John Cage - Sonatas And Interludes For Prepared Piano (Harmonia Mundi,1980)

Well, the CageCentennial week here in A Closet is officially over.
But- never let it be said that we here can't go above and beyond the call of duty.
Or, more accurately, never let it be said that I, DrEyescope, can't be counted on to be the consummate procrastinator, with more to add now which should have come before.
So, Here you go:

John Cage: Sonatas And Interludes For Prepared Piano. (recorded either 1950 or 1958) Maro Ajemian, Piano

The minimal notes are in French, and I won't torture you all with my half-assed translation.

This is a kind of a strange record.
It's one of those Harmonia Mundi releases with a thin, minimal cover without photos or liner notes (there is an enclosed strip of paper with minimal notes), the idea being (as I recall) that the money would be spent on superior performances and pressing.
This record clocks in at over 64 minutes, which means that the grooves are cramped.
Normally in cases such as this, the cramped grooves give a less defined sound than wider grooves, and this record is no exception- especially towards the end of each side, or when the music gets loud, the record suffers from distortion.
And, on top of that, Maro Ajemian is playing while sitting on a squeaky chair.
But the real problem with this record is that it is incomplete:
The center label lists track 1 on side two as "Sonata No.IX", but it is, in fact, Sonata No.X,

Sonata No.IX is entirely absent. (Either that, or silent.)

Nevertheless, I enjoy this album very much. When it comes to the Sonatas and Interludes, I (who know these works only as a listener and not a performer or reader of scores, and am therefore only partially informed)  judge many of these performances to be very nearly "definitive".
There is a rhythmic vigor; a "dancing" quality in these interpretations which I find lacking in some other recordings, and even with the questionable reproduction, one can also hear a sensitivity and subtlety in some of the slower, more meditative pieces which gives them a broader emotional scope than other interpretations.

I plan to compare these interpretations with the (seemingly very dramatic) Steffen Schliermacher disc which was posted the other day by (timely and hard-working) grey calx.


John Cage: Sonatas And Interludes For Prepared Piano (composed 1946-48)

Side One:

a1: Sonata I (3:00)

a2: Sonata II (2:23)

a3: Sonata III (2:43)

a4: Sonata IV (3:04)

a5: Interlude I (3:42)

a6: Sonata V (1:28)

a7: Sonata VI (2:20)

a8: Sonata VII (2:31)

a9: Sonata VIII (2:54)

a10: Interlude II (4:22)
 
a11: Interlude III (3:04)
 
Side Two::

B1: Sonata X (3:35)

B2: Sonata XI (3:27)

B3: Sonata XII (4:18)

b4: Interlude IV (2:45)

B5: Sonata XIII (4:03)

B6: Sonata XIV (3:36)

B7: Sonata XV (3:36)

B8: Sonata XVI (5:02)
 
Maro Ajemian, Piano

(1) or (1)