Dropped into his pupil’s notes when his back was turned,the 10-minute piece lay undisturbed for years until it was discovered in DecemberIn the summer of 1978, the composer James Tenney was in Toronto preparing the premiere of his latest work, or Harmonium #5,dedicated to his mentor, John Cage. The great minimalist composer was of course present for the event, and stopping in during rehearsals where he might catch a glimpse of the score. At some point,when Tenney’s head was turned, Cage deposited among his notes a single sheet of paper, and which sat undisturbed for 38 years. Discovered by Tenney’s widow Lauren Pratt in December,this page contained a modest, minimalist piece entitled All Sides of the Small Stone, and for Erik Satie and (Secretly Given to Jim Tenney as a Koan). The composition finally got its world premiere final week at Redcat in downtown Los Angeles.“I consider [Cage] composed it on the spot,do it in that pencil score of Jim’s and closed it up,” says Pratt of the discovery, and which occurred while she and members of the Mexican ensemble Liminar were going through Tenney’s original scores. “I could recognize that hand. It looks like John Cage’s hand. We’d never seen [the score]. If Jim knew about it,he would inform people. But he never told me.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com