Cage: A Cage of Saxophones, Vol. 1

On this CD:

1. Five, for any five voices or instruments Version for 2 saxophones, accordion & 2 pianos
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Mario Bertoncini, Ulrich Krieger

2. Ryoanji, for voice, flute, oboe, trombone, contrabass, percussion, chamber orchestra & 2nd voice ad lib
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Ulrich Krieger, Ulrich Krieger

3. Four5, for 4 saxophones
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Ulrich Krieger

4. Five4, for 2 saxes & percussion ("in memory of Stephan Wolpe")
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Ulrich Krieger

5. Hymnkus, for chamber ensemble, accordion & voice
Composed by John Cage
Performed by Mario Bertoncini, Ulrich Krieger

Customer Reviews:

A good survey of late Cage.......2003-09-21

Mode Records have been releasing many Cage discs of late. This is the 24th, and a disc devoted to music featuring saxophones, featuring the German saxophonist Ulrich Krieger.

All of the works on this disc are from the last decade of Cage's life. The three shorter ones are from his series of 'number pieces', the two longer ones come from slightly earlier.

The disc begins with an excellent performance of 'Five', one of the earliest of the 'number pieces'. Sounds brush into existence and fade away, unaware of what the other performers are doing at the same time. The instrumentation of this work is unspecified by the composer, but the choice here--two saxes, accordion and two pianos played with bows--seems exceedingly appropriate.

Following this, a rather less successful performance. 'Ryoanji' is a work which appears in a baffling variety of versions. This one, for four saxes and percussion, was arranged by Krieger, though approved by the composer. I find, however, that the acoustic is overly dry (particularly for the percussion part) and detracts from the atmosphere the composer wishes. This is probably the least successful of half-a-dozen versions I know of this work.

Four^5, another of the 'number pieces', is a twelve-minute work for four saxes, and in my opinion, one of Cage's finest achievements. In this performance, Krieger and his fellow players choose not to play the short, loud spiccato notes that are permitted in the score, and I find this--along with the very smooth sound--brings the work a little closer to blandness than I would like (my preference in this work would be for Marcus Weiss et al on the no-longer-available Hat Hut 'Conquest of Melody' disc, who do play the shorter notes).

No complaints, though, about the last two performances. Five^4 is an austere elegy for Stephan Wolpe, scored for two saxes and three percussionists, and is splendidly realized here. The final work, 'Hymnkus', the longest on the disc, is a thirty minute near-minimalist essay in not-quite-exact repetition of short phrases and individual notes. The sounds of sax, accordion, piano and percussion complement each other perfectly and the music generates continued interest out of very little material. (If you've ever heard Morton Feldman's 'For Samuel Beckett', the surfaces of the two works are very similar, though Cage uses less material than Feldman.)

Overall, a mixed bag, but generally positive. I'd recommend this disc to anyone who's developed an interest in Cage's music.

Music Review: