, and flowing waters like rivers), forests, for percussion ensemble Etcetera 2/4 Orchestras, for four orchestras and tape Voiceless Essay, for four computer-generated tapes Wishing Well, for four speakers Hymnkus, for voice and chamber ensemble Improvisation A+B, for voice, clarinet, trombone, percussion and orchestra Rocks, for various electronic devices Haikai, for gamelan ensemble

Number Pieces and other late works (1987–92)

Music for ________, seventeen parts with no score, for a variable chamber ensemble Essay, for computer-generated tapes Two, for flute and piano Organ2/ASLSP, for organ One, for piano Europeras 1 & 2, for 19 voices and 21 musicians Five, for any five instruments or voices Solos for Voice 93–96, for voice Seven, for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola and cello Twenty-Three, for 13 violins, 5 violas and 5 cellos Five Stone Wind, for three performers with clay drums, electronics and unspecified instruments 1O1, for orchestra Four, for string quartet One2, for 1 to 4 pianos Three, for three recorders Two2, for two pianos One3 = 4′33″ + , for solo performer Sculptures Musicales, for electronics Sports: Swinging, after Satie, for piano The Beatles 1962–1970, piano and, optionally, tape c Composed Improvisations, for bass guitar, snare drum and one-sided drums with or without jangles One4, for solo drummer Fourteen, for piano, flute/piccolo, bass flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, horn, trumpet, 2 percussionists, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass One5, for piano Europeras 3 & 4, for 6 voices, 2 pianos, 12 victrolas and tape One6, for violin Seven2, for bass flute, bass clarinet, bass trombone, two percussionists with unspecified instruments, cello and contrabass One7, for any sound-producing object Scottish Circus, for Scottish folk band of any number of musicians and any instruments/voices Four2, for SATB choir One8, for cello 108, for orchestra Europera 5, for 2 voices, piano, victrola, tape/TV/radio Eight, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, tenor trombone and tuba Three2 for three percussionists with unspecified instruments Four3, for one or two pianos, twelve rainsticks and violin/oscillator, all operated by four performers Five2, for English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet and timpani Lullaby, for musical box One9, for shō Two3, for shō and five conch shells Two4, for violin and piano or shō Six, for six percussionists with unspecified instruments 103, for orchestra Two5, for piano and tenor trombone Four4, for percussionists with unspecified instruments Four5, for four saxophones Five3, for trombone and string quartet Five4, for soprano saxophone, alto saxophone and 3 percussionists Five5, for flute, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet and percussion Five Hanau Silence, for tape Ten, for flute, oboe, clarinet, trombone, percussion, piano, 2 violins, viola and cello Twenty-Six, for 26 violins Twenty-Eight, for wind ensemble Twenty-Nine, for two timpani, two percussionists, piano and strings Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Six and Twenty-Nine, for orchestra Mozart Mix, for five cassette players One10, for violin Sixty-Eight, for orchestra Eighty, for orchestra Four6, for four performers with any means of producing sounds Seventy-Four, for orchestra Fifty-Eight, for wind orchestra Two6, for violin and piano Thirteen, for flute, oboe, clarinet in B-flat, bassoon, trumpet in C, tenor trombone, tuba, 2 percussionists, 2 violins, viola and cello Muoyce II, for speaker and tapes One11, for solo cinematographer One12, for solo lecturer

Happenings

Black Mountain Piece, mixed-media performance Variations V, audio-visual performance Variations VII, mixed-media performance Musicircus, mixed-media performance Newport Mix, event with audience-provided tape loops Reunion, event Mewantemooseicday, event 33, installation with record players Demonstration of the Sounds of the Environment, event Les chants de Maldoror pulvérisés par l'assistance même, event Apartment House 1776, mixed-media event Address, mixed-media event Sounday, radio event Concerto Grosso, installation Paragraphs of Fresh Air, radio event Silent Environment Evéne/Environne METZment A House Full of Music, for 200 performers from music schools
  • ''Musicircus for Children''

Collaborations

Marriage at the Eiffel Tower, for two pianos and various objects – with Henry Cowell, George Frederick McKay, Silvestre Revueltas, and Amadeo RoldánDouble Music, for four percussionists – with Lou HarrisonParty Pieces: Sonorous and Exquisite Corpses, for any melodic and/or keyboard instruments – with Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison and Virgil ThomsonMusic for "Museum Event No. 5", mixed-media performance – with Toshi Ichiyanagi, Gordon Mumma and David Tudor

Arrangements

  • Arrangement of Socrate
  • Adaptation of Ixion for chamber ensemble or 2 pianos
  • Collage of some Studies for Player Piano on tape
  • Adaptation of some ''Studies for Player Piano''

Unfinished and incomplete works

Quest, for various objects and piano Chess Pieces, for piano Encounter, for piano
  • Unfinished work for voice
  • Unfinished work for magnetic tape One13, for one live cello and recordings of three cellos Sixteen, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, piano, 2 percussionists, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass

Lost works

This section lists works for which the location of manuscript is unknown, or which possibly were not notated.
  • Untitled composition, 1931Etudes, for piano Duet, for two flutes Music for Xenia, for piano
  • Allemande for clarinet
  • String Quartet Music for an Aquatic Ballet 25 Ballets in 1 act for a solo dancer Ho to AA, for voice and piano America was promises, for voice and piano 4 hands Four songs of the moment, for piano Prelude to Flight, for piano? Spiritual, for piano Opening dance, for piano Shimmera, for prepared piano Lidice, for prepared piano The Feast, for piano Thin Cry, for piano Foreboding, for piano Orestes, for piano? Music for Carillon No. 6, dedicated to Morton Feldman First Week of June Untitled , for piano 52/3 Music for "Westbeth", for piano? Pools, for a single performer Seventeen, Otte, for violin

Literary works