Presented in conjunction with Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933–1957

Between 1949 and 1954, composers John Cage and Pierre Boulez exchanged a series of remarkable letters that are the basis for this remarkable concert featuring soloists of the renowned Paris-based Ensemble Intercontemporain. The group will perform a selection of works written during their correspondence including Boulez’s “Second Piano Sonata,” “Livre pour quatuor,” and “Douze notations” and Cage’s “String Quartet in Four Parts,” “Six melodies for violin and keyboard”, “Music of Changes,” and “Sonatas and Interludes.” While teaching at Black Mountain College in 1952, Cage introduced students to the works of the young French composer, whom he viewed as a major figure in contemporary composition and sympathetic to his own musical developments. Many of the Cage compositions to be performed by Ensemble Intercontemporain premiered at the College and illustrate his emerging compositional practices, which he discussed at length with Boulez. Selections from the letters will be read during the concert, offering a unique look at the work and practice of these hugely influential masters.

Program

• Pierre BOULEZ : Deuxième Sonate (pour piano – extraits -)
• Pierre BOULEZ : Livre pour quatuor (pour quatuor à cordes – extraits -)
• Pierre BOULEZ : Douze Notations (pour piano – extraits -)
• John CAGE : Music of Changes (pour piano – extraits -)
• John CAGE : Sonates et interludes (pour piano préparé – extraits -)
• John CAGE : Six Mélodies (pour violon et piano – extraits -)
• John CAGE : String Quartet in Four Parts (pour quatuor à cordes – extraits -)