John Cage

John Cage: Music, Philosophy, and Intention, 1933--1950 explores the early part of John Cage's life and career, concentrating on the "pre-chance" period from roughly 1933 to 1950. These essays consider influences on Cage's work, his early percussion pieces, his evolving aesthetic, and his movement toward an ideology that would later shape his own work, arguing that a reevaluation of this early period is crucial to understanding his later work. It includes contributions from an international group of music and art scholars.

Introduction, Charles Hamm; Chapter 1 1. John Cage, Arnold Schoenberg, and the Musical Idea, David W. Bernstein; Chapter 2 2. Cultural Intersections: John Cage in Seattle (1938-1940), Leta E. Miller; Chapter 3 3. No Ear for Music: Timbre in the Early Percussion Music of John Cage, Christopher Shultis; Chapter 4 4. John Cage's Imaginary Landscape No. 1: Through the Looking Glass, Susan Key; Chapter 5 5. "A Therapeutic Value for City Dwellers": The Development of John Cage's Early Avant-Garde Aesthetic Position, Branden W. Joseph; Chapter 6 6. The Picture That Is Not in the Colors: Cage, Coomaraswamy, and the Impact of India, David W. Patterson; Chapter 7 7. An Imaginary Grid: Rhythmic Structure in Cage's Music Up to circa 1950, Paul van Emmerik; Chapter 8 8. Structure vs. Form in The Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano, Chadwick Jenkins; Contributors Index;