Cage 'classic' gets UK premiere

Cage's Variations VII was first performed in October 1966

An experimental piece of "chance music" by late US composer John Cage is to be performed in the UK for the first time.

Variations VII, premiered in New York in 1966, involves sounds culled from open phone lines, Geiger counters and other electrical appliances.

According to the composer, the aim was to "go fishing" for sounds.

The piece will receive its UK premiere at the Baltic Centre in Gateshead on 29 February as part of the North East's AV Festival of electronic arts.

A biennial event, this year's festival runs from 28 February to 8 March at various locations in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

'Technological wonder'

The original Variations VII involved 10 phone lines connected to such New York locations as a restaurant, dog pound and dance studio.

According to festival director Honor Harger, the performance will choose complementary locations in the Gateshead area.

The aim, she told the BBC News website, was to "get inside" Cage's head and "recreate a sense of technological wonder".

The piece, which will last around an hour, will be performed by Japanese-American composer Atau Tanaka and Newcastle musical duo Zoviet France.

One of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde, Cage - who died in 1992 - is best known for his 1952 composition 4'33" - a silent piece in which no note is played.