| Category: | Musical composition |
| Dated: | June 14, 1953 (1' 5½" for a String Player); June 28, 1953 (1' ½" for a String Player); June 29, 1953 (1' 18" for a String Player); June 30, 1953 (1' 14" for a String Player); New York City, May 1953 (57½" for a String Player); The final version of the work is dated (on page C): Stony Point, N.Y., August-September 1955, with the assistance from David Tudor which is gratefully acknowledged |
| Instrumentation: | for any 4-stringed instrument or any combination of 2 or more |
| Duration: | Indeterminate |
| Premiere and performer(s): | October 15, 1955 |
| Dedicated to: | for Broadus Earle (1' 5½" for a String Player); for Matthew Raimondi (1' ½" for a String Player); for Seymour Barab (1' 18" for a String Player); for Walter Trampler (1' 14" for a String Player); for June (57½" for a String Player); for Harold Coletta (on page B) |
| Choreography: | --- |
| Published: | Edition Peters 6779 © 1960 by Henmar Press |
| Manuscript: | Notes and calculations (holograph in pencil - 5 lvs.+ 1 envelop. Folder 193); Notes and calculations (holograph in pencil - 104 lvs./153 p. Folder 194); Instructions concerning duplication for publication (holograph in ink - 1 lf. Folder 195); Score of 57½" for a String Player (holograph, photocopy, with emendations in pencil - 6 p. Folder 954); Score (holograph, signed, in ink - 3p. (A, B and C) + 85 p. Folder 955), all in New York Public Library |
| Incorporates 5 earlier works: 57½" for a String Player (p.34-38),
1' 5½" for a String Player (p.39-43),
1' ½" for a String Player (p.44-48),
1' 18" for a String Player (p.49-53) and
1' 14" for a String Player (p.54-58). This composition may be performed with 27'10.554" for a Percussionist, 31'57.9864" for a Pianist, 34'46.776" for a Pianist, and 45' for a Speaker, as a solo or ensemble for any combination of pianists, string players, percussionists, and a speaker. This is a graph piece in actual time where space is equal to a certain amount of time. The rhythmic structure is 3-7-2-5-11. The compositional means were chance operations and the use of imperfections in the paper upon which the work was written. The work is part of The Ten Thousand Things. Sources: Richard Kostelanetz: John Cage writer - previously uncollected pieces ; David Revill: The Roaring Silence; James Pritchett: The Music of John Cage; Paul van Emmerik: A Cage Compendium; Paul van Emmerik: Thema's en Variaties; New York Public Library online catalog |