Haiku for Piano (Edition Peters) Paperback – May 1, 2022

John Cage. In 1950–51 John Cage composed seven Haiku for piano. The manuscripts are extremely sketchy but can be deciphered, with only a few minor rhythmic details open to speculation. In contrast to the familiar Seven Haiku of 1951–52, which Cage copied out carefully and later published in Edition Peters (P6745), these earlier Haiku use the sequence of 7-plus-5-plus-7 sound events (in nine measures) as a structural underpinning, rather than the 5-plus-7-plus-5 sequence of the later composition. One wonders whether Cage would have eventually found time to recopy these little pieces for publication. They reflect a fascinating musical path from the almost tonal Haiku I, reflecting a language similar to the Sixteen Dances (1950–51), to a completely atonal style akin pitch-wise to the Music of Changes (1951), but without ostensibly using chance methodology. The first of the four volumes of Music of Changes was completed on May 15, 1951, two months after Haiku V. Contents Haiku I, For my dear friend, Who Haiku II, (What stillness!) Haiku III, The Green Frog's Voice Haiku IV, The River Plurabelle Haiku V Read more