It seems as if in each decade there is a new production of
John Cage's landmark series of prepared piano pieces, and in the '80s it was Japan's turn. For a pianist to take on such an assignment requires an absolute lack of squeamishness when it comes to messing around on the piano strings with bolts, screws, bits of rubber, and whatnot.
Yuji Takahashi establishes that he is the man by posing inside the piano on every one of the photographs that accompany this CD, the expression on his face indicating something close to pleasure. At first it seems like this might be a perfunctory reading of the "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano," the pianist rushing through the first several sonatas and mangling one of the rhythms of the third in the process. Past the first interlude, he begins to settle down, seeming to almost drift into a state of meditation when occupied with creating certain sounds. The sonatas begin to open up and
Takahashi begins to impress with a series of bold and brave strokes. When he gets to the combined 14th and 15th sonatas, also known as "Gemini," he plays for longer than many of the other pianists who have recorded these pieces, building a stunning climactic moment. ~ Eugene Chadbourne