The Perilous Night

Composed between 1943 and 1944. Premiered in New York, April 5, 1944.

12 minutes

This is a composition in six untitled movements. It was written during a period in Cage’s life that was tinged with confusion and sadness, resulting, in large part, from his imminent separation from his wife, Xenia. The title derives from a collection of Irish folktales. The music recounts the dangers of erotic love, the misery of people separating, and the loneliness and terror one may experience when love becomes unhappy. The piano preparation is moderately elaborate and each of the work’s six movements has a different rhythmic structure.

There are 34 recordings of The Perilous Night in our database.

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John Cage Jede Menge Klavier

Gerrit Zitterbart, Martin Dörrie, Bernd Goetzke, Christoph Keymer, Tatjana Prelevic, Darlén Bakke, Bernd Goetzke, Darlén Bakke, Tim Ovens, Tatjana Prelevic, Martin Dörrie, Christoph Keymer, Bernd Goetzke, Tim Ovens, Darlén Bakke, Christoph Keymer, Tim Ovens, Tatjana Prelevic, Gerrit Zitterbart Darlén Bakke, Martin Dörrie, Bernd Goetzke, Christoph Keymer, Tim Ovens, Tatjana Prelevic, Gerrit Zitterbart

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