Sonatas and Interludes
Sonatas and Interludes is a cycle of twenty pieces for prepared piano by American avant-garde composer John Cage (1912–1992). It was composed in 1946–48, shortly after Cage's introduction to Indian philosophy and the teachings of art historian Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, both of which became major influences on the composer's later work. Significantly more complex than his other works for prepared piano, "Sonatas and Interludes" is generally recognized as one of Cage's finest achievements.

The cycle consists of sixteen sonatas (thirteen of which are cast in binary form, the remaining three in ternary form) and four more freely structured interludes. The aim of the pieces is to express the eight permanent emotions of the rasa Indian tradition. In "Sonatas and Interludes", Cage elevated his technique of rhythmic proportions to a new level of complexity. In each sonata a short sequence of natural numbers and fractions defines the structure of the work and that of its parts, informing structures as localized as individual melodic lines.
Q754186
prepared piano
Concept
Q102932
avant-garde
Concept
Q36834
composer
Concept
Q180727
John Cage
PER
Q376022
Indian philosophy
Concept
Q379589
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
PER
Q1193859
binary form
Concept
Q620563
rasa
UNK
Q2719264
Sonatas and Interludes
MEDIA
Q2719264
Sonatas and Interludes
MEDIA
Q2719264
Sonatas and Interludes
MEDIA
1946-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1946
DATE
+1912^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1912
NUMBER
+1992^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1992
NUMBER
+48^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
48
NUMBER
instrumentation
composer
occupation
notable work