Courtesy of John Cage Trust.
Fontana Mix is a composition derived from John Cage’s Concert for Piano and Orchestra. The score consists of 10 sheets of paper and 12 transparencies. The sheets of paper contain drawings of 6 different curved lines. 10 of these transparencies have randomly distributed points (the number of points is: 7, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 22, 26, 29, and 30). By superimposing these transparencies, the player creates a structure from which a performance score can be made: one of the transparencies with dots is placed over one of the sheets with curved lines. John Cage composed other works using the material from Fontana Mix: Water Walk, Sounds of Venice, Aria, Theatre Piece, and WBAI. In February 1959, he prepared a version for 2 tapes at the Studio di Fonologia in Milan. The initial title of the work was Performance Mix, but during the preparation of the tapes, he renamed it after his Milanese landlady, Signora Fontana.
