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Page 18, Solo for Piano, from Concert for Piano and Orchestra

John Cage. Page 18, Solo for Piano, from Concert for Piano and Orchestra. (1958)

John Cage (American, 1912–1992). Page 18, Solo for Piano, from Concert for Piano and Orchestra. (1958). Ink and pencil on transparentized paper, 10 7/8 x 17 1/8" (27.6 x 43.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Lily Auchincloss. © 2012 John Cage Trust

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The composer John Cage’s musical experiments with found sound developed in parallel with Concrete poetry and were deeply influential to Concrete poets and artists. His notion of “musical empiricism”—that music could be considered a single element rather than defined as the relationships of sounds in a structure—closely relates to the ideas of Concrete and sound poets, who saw the elements of language as things in themselves, not as symbols inseparable from a larger linguistic system. In keeping with this idea, Cage’s scores were drawn to be experienced visually as well as played.