The Seasons (Cage)
Encyclopedia
The Seasons is a ballet
with music by John Cage
and choreography
by Merce Cunningham
, first performed in 1947. It was Cage's first piece for orchestra
and also the first to use what Cage later called the gamut technique, albeit in an early form.
. A piano version was first completed, and an orchestral arrangement followed. Cage dedicated The Seasons to Lincoln Kirstein
. The ballet was premiered on May 18, 1947 at the Ballet Society of Ziegfeld Theatre
(by which the work was commissioned) in New York City
, with original choreography by Merce Cunningham (now lost). Costumes and scenery were designed by Isamu Noguchi
. The dancers at the first performance were Gisela Caccialanza, Fred Danieli, Dorothy Dushock, Gerard Leavitt, Tanaquil LeClercq, Job Sanders, Beatrice Tompkins and Cunningham himself.
The ballet is in one act divided into nine sections: Prelude I, Winter; Prelude II, Spring; Prelude III, Summer; Prelude IV, Fall; Finale (Prelude I). Like in Sonatas and Interludes and the later String Quartet in Four Parts
(1950), Cage was influenced by Indian aesthetics and like the latter work, The Seasons is built on the Indian concept of seasons: winter is associated with quiescense, spring with creation, summer with preservation and fall with destruction. The Finale is a reprise of the first Prelude, symbolizing the cyclical nature of seasons.
As in the majority of Cage's compositions from the 1940s, the music of The Seasons is based on a predefined proportion. In this case the proportion is 2, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1, 3, 1, and it governs not only the construction of individual movements, but also the proportions of the entire work, roughly defining the relative lengths of the movements. The compositional technique involves using gamuts of sounds, ie. predefined sonorities (single notes, chords, aggregates); Cage started developing this approach in The Seasons, and later perfected it in String Quartet in Four Parts and Concerto for Prepared Piano.
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
with music by John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
and choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
by Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, first performed in 1947. It was Cage's first piece for orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
and also the first to use what Cage later called the gamut technique, albeit in an early form.
General information
Cage composed the music in early 1947, in the midst of working on Sonatas and InterludesSonatas and Interludes
Sonatas and Interludes is a collection of twenty pieces for prepared piano by American avant-garde composer John Cage . It was composed in 1946–1948, shortly after Cage's introduction to Indian philosophy and the teachings of art historian Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, both of which became major...
. A piano version was first completed, and an orchestral arrangement followed. Cage dedicated The Seasons to Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Edward Kirstein was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, and cultural figure in New York City...
. The ballet was premiered on May 18, 1947 at the Ballet Society of Ziegfeld Theatre
Ziegfeld Theatre
The Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway theater located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1927 and, despite public protests, was razed in 1966....
(by which the work was commissioned) in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with original choreography by Merce Cunningham (now lost). Costumes and scenery were designed by Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
. The dancers at the first performance were Gisela Caccialanza, Fred Danieli, Dorothy Dushock, Gerard Leavitt, Tanaquil LeClercq, Job Sanders, Beatrice Tompkins and Cunningham himself.
The ballet is in one act divided into nine sections: Prelude I, Winter; Prelude II, Spring; Prelude III, Summer; Prelude IV, Fall; Finale (Prelude I). Like in Sonatas and Interludes and the later String Quartet in Four Parts
String Quartet in Four Parts
String Quartet in Four Parts is a string quartet by John Cage, composed in 1950. It is one of the last works Cage wrote that is not entirely aleatoric. Like Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano and the ballet The Seasons , this work explores ideas from Indian philosophy.-General...
(1950), Cage was influenced by Indian aesthetics and like the latter work, The Seasons is built on the Indian concept of seasons: winter is associated with quiescense, spring with creation, summer with preservation and fall with destruction. The Finale is a reprise of the first Prelude, symbolizing the cyclical nature of seasons.
As in the majority of Cage's compositions from the 1940s, the music of The Seasons is based on a predefined proportion. In this case the proportion is 2, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1, 3, 1, and it governs not only the construction of individual movements, but also the proportions of the entire work, roughly defining the relative lengths of the movements. The compositional technique involves using gamuts of sounds, ie. predefined sonorities (single notes, chords, aggregates); Cage started developing this approach in The Seasons, and later perfected it in String Quartet in Four Parts and Concerto for Prepared Piano.