John Cage

Inspired by the work of Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith, he studied with Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg, the latter taking Cage on as a pupil free of charge and exerting a tremendous influence on him. During the late 1930s, he worked as a dance accompanist at UCLA, beginning what would become a lifelong contribution to modern dance. Aided in his career by composer Lou Harrison, artists László Moholy-Nagy and Max Ernst, and the influential art collector Peggy Guggenheim, Cage enjoyed a number of faculty positions, earned commissions and refined his style which featured unconventional percussion and “prepared pianos,” which had been altered by objects placed between the strings. Although he struggled to make a living, Cage received critical approval and was encouraged by the music community until his controversial piece 4’33”, a 1952 three-movement composition which instructs players to remain silent for the entirety of the piece, and declared by Cage to be his most important work. Undeterred by the disapprobation the work earned him, Cage continued to compose, teach influential classes in experimental composition at The New School, and while in residence at North Carolina’s Black Mountain College, staged his Theatre Piece No. 1, described as the first “happening.” Like Cage, Winkfield took an unconventional and cross-disciplinary approach to his art, describing himself as a self-taught painter influenced by medieval heraldry, Francis Bacon, Kurt Schwitters, and French writer and musician Raymond Roussel (1877-1933). Winkfield was drawn to Roussel after trying to understand how he influenced Marcel Duchamp, the Dadaist who in turn influenced Cage, and published a translation of Roussel’s 1935 work Comment j’ai écrit certains de mes livres (How I Wrote Certain Books of Mine). Cage’s letter to Winkfield also discusses eccentric French composer Erik Satie (1866-1925) and his 1913 piano piece Embryons desséchés. Despite his prodigious talent, Satie fared poorly at the Paris Conservatoire and decades passed before he achieved critical recognition and financial success. His highly unconventional style made use of innovative harmonies combined with an idiosyncratic musical style. His close friend Claude Debussy helped him publish several compositions and both he and Maurice Ravel drew attention to Satie’s music when they performed it in 1911. By 1915 Satie had captured the attention of French novelist, dramatist and filmmaker, Jean Cocteau, who contributed to Satie’s swift ascent to fame with the premiere of their scandalous ballet Parade in 1917. His artistic legacy is revealed in the compositions of Stravinsky, Ravel, Debussy, and members of Les Six. Italian author Ornella Volta (1927-?) authored a biography of Satie as well as Satie Seen through His Letters, published in 1989 with an introduction by Cage. Cage’s influence can be seen in such diverse artists as the Fluxus artists of the 1960s and 1970s, composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass and the rock band Sonic Youth. Letters by the influential American composer are uncommon. Written in blue ink and very fine; with the original envelope..