the first period, religious and mystical, there are the cafe chantant works; then the Trois Morceaux, which combines aspects of the mystical with aspects of the charming and the vulgar. Then the study of counterpoint for the second time (he had gone through the Conservatory earlier) in the Schola Cantorum and the resultant works: En Habit de Cheval, Apercues desagreeables, which, it seems to me, see and then renounce neo-classicism. Following this comes the period of commonly-called “satirical pieces”; they are not properly so-thought-of: they are parallel to the work of Paul Klee,141 and conserve their fantasy and magic waiting patiently to glow any time anyone lets them. Of these: Embryons, Croquis, 3 Valses, Descriptions, Avant-dernieres pensees, Sports et Divertissements, Enfantines, Trois preludes, etc., etc. I particularly am devoted to the Enfantines and the Sports, although when I say that, I feel unfaithful to the others. The Enfantines surpass all other children’s pieces of this century, easily and surely. Then comes Parade, before came the violin piece, some songs, beauties: Trois melodies, Trois poemes, Quatre melodies, Ludions, then the Socrate, the Nocturnes, Mercure and finally Relache with its incredible Entr’acte. I have missed many but Templier is not at hand nor the music nor the time; for instance I miss the play, Le Piege de Meduse, and its music.
As I see music there are four departments of it inviting thought and action: structure (which is the division into parts of a composition); form (which is morphology-content); method (which is note to note or instant to instant procedure); and material (which is actual sound and silence). Schoenberg’s contribution is in the minor area of method. Satie’s is in the major area of structure. So is Webern’s; his pre-12-tone works are structured according to phraseology instead of harmony, as are Satie’s, as are mine. Schoenberg still thinks as Beethoven but new-fangles it through new method. Stravinsky is seductive, via sound, and confesses intellectual poverty by exploiting music of the past. The pre-eminence of Webern is confessed by the 12-tone composers of contemporary Europe. Webern and Satie are distinctly the composers of the century who V out instead of V’ing in: I mean they open the doors, they do not focus in to deadness. Shall I go on? Let me know.
I look all the time for the Variations of Webern. I can’t find them. I have given my copy away so that a pianist will play it.
Form is the area of music that anybody goes into freely: the 19th-century error was to imitate Beetoven’s form-feeling, which in terms of the neurosis is what Schoenberg mostly does. Satie and Webern are free and original in their form, besides being so in their structure. The method of Satie, which is frequently banal, is what disguises his riches and prevents serious people from taking him seriously. They, however, have misplaced their seriousness.
However, I realize that it is probably silly to send you these ideas because they relate to a body of ideas that I find useful, and your ideas relate to what you find useful; however, one often makes the questionable act of thinking that his ideas and actions are generally applicable.
For many reasons, I would prefer to offer again this year the Sonatas and Interludes, and without other music on the program. In the first place I find “programs” no longer useful, because they stand in the way of the proper use of music which is to quiet and concentrate the mind, and not to giddify it with entertainment, no matter how intellectual. In relation to the shakuhachi music, which is so marvelous, there must be no other music. It is against proper being, unnatural. The same is true of these pieces of mine, and I say it in no spirit of self-praise, but simply in simple thought about what music is and does. I am not interested in success but simply in music. I am fairly certain however that there are a number of people in Los Angeles who have not heard the Sonatas, but heard of them, who would like to hear them. I intend to resist recording these pieces and yet I want to offer them to be heard and used. Having heard them once is a very good beginning for hearing them again. I myself have heard them countless times, and I find them more and more useful, rather than less and less so.
My other reasons are less important but to do with practicality. I have no new music, having spent the whole summer with Satie and teaching. The two piano works which I have demand extreme virtuosity and long work with the mutes in the piano which would not be possible. It would also require for the single concert 5 pianos, and no end of nervous arrangements, since I am necessarily in Los Angeles only a short time. Also the 3 Dances are recorded and can be heard that way.
So, without wanting to be annoying, exactly the contrary, I would like again to play just the Sonatas and Interludes and to offer it clearly distinctly from other musical experience.
My most affectionate greetings to both of you.
Feb. 21st, a Monday, would be good for me. Is it good for you or Lester?
To Jack Heliker and Merton Brown142
[November 1948] | Location not indicated
Dear Jack and Merton:
This is thanksgiving day and it is very cool but not cold yet; we have not yet had any snow; now and then it has been Indian summer. We miss you very much, and there is no one to take your place. Once we went to visit Easton Pribble,143 but he never calls either one of us; I suspect that socially he is a bit lethargic. Lou is well but still goes to the Dr. whom he is now trying to educate in return. We hope that Jack has taught the monkeys how to speak English and move with American gestures. We are still making tour arrangements, and we will arrive the first of April in Holland (Rotterdam). I met a very nice music critic who works in Paris, Frederick Goldbeck,144 who edited Contrepoint, and I loaned him Merton’s scores. He leaves here on the 9th of December, and should Merton go back to Paris he should look him up. (He is anti-neoclassical, considers it as we do, an international plague. He is also not 12-tone in admiration. He likes Debussy, Varese, early Schoenberg, early Webern, Ruggles, now you and me.) Are you painting yet, Jack? Maybe we are going to do The Seasons145 in January, and I will have to do the rehearsal piano and the light cues. I am starting to write a piece for piano and orchestra, but I am still only timid in relation to it. Somedays too ecstatic others too timid. Reading Eckhart and have discovered that his tempo is very fast;146 if you read him as though you were a winchell it works magnificently, like fire. Merce has lots of new dances which he will do on tour. He is more and more unbelievable to watch move. Jack’s letter seemed sad to us; but I never really think of him as a traveler, but only painting in the corner of the room (I’ve thought that before going to Europe you should have tried painting in the kitchen just to see how moving a little bit felt). Now Merce wants to write a little bit.
[Merce Cunningham’s portion] the only trouble about john playing for the seasons rehearsals is that he cant play the score as well as you can, Merton, and it is harder to rehearse with him. i don’t know what the dancers will do. on our tour in the united states we have to run from chicago through sleet and snow to eugene oregon in four days. thats so we can make more money faster to get to europe quicker. it is so sad not to be able to go to cornelia street once in a while now, so we will hurry to italy and the via de cornelia. heres a brochure telling how wonderful we are. arthur gold and robert fizdale concert was terrible, slick and slack (nabokoff) chataqua (thomson) facile and mozart sounding like a contemporary work, and not a very good one (cage and cunningham) and a party for the artists afterwards that had a bunch of broadway comedians present to instill life (into the gathering). ruggles is at the chelsea hotel for the winter and he and virgil had tea, and they are great friends, and ruggles confided that virgil is a great man, and everybodys happy. henry cowell looks like a leprechaun in a wheelchair ready to burst forth at any point. john said, as he was taking a shower, that eckhart says that the soul is the gatherer together for the other disparate forces. we had a nice time this afternoon. did you? we miss you so much. lou seems much better, and so bright about so many things again.
To John Cage Sr. and Lucretia Cage
