AV Festival 12: Lament for John Cage

This celebration of the 100th anniversary of John Cage’s birth focuses on slowness and duration.

Cage’s ‘*Postcard from Heaven*’ was written in 1982 and first performed at the Walker Arts Centre in Minneapolis. It will be performed on solo harp by Rhodri Davies. Unusually for Cage, the piece involves improvisation, and is specified to begin and end with continuously sustained sounds.

‘Ryoanji‘ is named after the rock garden in Kyoto, Japan – a beautiful collection of 15 rocks, placed in a landscape of raked, white sand. In the summer of 1983 Cage started a series of drawings using 15 different stones. Ryoanji is based on the shape and overlapping curves of the stones, and this version is for flute, bass and percussion, performed by Susan Stenger, Robert Poss and Dominic Lash.

World premieres include ‘A Cage of Stars’ composed by Phill Niblock for Rhodri Davies, and ‘The Lament for John Cage’ by Yoshi Wada.

Presented by AV Festival

Book for Lament for John Cage and receive £3 off the UK premiere of Hanne Darboven: Requiem at Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Newcastle, Sunday 4th March, 8pm. Standard tickets: £8
Please note that this discount is not available through online booking and can only be applied when booking through our Ticket Office.

Also part of the AV Festival 12:
Phill Niblock: The Movement of People Working