ConcertPulse
John Cage: Music and Dance
Elbphilharmonie, Kleiner Saal (Hamburg)
John Cage was a free spirit, a pioneer and revolutionary who turned the way his contemporaries saw music upside down. In humorous happenings and numerous appearances on popular TV shows, he surprised audiences with everyday objects and incorporated squeaky ducks, watering cans and pressure cookers into his works. A completely new approach! His best-known piece »4’33’’« doesn’t have a single note: 4 minutes and 33 seconds of tense silence – that too, according to Cage, is music. At the Hamburg International Music Festival, celebrated pianist Bertrand Chamayou performs legendary Cage pieces with dance accompaniment in »Cage²«. In the late 1930s, the accomplished pianist Cage was experimenting with the expressive possibilities of his instrument, kitting out his piano with screws and erasers that he inserted between the strings. Cage soon after used the resulting percussion-like sound when the dancer Syvilla Fort commissioned him in 1940 to compose incidental music for her choreographies, where rhythm was to play a central role. The unusual combination of primed piano and dance was so successful that more commissions from other dancers followed as a result. For »Cage²«, Bertrand Chamayou is bringing this music back to the stage again. The album of the same name, which was released in May 2024, received universal acclaim. »Impeccable” was the verdict from Gramophone magazine, while the Guardian wrote: » Chamayou’s performance of all of them, each complex rhythm razor sharp, every phrase perfectly articulated, is exemplary. It’s a fabulous disc, a true revelation.« All the more reason to be delighted with the addition of choreography to the phenomenal music on stage.