John Cage's Musicircus

From the late 1940s until his death in 1992, John Cage was a central figure in the American avant-garde, and he collaborated with Abstract Expressionist painters and the artists Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns.

Cage invented his Musicircus in 1967 for performance in the Stock Pavilion at the University of Illinois in Champagne, Urbana. This three-hour performance is based on compositions principally by Cage and features live and pre-recorded electronics, as well as traditional instruments.

The performers range from live electronic composer/performers, including Scanner and Robert Worby, to renowned new-music specialists, among them soprano Linda Hurst and the Kreutzer String Quartet. Young ensembles from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Goldsmiths College, and Marina Rosenfeld – leading her infamous electric-guitar ensemble, the Sheer Frost Orchestra – also perform.