Radio broadcast begins with John Cage speaking in a pre-recorded, 1990 interview [mostly inaudible due to significant static]; from ca. 2:28-3:00, program host Scott Borden introduces the previous clip, and program, a tribute to Cage on his 80th birthday [partially inaudible due to static]; introduction of In a landscape; from ca. 3:28-11:30, performance of In a landscape, piano by Margaret Leng Tan, recorded live in 1991 on WNYC [occasionally, channel cuts out]; Borden introduces the next clip of Cage speaking about the construction of his piece IV, from a 1990 interview at Symphony Space with interviewer Allan Miller; clip from ca. 12:29, Cage speaks about his lecture series at Harvard University (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, from 1988-89), and the construction of these lectures as they relate to his musical compositions; Cage speaks about his text, Composition in retrospect, and lists the 15 subjects he uses in his compositions; briefly, describes using these subject words in a vertical layout, as well as other literary texts and chance operations, as source material in the construction of his "mesostics"-based lectures; from ca. 20:00-30:30, Cage reads a selection of IV; Miller and Cage further discuss Cage's chance operations, especially the difference between chance and accident; Borden introduces a contemporary of Cage, Morton Feldman, and his work, For John Cage; from ca. 34:14-57:32, performance of For John Cage by Paul Zukofsky, violin, and Marianne Schroeder, piano; Borden introduces the final musical clip, taken from Cage's last public performance prior to his death, the world premiere performance of Four⁶ at Central Park's SummerStage, July 1992; from ca. 58:02, brief excerpt from the Symphony Space recording, Cage speaks to Miller about how he titled his pieces using the example of Music for; from ca. 1:00:19-1:30:12, performance of Four⁶ by Joan La Barbara and John Cage, vocalists, Leonard Stein, piano and percussion, and William Winant, percussion; Borden announces the program credits; from ca. 1:31:16-1:32:01, commercial announcement for WNYC program, Singing through John Cage; unidentified radio announcer gives time and weather report; from ca. 1:33:00-1:53:26, Jean-Philippe Rameau's Suite in E minor, from his Pièces de clavecin (1724), performed by Olivier Baumont; from ca. 1:54:35-1:56:12, excerpt from Dance no. 1, performed by composer David Chesky, piano, and Ramero Lubambo, guitar; from ca. 1:56:13-2:03:38, recording silence.
Alternative title
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
Title, date and location provided by cataloger based on handwritten notes on original DAT cassette and container.
Handwritten note on original DAT container: " 'Inside Cage' ; 1 1/2 hour special features WNYC's live recordings of Cage's performances, readings, and interviews. Broadcast on Sept. 4, 1992 ; WNYC, FM93.9".
Contains a radio broadcast tribute, consisting of interview excerpts, readings, and musical performances, in memorial to John Cage on what would have been his 80th birthday.
Sound quality is fair in the beginning; ca. 0:00-11:30, there is radio static that occasionally makes the recording inaudible, and, at times, one channel of the recording cuts out. After ca. 11:30, sound quality is mostly good; the recording is more consistent with only occasional static.
Donor's inventory number: D080.
Access (note)
Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
Source (note)
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation
Linking entry (note)
Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
Title
Inside Cage : WNYC radio tribute to John Cage, 1992-09-04.
Publisher
September 4, 1992.
Playing time
020338
Type of content
spoken word
performed music
Type of medium
audio
Type of carrier
audiocassette
online resource
Digital file characteristics
audio file
Performer
Margaret Leng Tan, piano (In a landscape); Paul Zukofsky, violin, and Marianne Schroeder, piano (For John Cage); Joan La Barbara and John Cage, vocalists, Leonard Stein, piano and percussion, and William Winant, percussion (Four⁶); Olivier Baumont, harpsichord (Suite in E minor, Pièces de clavecin, 1724); David Chesky, piano, and Ramero Lubambo, guitar (Dance no. 1 of David Chesky).
Event
Broadcast by WNYC radio in, New York, New York, 1992 September 4.
Restricted access
Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
Original version
Archival original: (1 audio DAT cassette (124 minutes) : digital, .3209 ips, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit, two track, stereo) in *LTD-A 672.
Linking entry
Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
Local note
Transferred from original DAT cassette by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.