John Cage, "Variations III"

Liner Notes From Wergo WER 60057:

The New Music Ensemble was founded by Howard Hersh (pictured at left) at the Music Conservatory in San Francisco in 1969 with the support of a scholarship from the Ford Foundation. Its primary aim is to bridge the gap between contemporary music and the listener by vital and communicative performances. The Ensemble had some outstanding successes in the USA and in Europe during the first year of its existence. A three-week tour of Sweden and Norway is planned for 1971 plus a series of concerts in the USA, and film making, gospel music, theatre performances, and performances of "avant-garde" music of other epochs.

John Cage: Variations III with Solos. John Cage, born in Los Angeles, California, in 1912, studied under various teachers, including Arnold Schoenberg. In 1943 he moved to New York City. He was already writing works for "prepared piano" in 1938. Cage has probably had a greater influence on the music of later generations of composers than any other in the USA or in Europe. Variations III for voices and percussion with Solos is the third of the Variations, the first of which was written in 1958. The composition leaves plenty of scope for the interpreters as the material placed at their disposal by the composer can be put together as they wish. The "score" consists of six transparent sheets, one of which has dots of various sizes on it while the other five each have five lines on them. They are five sound parameters; the dots represent sound incidents whose character is determined in conjunction with the lined sheets.