| Category: | Musical composition |
| Dated: | New York City, 1948 |
| Instrumentation: | Piano solo (or viola and ensemble of 4 violas) |
| Duration: | 7' |
| Premiere and performer(s): | Different information occurs: Paul van Emmerik mentions August 20, 1948 in his worklist. According to one of the manuscripts it was on May 8, 1948 at Stephens College in Columbia, Michigan |
| Other performances: | * January 15, 1950. Hunter College Playhouse, New York. John Cage, piano. Performed with Cunningham choreography * April 26, 1950. Plays and Players Auditorium, Philadelphia, PA. John Cage, piano. Performed with choreography |
| Dedicated to: | --- |
| Choreography: | Merce Cunningham: Dream (1948) |
| Published: | Edition Peters 6707 © 1960 by Henmar Press. Also published in "John Cage: Pianoworks (1935-1948)", Edition Peters 67830 © ? and in "Das Pianobuch, Band 1 -Klaviermusik für Neugierige- (72 leichte bis mittelschwere Originalkompositionen von Couperin bis Chick Corea)", Edition Peters 10906A © 2005. |
| Manuscript: | Score (2p.); Score (holograph, signed in ink - 2p.), both in New York Public Library. |
| Dream was written for Merce Cunningham's dance. The music follows the rhythmic
structure of the choreography and uses a fixed gamut of tones. Throughout the composition resonances
are sustained, either manually or with the pedal. The music is essentially a single melodic line,
except for the last few bars. An arrangement for solo viola and ensemble of 4 violas exists (arranged in 1974 by Cage?) and has been published by C.F.Peters. According to Stefan Hussong (in the liner notes accompanying the CD 'Dream - Stefan Hussong plays John Cage'. Denon CO-18069) a revision for organ exists as well. Sources: Paul van Emmerik: Thema's en Variaties; New York Public Library online catalog; David Revill: The Roaring Silence; C.F.Peters online catalog; David Vaughan: Merce Cunningham - Fifty Years |