John Cage - A Room (Hayk Melikyan)

Information

Composer: John Cage

1. And the Earth Shall Bear Again (1942) for prepared Piano
2. Tossed As It Is Untroubled (1943) for prepared Piano
3. A Room (1943) for prepared Piano
4. Music for Marcel Duchamp (1947) for prepared Piano
5. Soliloquy (1945) for Piano
6. Two Pieces for Piano (1946) for Piano: I
7. Two Pieces for Piano (1946) for Piano: II
8. Ophelia (1946) for Piano
9. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Prelude I
10. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Winter
11. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Prelude II
12. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Spring
13. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Prelude III
14. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Summer
15. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Prelude IV
16. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Fall
17. The Seasons (1947) for Piano: Finale (Prelude I)
18. In a Landscape (1948) for Piano
19. Dream (1948) for Piano
20. Suite for Toy Piano (1948) for toy Piano: I
21. Suite for Toy Piano (1948) for toy Piano: II
22. Suite for Toy Piano (1948) for toy Piano: III
23. Suite for Toy Piano (1948) for toy Piano: IV
24. Suite for Toy Piano (1948) for toy Piano: V

Hayk Melikyan, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Kairòs

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This collection captures the transformative early output of John Cage during his twenties, a pivotal decade spent studying under contrasting masters Arnold Schoenberg, who famously deemed him an "inventor of genius", and Henry Cowell. Curated as a deeply personal statement by pianist Hayk Melikyan, the program traces Cage at the threshold of his radical evolution. Rather than showcasing a precursor to his groundbreaking style, the recording documents the actual emergence of his avant-garde language. Through Melikyan’s focused interpretation, the album offers an intimate portrait of Cage’s formative period as he expanded the sonic boundaries of the piano.

John Cage (1912–1992) was a groundbreaking American composer, visual artist, and music theorist who emerged as a dominant figure of the post-war avant-garde. Studying under radicals Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg, Cage pioneered electroacoustic music, non-standard instrumentation, and aleatoric composition, using the I Ching as a lifelong creative tool inspired by Eastern philosophy and Zen Buddhism. Renowned for inventing the prepared piano and for his collaborative work with choreographer Merce Cunningham, Cage redefined the boundaries of sound and performance. His landmark 1952 composition 4′33″ framed environmental silence as music, cementing his legacy as one of the 20th century's most influential artistic innovators.

High Resolution 24-bit / 96 kHz