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Information to Users The dance of time: The evolution of the structural aesthetics of the prepared piano works of John Cage. Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Rhodes, Carol Shirley. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 28/09/2021 16:54:06 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/187153 INFORMATION TO USERS This mam1script )las been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. 'Ibe quality of this reproduction is dependeat upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photograpbs, print bleedthrougb, substandard margins, and improper aJjgmnent can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely. event that the author did not send UMI a complete mam1script and there are mjssjng pages, these will be noted. Also, if UDaUthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and con';""i"g from left to right in equal sectiODS with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs incbJded in the original mam1script have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illl!Strations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Amor. MI481Q6-1346 USA 313!761-47oo 8OO:521-Q600 THE DANCE OF TIME: THE EVOLUTION OF THE STRUCTURAL AESTHETICS OF THE PREPARED PIANO WORKS OF JOHN CAGE by Carol Rhodes Copyright © Carol Rhodes 1995 A Document Submitted to t.lte Faculty of the SCHOOL OF MUSIC In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS WITH A MAJOR IN PERFORMANCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1995 OMI Humber: 9534661 Copyright 1995 by Rhodes, carol Shirley All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9534661 Copyright 1995, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the document prepared by----------------------------------------- Carol Rhodes entitled------------------------------------------------------------- The Darice of Time - The Evolution of the Structural Aesthetics of the Prepared Piano Works of John Cage. and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the requirements of Musical Arts ~~.,1ohema \ernan~ez Date ) eLi (: . (L -' o,... "L-L-· Il/If /5;.," Dr. Rex Woods Date I Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this document is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the document to the Graduate College. Date l 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This document has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requiremenl" for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borro,\'ers under ruies of the Library. Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNeD: _.....;~:.....:=_~=_-=---c::..z~a:./__ --!~::..- /:JU0____ _ 4 Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following individuals for their continued support: Dr. Paula Fan, Head of my Committee, for her time and expertise in her musical coaching and guidance throughout my Doctoral Studies as well as her unrelentless belief in me, continuous encouragement and positive reinforcement; the other members of my committee: Dr. Nohema Fernandez, Dr. Rex Woods, Dr. Timothy Kolosick and Dr. Edward Murphy. I am grateful to Dr. Dan Papaj, Evolutionary Biologist, for his willingness to be my graduate representative. :My appreciation to Gary Cook, Interim Director of the School of Music at the University of Arizona and Professor of Percussion, for his interest in my project and for sharing his materials. I am most grateful to the dancers, Sheryl Oden, Kevin Schroder and Katharine Harts for their wonderful creativity in collaboration with my Lecture/Performance. I am grateful to Lyneen Elmore for her expertise in the final draft of this paper. I thank Martin Holt for reading this paper and his valuable suggestions. Tha~ to Paul Malanga and David Ashby for their computer assistance. To my family, Sarah, Shaula and Jason I am most appreciative for their love and support through this project. And, finally, I wish to thank John Cage for his contributions to avant garde thinking in music, art and life. All excerpts from Cage's music are © by Henrnar Press, N.Y. and are reproduced by the kind permission of C.F. Peters Corporation, New York and London. 5 TABLE OF CONTENIS List of Musical Examples..................................................................................... 6 Abstract ................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction........................................................................................................... 9 Qaapter I Influences on John Cage.............................................................. 12 Chapter II Philosophy of Composition....................................................... 25 Chapter ill Early Per-cussion Works .............................................................. 33 Chapter N The Prepared Piano...................................................................... 45 Chapter V Dance............................................................................................. 58 Chapter VI Sonatas and Interludes............................................................... 65 Chapter VII Music for Marcel Duchamp....................................................... 94 Chapter vm Zen and John Cage.................................................................... 101 Chapter IX General History of Prepared Piano and Olaracteristics of the Materials ............................................................................... 115 Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 128 Appendix A ........................................................................................................ 133 References .......................................................................................................... 137 6 LIST OF l\,1USICAL EXAMPLES Example 1.1 Two Pieces for Piano ........................... , .... 17 Example 1.2 Imaginary Landscape no. 1 .......................... 40 Example 1.3 First Construction in t,,1ctal ........................... 41 Example 2.1 Bacchanale ......................................... 47 Example 2.2 Bacchanale ......................... '................ 48 Example 2.3 Bacchanale ......................................... 49 Example 3.0 Tala ............................................... 71 Example 4.1 Sonata no. 1. ....................................... 76 Example 4.2 Sonata no. 2 ........................................ 78 Example 4.3 Sonata no. 3 ........................................ 80 Example 4.4 Sonata no. 4 ........................................ 82 Example 5.1 Sonata no. 5 ........................................ 84 Example 5.2 Sonata no. 6 and 10 .................................. 85 Example 5.3 Sonata no. 10 ....................................... 87 Example 6.1 Sonata no. 12 ....................................... 92 Example 6.2 Music for Marcel Duchamp ........................... 99 Example 7.1 Bassoon Stop........................................ 118 Example 7.2 Preparation Page .................................... 121 Example 7.3 Dime woven between strings .......................... 122 7 Abstract John Cage, (1912-1992) pioneer in new music, innovator, inventor of the happening and philosopher, writer and artist was one of the most creative forces of the twentieth century. His earliest works were 25-tone contrapuntal compositions. He later developed a strong interest in writing for percussion ensembles and collected instruments that were both found and made. He conducted his own percussion orchestras and discovered that they were the answer to his philosophy of the sounds of the future. He considered percussion music the transition from keyboard-influenced music to music which allovved for all sounds and silences. From 1939-1951 John Cage composed several works for prepared piano that used time as a structural device. Many of these works were \n~tten for the dance in collaboration with Merce Cunningham. This document addresses the historical significance of these works and relates Time to other areas that influenced Cage--including
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