Two4 is a late work from John Cage’s series of ‘Number Pieces’, composed, like many of his works from the 1950s onwards, with a focus from freeing music reading and writing from the concept of order.
Now that piece has been recorded by Aisha Orazbayeva and Naomi Sato for a release on SN Variations, following previous releases on the label by Giacinto Scelsi, Adrian Corker and Chris Watson among others. The recording features Sato playing the shō, a Japanese wind instrument associated with gagaku court music. It was one of the few non-Western instruments that Cage wrote for and incorporated into his work. Orazbayeva takes up violin on the piece playing its strings softly with and conjuring up a unique sound.
The record will be launched this Friday (July 7) at London’s Gagosian Gallery where the pair will perform alongside Liam Byrne, who takes up the role of treble viol player. The event is free but organisers are requesting that attendees make a donation to Proemaid, an organisation dedicated to saving migrants’ lives at sea which you can find out more about here.
You can find details for the event, and confirm your attendance, here and you can purchase the release here from Friday (July 7).
