- John Cage
Credo in US (1942)
- Henmar Press, Inc. (World)
- Percussion Quartet
- 12 min
- 8th March 2026, Probezentrum Picassoplatz, Basel, Switzerland
Programme Note
This work was originally used as music for the eponymous choreographed piece by Merce Cunningham and Jean Erdman, following the phraseology of the dance. It is the first instance wherein Cage uses records or radios, and also incorporates music of other composers (he suggests Dvorak, Beethoven, Sibelius, or Shostakovich). He described the work as a suite with a satirical character. Erdman recalls that for the first performance, a 'tack-piano' was used (a piano with thumbtacks inserted into the felt of the hammers). The pianist mutes the strings at times or plays the piano body (as a percussionist).