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Sonatas and Interludes by John Cage

The Sonatas and Interludes is the largest and most complex piece John Cage (1912-1992) wrote for the prepared piano. Contrary to all the pieces for prepared piano that preceded it, this work is not intended for dance, but for the concert podium. Nonetheless, existing recordings show that in recent years performance practice has become more focused on the percussive quality than the lyrical character of the work. For this performance, Snijders re-evaluated Cage’s original preparation instructions and, reflecting on the sounds these produced, prepared a performance that focuses more on the inherent poetry, intimacy and subtlety of the cycle than on the percussive sound world.

Cage’s score gives the exact placement of the preparation inside a Steinway 0-type (to be remeasured to accommodate for other types and sizes of grand piano). The exact nature of the preparation materials used is left unclear, although two original sets, put together by Cage himself, survive. Cage wanted to give the performer a great deal of freedom in choosing the precise sounds: nevertheless he was extremely unhappy if a pianist ended up with colours that the composer considered lacked thoughtfulness. With the help of the Belgian pianist Luc Vaes, Snijders was able to get as close as possible to the original materials: this helped to determine the precise sounds that the original preparation sets could have produced, and in turn told him a great deal about the musical character of each of the movements, resulting in this lyrical interpretation. The research led to performances of the piece in London (6 October 2012 – Barker Mill Studio), Durham (28 November 2012 – Fonteyn Ballroom, live recording submitted here) and Amsterdam (27 January 2013 – Galerie Slewe); a recording was also made in London in October 2012 intended for commercial CD release.