Music for "Works of Calder"

Composed between 1949 and 1950.

This composition was written for use in a short film by Herbert Matter on the subject of the artist Alexander Calder. The soundtrack, recorded in Calder’s studio in January 1950, incorporates the sounds of mobiles bumping into one another. The idea of the music was that sounds as noises be relevant to what one is seeing in the film, i.e. "Rhythmically composed sequences [that] suggest a parallel between familiar forms and movements in nature and the movements of Calder's mobile" (from John Cage: “A Few Ideas About Music and Film”). In 1951, Cage’s score was awarded First Prize by the Woodstock Art Film Festival. The master is held at the Museum of Modern Art Film Library in New York. Published by Edition Peters in "Works for Piano, Prepared Piano and Toy Piano, Volume 4: 1933-1952".

There are 3 recordings of Music for "Works of Calder" in our database.

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John Cage - Complete Piano Music Vol. 10 Etcetera

Steffen Schleiermacher, piano, toy piano, rainsticks. Andreas Seidel, violin (10).

(MDG) Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm