CAGE, JOHN - Shock Vol. 2

Volume 2 in EM Records John Cage Shock series lifts off with a fiery example of David Tudors piano virtuosity, his mastery of dynamics well-evident in a performance of Klavierstücke X (1961) by Karlheinz Stockhausen. The titular shock of this series is delivered even more forcefully with the next piece, John Cages 2655.988 for 2 Pianists and a String Player (1961), which was first performed the year before in Darmstadt by Tudor and Kenji Kobayashi, a combination of two of Cages solo pieces. The performance here, from Osaka, has a slightly altered title and the composition becomes a seismic quartet with the addition of Toshi Ichiyanagi and Yoko Ono, with the four performers providing acutely-angled blasts of sound. Features rare photos plus liner notes in Japanese and English plus commentary by Toshi Ichiyanagi." - EM.