| Category: | Musical composition |
| Dated: | January 20, 1958 |
| Instrumentation: | Any number of performers; any kind and number of instruments |
| Duration: | indeterminate |
| Premiere and performer(s): | William Fetterman quotes Robert Dunn's John Cage Catalogue: June 15, 1960 in Cologne, performed
by David Tudor. This is definitely wrong since there were many earlier performances. Frans van Rossum mentions as first performance: March 15, 1958 at the Women's College of the University of Colorado, Greensboro, performed in three versions by John Cage and David Tudor on piano's. Cage and Tudor gave various performances in Europe: September 3, 1958 at the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt, Germany. Performed by Cage and Tudor on piano's (van Rossum). October 5, 1958 at the Kungl.Teatern in Stockholm, Sweden. Performed with Cunningham's choreography Ett Nummer, which is a variation of his Antic Meet (Vaughan). October 14, 1958 at Galerie 22, Düsseldorf, Germany, performed by Cage and Tudor (Revill) |
| Dedicated to: | for David Tudor, on his birthday (tardily) (from title page) |
| Choreography: | Merce Cunningham: Ett Nummer (1958) |
| Published: | Edition Peters 6767 © 1960 by Henmar Press |
| Manuscript: | Score (holograph, signed, in ink - 2 p. and 6 tranparencies), New York Public Library; Realisations (holograph - 5 p.), New York, private collection. |
| Variations I is derived from notation BV from the Solo for piano
(From Concert for piano and orchestra). 5 different transparencies
contain randomly arranged sets of 5 lines. One or more of these transparencies should be superimposed on the points from
the BV notation, in order to create a program for performance. Sources: Frans van Rossum: Enige bekende feiten over John Cage; Paul van Emmerik: Thema's en Variaties; New York Public Library online catalog; David Vaughan: Merce Cunningham - Fifty Years; David Revill: The Roaring Silence; William Fetterman: John Cage's theatre pieces: Notations and performances |