Cage: Thirteen

1. Thirteen, for chamber orchestra
Composed by John Cage
with Ensemble 13
Conducted by Manfred Reichert

2. Thirteen, for chamber orchestra
Composed by John Cage
with Ensemble 13
Conducted by Manfred Reichert

Cage: Thirteen,John Cage,Manfred Reichert,Ensemble 13,Cpo Records,Chamber,Chamber Music & Recitals,Classical,Classical Composers,Music for Chamber Orchestra

Average customer rating: Two different performances of one of Cage's last works

John Cage: Thirteen Manufacturer: Cpo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Cage, John | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music ASIN: B000001RX5 Release Date: 1995-01-25

Tracks:

1. Thirteen: Version I
2. Thirteen: Version II

Customer Reviews:

Two different performances of one of Cage's last works.......2003-11-27

Thirteen, one of Cage's 'number pieces' (the title refers to the number of players), was one of the last works he completed before his death in 1992. On the present disc, Manfred Reichert and the Ensemble 13 take advantage of the liberties permitted in the score to produce two very different readings.

As in most of Cage's 'number pieces' the notes to be played are prescribed, but flexibility is given to the performers as to when the notes are performed, and with what tone and volume. On the first performance on the disc, the first is 'abstract', mostly long quiet tones, a few short loud ones, and a total absence of varied timbres and expressions. The second performance, in contrast, largely reuses the performance instructions from Cage's near-contemporaneous orchestral work 103. Here, there are about the same number of short as long notes, much more dynamic variety, coloration and expressive playing. The first performance may seem more pure Cage, but in some ways the second performance seems to me to be as close to the aesthetic Cage was approaching at the end of his life (particularly in the orchestral works).

With a disc containing nothing more than two versions of a half-hour piece, it is hard to recommend this to the non-specialist, but Cage fans are unlikely to be disappointed. This is not, in my opinion, one of the very best of the 'number pieces', but it is still rewarding listening.

Average customer rating: Lesser known works of the great John Cage

Zahab: Verging Lightfall/Cage: Thirteen Harmonies Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Cage, John | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000001SF3 Release Date: 1995-05-23

Tracks:

1. Verging Lightfall (1992): I Libnas ikon: path
2. Verging Lightfall (1992): II Moetnas frond
3. Verging Lightfall (1992): III Wintered Stars, The Slow Fire
4. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Old North - William Billings
5. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Rapture - Supply Belcher
6. Thirteen Harmonies: Judea - Billings
7. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Heath - Billings
8. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): New York - Andrew Law
9. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): The Lord Descended - Billings
10. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Wheeler's Point - Billings
11. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Brunswick - James Lyon
12. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Bellingham - Billings
13. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Greenwich - Law
14. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Framingham - Billings
15. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): The Lord Is Risen - Billings
16. Thirteen Harmonies (1985): Bloomfield - Law
17. Thirteen Harmonies: Mix

Customer Reviews:

Lesser known works of the great John Cage.......2001-07-15

This is a fabulous album, containing some wonderful pieces by avant-garde composer, John Cage. The works by Cage are particularly interesting, in that Cage is not working in his usual percussion driving format. By using the viola as the dominant voice and piano as accompiniment, Cage forces himself to work with harmony and melody--very unusal elements for Cage compositions.

My understanding of how Cage wrote it was through subtraction. The names of each piece are dirived from other compositions and composers, whose works Cage took and subtracted music from. What Cage didn't subtract became the new score, Cage's new compositions.

This method allows Cage to introduce into works in which he plays with the unfamiliar (for Cage) elements of melody and harmony something he is quite familiar with: silence.

The results are fantastic. I only refrain from giving this album a full 5 stars because Cage's works aren't for everyone, but anyone interested in 20th century, avant-garde "classical" works, this album is a necessity.

Track Listings:

1. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Five Piano Trios (Sonatas Wq. 89/1, 5 & 6 / Wq. 90/3 / Wq. 91/3 & 4) - Trio 1790
2. Cello Concerto Op 104
3. Cinderella
4. Clarinet Quintet / Oboe Quintet
5. Classic Masterpieces: Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C Op.21 / Symphony No. 2 in D Op. 36
6. Classical Workout
7. Classics For The Occasion
8. Conducts Russian Masters
9. Conducts Stravinsky
10. Curran: Animal Behavior/Why Is This Night Different Than All Other Nights?

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

CIRIBUS

Heise: I Bergen; Lange-Muller: Seks Folkeviser Oversatta Af Thor Lange Op18

Groovin

BBC Presents 50 Big Band Favorites

Held Down to CD...at Last!

Funk Beyond the Call of Duty [Extra tracks] [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Children's Sleepytime

Fayrfax: Missa Regali ex Progenie; Magnificqat

Cowboy Songs On Folkways

Cuatro Caminos [Limited Edition]

Flicker

French Fries, Guilotine and Kamikaze Love [Enhanced]

House 2004 V.2 [Import]

Claude Debussy: Préludes

How Strange, Innocence