This is a list of compositions by John Cage (1912–1992), arranged in chronological order by year of composition.
List of works
Apprenticeship period (1932–1936) Greek Ode, for voice and piano (1932) First Chapter of Ecclesiastes (The Preacher), for voice and piano (1932, possibly incomplete) Three Easy Pieces (1. Round in A minor, 2. Duo in G major, 3. Infinite canon in F minor), for piano (1933) Three Songs for voice and piano, (1932–33) Sonata for Clarinet (1933) Sonata for Two Voices, for two instruments with specified ranges (1933) Composition for 3 Voices for three unspecified instruments (1934) Solo with obbligato accompaniment of two voices in canon, and six short inventions on the subjects of the solo, for three or more instruments (1934, six inventions revised [orchestrated] 1958) Three pieces, for two flutes (1935) Quartet, for any four percussion instruments (1935) Two pieces, for piano (1935?, revised 1974) Trio, for three percussionists (1936)
Modern dance, prepared piano, and the transition to chance (1937–1951)
Metamorphosis, for piano (1938) Five Songs, for contralto soloist and piano (1938) Music for Wind Instruments, for wind quintet (1938) Bacchanale, for prepared piano (1938) Imaginary Landscape No. 1, for two variable-speed phono turntables, frequency recordings, muted piano and cymbal (1939) First Construction (in Metal), for six percussionists and an assistant (1939) Second Construction, for four percussionists (1940) Third Construction, for four percussionists (1941) Dance to the West, for piano (1942) Forever and Sunsmell, for voice and two percussionists (1942) Totem Ancestor, for prepared piano (1942) Jazz Study, for piano (1942, spurious work possibly not by Cage) Imaginary Landscape No. 3, for six percussionists (1942) Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March No. 1) (1942, first title Fourth Construction) The City Wears a Slouch Hat, for narrator and six percussionists (1942) Credo in Us, for four performers with various objects (1942) And The Earth Shall Bear Again, for prepared piano (1942) The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, for voice and closed piano (1942) Primitive, for prepared piano (1942) In the Name of the Holocaust, for prepared piano (1942) Ad lib, for piano (1943) Our Spring Will Come, for prepared piano (1943) A Room, for piano or prepared piano (1943, originally third part of She is Asleep) She Is Asleep: 1. Quartet for percussion, 2. Duet for voice and prepared piano (1943) Amores, for percussion and prepared piano (1943) Four Dances (What So Proudly We Hail), for voice and prepared piano (1943) Tossed As It Is Untroubled, for prepared piano (1943, first title Meditation) Triple-Paced No. 1, for piano (1943) Four Walls, for piano and voice (in one of the movements) (1944) Prelude for Meditation, for prepared piano (1944) Root of an Unfocus, for prepared piano (1944) Spontaneous Earth, for prepared piano (1944) The Unavailable Memory of, for prepared piano (1944) Triple-Paced No. 2, for prepared piano (1944) The Perilous Night, suite for prepared piano (1944) A Valentine Out of Season, for prepared piano (1944) A Book of Music, for two prepared pianos (1944) Crete, for piano (1944–45) Dad, for piano (1944–45) Mysterious Adventure, for prepared piano (1945) Soliloquy, for piano (1945, originally part of Four Walls) Experiences No. 1, for two pianos 4 hands (1945) Three Dances for two prepared pianos (1945) Daughters of the Lonesome Isle, for prepared piano (1945) Ophelia, for piano (1945) Prelude for six instruments in A minor for flute, bassoon, trumpet, violin, cello and piano (1946, an arrangement of the second piece from Two Pieces for piano of 1946) Two Pieces, for piano (1946) Music for Marcel Duchamp, for prepared piano (1947) Nocturne, for violin and piano (1947) Ballet The Seasons, versions for piano and for orchestra (1947) Dream, for piano or viola and ensemble of 4 violas (1948) Experiences No. 2 for voice (1948) In a Landscape for piano or harp (1948) Sonatas and Interludes, for prepared piano (1946–48) Suite for Toy Piano, for toy piano or piano (1948) A Flower, for voice and closed piano (1950) Works of Calder, film score for prepared piano and tape (1950) String Quartet in Four Parts, for string quartet (1949–50) Six Melodies, for violin and keyboard instrument (1950) Concerto for prepared piano, for prepared piano and chamber orchestra (1950–51) Haiku , for piano (1950–51)
First chance works (1951–1959) Sixteen Dances for flute, trumpet, 4 percussionists, piano, violin and cello (October 1950 – January 1951) Imaginary Landscape No. 4 (March No. 2), for 12 radios, 24 performers and a conductor (April 1951) Music of Changes, for piano (May – December 1951) Seven Haiku, for piano (July 1951 – 1952) Waiting, for piano (January 7, 1952) Imaginary Landscape No. 5 for any 42 recordings (January 12, 1952) Two Pastorales, for piano or prepared piano (January 31, 1952) Water Music for pianist using various objects (Spring 1952) For M.C. and D.T., for piano (1952, before August) Music for Carillon No. 1, for carillon (July 10, 1952; 2- and 3-octave transcriptions made in 1958 and 1961, respectively) 4′33″ for any instrument or combination of instruments (August 1952) Music for Piano 1, for piano (December 1952) Williams Mix, for tape (1952–53, finished on January 16, 1953) Music for Piano 2, for piano (May 1953) Music for Piano 4–19, for any number of pianos (May 1953) Music for Piano 3, for piano (June 1953) 59½" For a String Player, for any 4-string instrument (July 2, 1953) Music for Piano 20, for piano (August 20, 1953) Music for Carillon No. 2, for carillon (January 1954; 2-octave version made in January 1961) Music for Carillon No. 3, for carillon (January 1954; 2-octave version made in January 1961) 34'46.776" For a Pianist, for prepared piano (1954, before October 17) 31'57.9864" For a Pianist, for prepared