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EnGe Gao
The poetics of the graphic score in the works by J. Cage, T. Takemitsu, T. Hosokawa, and Tan Dun: towards the problem of new performing practice
This article examines the phenomenon of graphic notation and the poetics of graphic scores in the music of the second half of the twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries, as well as the impact of this phenomenon on performance practice, including its role in the formation of a new interpretative paradigm. The author explores the principal artistic functions of graphic notation through selected works by John Cage (Concert for Piano and Orchestra, 1957–1958; Fontana Mix, 1958), Toru Takemitsu (Ring for Flute, Guitar and Lute, 1961; Corona for Pianists and Corona II for String Orchestra, 1962; Arc, 1963–1966; Seasons and Munari by Munari, first half of the 1970s), Toshio Hosokawa (Landscape V, version for shō and orchestra), and Tan Dun (Water Passion after St. Matthew, Paper Concerto). Additional material is drawn from works by Karlheinz Stockhausen (Aus den sieben Tagen, 1968). In Cage’s compositions, the graphic score creates a space for open interpretation and the aleatoric organization of the musical process. In Takemitsu’s works, the visual structure of the score acquires a poetic dimension and is associated with the aesthetics of silence, embodied in the principle of “ma”. In Hosokawa’s music, graphic notation reflects a meditative conception of sound as a natural process, whereas in Tan Dun’s works it is integrated with the performative and ritual nature of sonic action. The study concludes that, in such cases, the graphic score functions not merely as an alternative system of notation but as a form of artistic thinking in which visual structure, performative action, and sonic result constitute a unified musical event.
Key words
graphic score, new performing practice, John Cage, Toru Takemitsu, Toshio Hosokawa, Tan Dun, aleatoric music, performance action.
For citation
Ge Gao. The poetics of the graphic score in the works by J. Cage, T. Takemitsu, T. Hosokawa, and Tan Dun: towards the problem of new performing practice. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2026. No. 2. Pp. 25–36.
