CAGE, JOHN - THE ORCHESTRAL WORKS 3 (CD)

"Cage scored 108 for the largest number of players in any of the Number Pieces -- its duration of 43'30" makes an oblique reference to his groundbreaking 4'33' (1952). 108 can be played on its own or with either of two solo works from the same year, One (for cello) and One for the sho, a mouth organ with bamboo pipes that acts as one of the harmony-producing instruments in Japanese gagaku. Both solo works were composed for artists very important in Cage's final years -- cellist Michael Bach and Mayumi Miyata, who had pioneered the sho as a contemporary concert instrument." (label info)