piano (1954, before October 17) 45' for a Speaker (1954) 26'1.1499" For a String Player, for string instrument (1953–55, finished in August – September 1955) Music for Piano 21–36, 37–52, for piano solo or in an ensemble (1955, finished on October 11) Speech 1955, for news reader and 5 radios (November 1955) 27'10.554" For a Percussionist, for percussion (January 14, 1956) Music for Piano 53–68, for piano solo or in an ensemble (May 1956) Music for Piano 69–84, for piano solo or in an ensemble (May 1956) Radio Music, for 1 to 8 performers using radios (May 1956) Winter Music, for piano (January 1957) For Paul Taylor and Anita Dencks, for piano (September 1957) Haiku, for any instruments or objects (January 1958) Variations I, for any number of performers and any kind and number of instruments (January 20, 1958) Concert for piano and orchestra (1957–58, finished before May 15) Solo for Voice 1, for voice (1958, before May 25) Music Walk, for piano and various objects (September 24, 1958) TV Köln, for piano, optionally with other objects (October 1958) Fontana Mix, for tape (November 1958) Aria, for voice (November or December 1958)
Happenings, theater (1959–1968)
Sounds of Venice, for television set (one performer) (1959) Water Walk, a work for a TV show for one performer with a variety of objects (1959) Cartridge Music, for amplified sounds (1960) Music for Amplified Toy Pianos, for any number of toy pianos (1960) Music for "The Marrying Maiden" (music for a play), for tape (1960) Solo for Voice 2, for solo voice or chorus (1960) Theatre Piece, for 1 to 8 performers (1960) WBAI (1960) – auxiliary score for performance with other works Where Are We Going? And What Are We Doing?, composed lecture, tapes (1960–61) Atlas Eclipticalis for an ensemble of 86 instruments (1961–62) Music for Carillon No. 4, for electronic instrument with accompaniment (1961) Variations II, for any number of performers and any kind and number of instruments (1961) Music for Piano 85, for piano and electronics (1962) Variations III, for any number of people performing any actions (1962) 0′00″ (4′33″ No. 2), solo for any performer with maximum amplification (no feedback) (1962) Variations IV for any number of performers, any sounds or combinations of sounds produced by any means, with or without other activities (1963) Electronic Music for Piano, for solo piano (or any number of pianos) with electronics (1964) Rozart Mix, tape loops (1965) Variations V (1965) Variations VI, for a plurality of sound systems (1966) Music for Carillon No. 5, for a four-octave instrument (1967) Variations VIII, no music or recordings (May 1967; revised 1978) Assemblage, for electronics (1968)
Return to composition (1969–1986) HPSCHD, for 1 to 7 amplified harpsichords and 1 to 51 tapes (1967–69, accompanied with Program (KNOBS) for the listener, an instruction for playing back the recording of the piece) Cheap Imitation, for piano (1969; orchestrated 1972, violin version 1977) Sound Anonymously Received, for an unsolicited instrument (1969, possibly 1978) Untitled (Work for Antoinette Vischer), for harpsichord (before 1969) Dialog, for two performers with various objects (1970, possibly 1977; also known as Dialogue) Song Books (Solos for Voice 3–92), for one or more voices (August – October 1970, Solo for Voice 85 arranged for violin as Chorals in 1978) Mureau, for one or more speakers and tape ad lib (November 1970) WGBH-TV, for composer and technicians (1971) Bird Cage, for 12 tapes (April 1972) Etcetera, for small orchestra, tape and, optionally, 3 conductors (August 1973) Exercise, for an orchestra of soloists (November 1973, based on Etcetera; second version completed in December 1984) Etudes Australes, for piano (1974–75, finished in December) Score (40 Drawings by Thoreau) and 23 Parts, for 23 performers; any instruments and/or voices (August 1974) Child of Tree (Improvisation I), for percussion made of plants and/or plants used as percussion (1975, before March 8) Lecture on the Weather, lecture for 12 voices and tapes (September 1975) Renga, 78 parts for any instruments and/or voices (1975–76, finished in April) Quartets I–VIII, for orchestra (1976, after August. Three versions for 24, 41, and 93 performers. Arranged for 12 amplified voices and concert band in 1978) Branches, for percussion made of plants or plants used as percussion (1976) Telephones and Birds, for three performers (1977, before January 18) 49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs, for performer(s), or listener(s), or record maker(s) (1977, before October 6) Freeman Etudes, for violin (1977–80, 1989–90) Inlets (Improvisation II), for four performers with conch shells and the sound of fire (September 1977) Cassette for five performers with any number of tapes (1977, before December 7. Used in Address, see Happenings) Alla ricerca del silenzio perduto (Il Treno), for "prepared train" (December 1977) A Dip in the Lake: Ten Quicksteps, Sixty-two Waltzes, and Fifty-six Marches for Chicago and Vicinity, for performer(s) or listener(s) or record maker(s) (1978, before May) Some of the "Harmony of Maine", for organist and three assistants (November 12, 1978) Etudes Boreales, for cello and/or piano (1978) Hymns and Variations, for twelve amplified voices (January 1979) Roaratorio, an Irish circus on Finnegans Wake, tape (April – September 1979; a realization of ____,____ ____ circus on ____, a set of instructions on transcribing any book for any ensemble) Improvisation III, for four or more cassette players (February 1980) Furniture Music Etcetera, for two pianos (April 27, 1980; partly based on Etcetera) Litany for the Whale, for two voices (July 1980) Thirty Pieces for Five Orchestras, for five orchestras (1981, before November 22) Instances of Silence, for any number of cassette players and tapes (1982, before March 16) Postcard from Heaven, for 1 to 20 harps (June 1982)