Sonatas and Interludes [SEP] instrumentation
Sonatas and Interludes
Sonatas and Interludes is a cycle of twenty pieces for prepared piano by American avant-garde composer John Cage (1912–1992). It was composed in 1946–48, shortly after Cage's introduction to Indian philosophy and the teachings of art historian Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, both of which became major influences on the composer's later work. Significantly more complex than his other works for prepared piano, "Sonatas and Interludes" is generally recognized as one of Cage's finest achievements.
The cycle consists of sixteen sonatas (
, others place special emphasis on particular notes, and still others are very dependent on particular note combinations.
Analysis Structure.
The cycle comprises sixteen sonatas and four interludes, arranged symmetrically. Four groups of four sonatas each are separated by interludes in the following way: 
Cage refers to his pieces as sonata in the sense that these works are cast in the form that early classical keyboard sonatas (such as those of Scarlatti) were: AABB. The works are not cast in the later sonata form which is far more