A reference recording
Discophage | France | 10/20/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This recording has recently been reissued by the British label èl, and this is how I have it (John Cage: Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano). I don't know how the sound compares with this CRI release, made in the mid nineties, but on èl it is fine, with good piano definition and some tape-hiss which I do not find obtrusive. The liner notes to this CRI publication are more interesting and informative, but they can be downloaded from the newworldrecords website. So the decision between both releases is a question of price - the èl disc is at the present cheaper in Europe.
See my review for more details as to why this can be considered a reference recording. It was the first recording of Cage's epoch-making Sonatas & Interludes for prepared piano, made in 1950 and first published on 2, 3 or 4 Dial LPs (the sources differ on this particular detail), and licensed in 1965 by CRI. Cage considered it "the definitive recording" and, since the score contains no indication about how the piano should be prepared, he even advised the potential performer wanting "to adhere to past models" to "listen to the recording by Maro Ajemian and then attempt to imitate that preparation". Ajemian - an American pianist of Armenian origin, and a woman, as her name doesn't necessarily indicate - had premiered the first four Sonatas, fresh out of the composer's pen (Cage premiered the others), and in 1949 she also gave the ground-breaking Carnegie Hall concert of the complete cycle which established overnight the stature of Cage as a leader of the avant-garde. She had also given the American premiere of Khachaturian's Piano Concerto in 1942 and, besides championing the music of Cage, she was an active advocate of the music of Alan Hovhaness and the main agent of his discovery by the music world.
All these factors make this recording, despite its age, a good place to start a Cage collection and an indispensable disc for any Cage admirer.
"
A passed on recommendation
P. M. Summer | Dallas, Texas USA | 07/19/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This from an e-mail from someone I truly respect."I don't make many recommendations--and I hate the culture of recommendation that is inescapable in this fine land--but this one I can completely support: get the Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano performed by Maro Ajemian. It's the original recording from the mid-1950s. I used to have the boxed LP set (four thick LPs that I literally wore out). Cage didn't care for records--and I increasingly tend to agree with him--but this is the version he liked (or at least recognized as being his music). It seems to me that they've done a good job remastering the thing, but I would have bought it anyway. In the early 1970s, this record convinced me that "modernism" could actually have substance--like the work of Schwitters and the early Max Beckmann also did. Anyway, it makes the other recordings of the piece seem prissy (even though M.A. was a woman and all the other CDs are by men!)""
My favourite
Tzenka Dianova | canada | 05/26/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Definitely the best performance of Sonatas and Interludes, by the pianist it was originally written for. I have played the piece, I have heard any available recording of it, and I would say that this is as good as it gets. Also beautifully prepared piano."
Track Listings (19) - Disc #1