The works for violoncello solo recorded and compiled on this CD by Friedrich Gauwerky are reference works for John Cage's unusual way of composing. Apart from the tones, Cage also helped to put the varied forms of silence on the musical map:
In John Cage’s "Concert for Piano and Orchestra", the western art work, score, exploded: The work is composed in individual parts whose execution is freed of every constraint. Each part is even conceived as an autonomous work, e.g. like "Solo for Cello".
"59 1/2 Seconds", one of his "time-length pieces", ranks among Cage’s most radical “graphic” compositions.
Stars become notes or noises in "Atlas Eclipticalis" – again without a score.
With the "Variations I", written for any number of people using any sort and number of sound-producing means, Cage’s composition reached the outmost limit on the way to absolute indetermination.
But, if one hears "Etudes Boréales" for cello solo, however, one experiences that it is a piece whose status can only be compared with J.S. Bach's cello compositions.
A critic wrote about Friedrich Gauwerky: "... a virtuoso with far-sightedness, good taste, amazing technique, and a captivating instrument." (Lutz Lesle: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik)
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