“What can they have to do with one another?”: Approaches to Analysis and Performance in John Cage’sFour²

Abstract

In this study, I evaluate the sonic possibilities of John Cage’sFour2(1990) by comparing existing performances of the piece with alternate renditions generated computationally and by hand specifically for this analysis.Four2, one of Cage’s Number Pieces,is fully determinate with respect to pitch, instrumentation and overall duration, but affords the performer the flexibility to choose the durations of specific sounds through time-bracket notation. The differences in the musical results between various performances, both real and virtual, prompt a discussion of the performance practices of the piece both as outlined by Cage and as understood by scholars and performers. Accompanying this text is a computer program with which readers can edit and play back their own interpretations ofFour2.