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Product Reviews:
John Cage: Music for Prepared Piano, Vol. 2 |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Thank You, Naxos!!
Comments: The term "John Cage" seems to haunt my mind as long as I live. He certainly was1of the almost all controversial American composers during his days; he was the key figure to introduce "chance" and the "prepared piano" - by placing different small objects on the strings, the instrument produces various timbre, thus creating sort of a one-man percussion ensemble!!
"4:33" is the 1st piece I knew by Cage, and I did listen to bits and pieces from radios and such, however I did not have a single CD to own and have myself fully introduced to Cage's radical music. Plus, all this avant-garde albums are incredibly hard to find in high-profile Classical labels including Deustche Grammophon and Sony.
That's when I relied on Naxos, which currently holds1of the largest arrays of Classical music. And sure enough, I immediately purchased what I needed; the 1st2Cage CDs released, performed by Russian pianist Boris Berman - the 1st1featuring "Sonatas and Interludes" for prepared piano, and this album. At a budget price, there is only little risk out of my wallet. So thank you, Naxos!! Now I can listen to Cage's music wherever I can.
Of the2albums, I like this1better, because it features (except for the brief cycle "The Perilous Night") different separate pieces, each with distinct "preparations", moods, and colors the instrument can produce with all those objects inside. My favorite are "Tossed as it is Untroubled" and "Music for Marcel Duchamp", both with a foreign folk-like quality. I also like the extravagant "Mysterious Adventure" and the percussive "Primitive". Another particularly bizarre work is "Root of an Unfocus". There are some relatively calm pieces too, including "The Unavailable Memory of", "A Room", and "Prelude for Meditation".
A great CD for other people new with John Cage's music, however a great CD for Cage fans and experts too. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Uncaged
Comments: Try this album, patiently listening all the way through, and I think you will want immediately to play it again. Cranky music, perhaps, however absolutely fascinating. Cage was a grand experimenter, and here he even reconstructs a piano to achieve just the exact sonorities he wants, brilliantly played by Boris Berman. Haunting music, like nothing heard before. Bob Finley |
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Summary: Berman's Cage
Comments: My only complain comes from his choice of tempo for a piece such as "Music For Marcel Duchamp", which is the quickest I have ever heard (at 5'06 aprox)and lacks the mesmeric atmosphere that got me hooked on it the 1st time I listened to it. |
