John Cage (1912-1992)
Autograph musical quotation in graphic notation, titled '(Variations I or II)', signed ('John Cage') and inscribed 'for Roland Fischer', [after 1961]
An appropriately graphic and indeterminate quotation from one or other of these two pioneering works in graphic notation and indeterminate music.

The quotation comprising seven points and five lines, in blue ink on a filing card, 76 x 127mm.

Provenance:
(1) Roland Fischer.

(2) Sotheby's, 7 December 2015, lot 149.

(3) Schøyen Collection, MS 5562.

Variations I was written in 1958 as a birthday present for David Tudor, and first performed in Greensboro, N.C. on 15 March, while Variations II was composed in 1961 and premiered in New York on 24 March. Both are 'for any number of players, using any sound producing means'. In both instances, the scores comprise a number of transparencies which are superimposed in a random way to produce a programme for performance: they are amongst the earliest examples of graphic notation. The indeterminacy of whether the quotation refers to one or other work is characteristic of Cage's playful sense of humour.