John Cage - Volume 2: Atlas Eclipticalis with Winter Music

(1912-92)

mode 3/6

Mode Records - A Record Label Devoted to New Music

The Complete John Cage Edition, Volume 2
Atlas Eclipticalis with Winter Music

CD 1 & 2

JOHN CAGE CONDUCTS JOHN CAGE:
Atlas Eclipticalis  (1961)
for chamber ensemble
with Winter Music  (1957)
for 3 pianos
Live performances, 11 December 1983
Cornish Theater at the Cornish Institute, Seattle, Washington
CD 1: Performance I, 6:30 pm  (80:00)
CD 2: Performance II, 8:30 pm  (79:59)
The New Performance Group
John Cage, conductor

FIRST TIME ON CD
Note: tape hiss and some distortion are present due to the limitations of the analogue source material

CD 3

COMPOSER SUPERVISED PERFORMANCES
RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME:
Atlas Eclipticalis  (1961)   (29:44)
for orchestra
Live performance, 26 February 1988
Crowell Hall at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut
The Wesleyan Symphony Orchestra with The Hartt Contemporary Players and The Arditti Quartet
Melvin Strauss, conductor

Winter Music  (1957)   (10:17)
for 20 pianos
The Callithumpian Consort: Alanna Battat, Johanna Kovitz, Guy Livingston
Mina Yang, pianos
Stephen Drury, director
(DDD recordings)

The long awaited reissue of Mode's second LP set, remastered with bonus tracks.

Cage's relationship with the Cornish Institute in Seattle dates back to the 1930s, when he taught there and performed as accompanist for many dance pieces. Cornish was also the scene of several of his musical discoveries and innovations.

Cage's celebrated return to the Cornish Institute in 1983 led to these recordings of his conducting Atlas Eclipticalis performed simultaneously with Winter Music - a rare opportunity to hear Cage perform his own works.
Two complete 80-minute long performances are presented here, captured live in concert.
New 96khz/24-bit mastering made from the original analog tapes.
The original liner notes by John Cage and the New Performance Group's Matthew Kocmieroski are supplemented with new essays on Atlas Eclipticalis by Cage's long-time colleague and publisher Don Gillespie, and on Winter Music by Stephen Drury.
Originally released as a 4-LP set on Mode in 1986, reissued on CD for the first time.

BONUS TRACKS: FIRST RELEASE
The first recording of all 86 instrumental parts of Atlas Eclipticalis, recorded under Cage's supervision at the "John Cage at Wesleyan Festival" in 1988 with all-star players including the Arditti Quartet, Alvin Lucier, Christian Wolff, Neely Bruce and others.

Winter Music, overdubbed by four pianists to perform the parts for 20 pianos, directed by acclaimed Cage interpreter Stephen Drury.

Related Resources:

John Cage Discography
The Callithumpian Consort Profile
Stephen Drury Profile
Melvin Strauss Profile
New Performance Group Profile