| Category: | Musical composition |
| Dated: | 1977-1980 (Etudes I-XVII); 1989-1990 (Etudes XVIII-XXXII) |
| Instrumentation: | violin |
| Duration: | indeterminate. Cage indicates: play as fast as possible (and play as many notes as possible). Current recordings take between 25' per set of eight Etudes (Arditti on Mode) and 40' (Négyesy on Lovely Music) |
| Premiere and performer(s): | Books 1&2 (Etudes I-XVI): 1984 in Turin, Italy, performed by János Négyesy. Books 3&4 (Etudes XVII-XXXII): 1991 in Ferrara, Itlay, performed by János Négyesy.First complete performance: June 29, 1991 at the Tonhalle (Kleiner Saal) in Zurich, Switzerland, performed by Irvine Arditti. |
| Dedicated to: | Betty Freeman |
| Choreography: | --- |
| Published: | Edition Peters 66813a / b / c / d © 1981, 1992 by Henmar Press |
| Manuscript: | Rejected version, dated August 7, 1977 (holograph in blue and purple pencil - 2 lvs. Folder 559); Draft for Etudes 1-2, 4-16
(holograph in pencil and ink on score, photocopied in color - 68 lvs. Folder 560); Draft (holograph in pencil - 47 lvs. Folder 561); Draft for Etudes 1-16
(holograph in blue, blakc and red ink and purple pencil - 84 lvs. Folder 563); Incomplete sketches (galley proof with annotations - 287 lvs. Folders 564-565);
Worksheets (holograph (photocopy) with holographic annotations in ink - p.36a-65b (60 p.). Folder 998); Sketches (holograph in ink - 1 pad, i.e. 1 lf.
Folder 999); Notes and worksheets (holograph in ink - 116 lvs. Folder 1000); Worksheets (holograph in pencil and ink - 7 lvs. Folder 1001);
Tracings of star charts (holograph in pencil - 22 lvs. Folder 1002); Worksheets (holograph in pencil and ink - 93 lvs. Folder 1003);
Directions to copyist (holograph, chiefly in ink - 30 lvs. Folder 1004); Corrections (galley proof with holograph annotations in unidentified hand -
15 lvs. Folder 1005); Sketches (holograph in pencil - 33 lvs. Folder 1006); Notes concerning completing of 'Freeman Etudes' dated January 3, 1993, written by James Pritchett (typescript - 5 p. JPB 95-3 Folder 647), all at New York Public Library. Galley proof (1 lf.) in Bad Neuheim: Collection Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn |
| There are four books with eight etudes each. Cage used tracings of star charts to
determine rhythm and pitch, and I Ching chance operations for all other aspects of the music
like bowing style, dynamics, durations, microtones etc. The etudes are written in an extremely detailed
way with nearly every aspect of sound and sound-production specified for every single note. Therefor
they are extremely difficult to perform and Cage even mentioned that, in performing them, one
should try to play as many notes as possible. It was Cage's purpose to make these etudes as difficult as
possible in order to comply to his theme for this composition: "Practicality of the impossible". The first 17 etudes were composed in collaboration with Paul Zukofsky in the years 1977 to 1980. For several reasons Cage left them unfinished for nine years but after hearing a performance of them by Irvine Arditti, he continued working on them (1989-90), assisted by James Pritchett, who reconstructed the compositional process from Cage's notes and worksheets. See 'Manuscripts': JPB 75-3 Folder 647). Sources: James Pritchett: Liner notes for CD's Mode 32 and 37; James Pritchett: The Music of John Cage; Paul van Emmerik: Thema's en Variaties; Richard Kostelanetz: John Cage: Writer - Previously uncollected pieces; New York Public Library online catalog; David Revill: The Roaring Silence; Liner notes of Newport Classic NPD85616/2; Paul van Emmerik: A Cage Compendium |