nyplLionBlack logo

Search only public domain. What is public domain?


Letter to Erik Satie

Our collections include some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Learn more.


Data source:

Research Catalog

Purchase this print

Order Print

Image ID

4057011


Item data

Title

Letter to Erik Satie

Collection

John Cage Music Manuscript Collection

Names

Cage, John (Composer)
Marchetti, Walter, 1931- (Dedicatee)
Hidalgo, Juan J. (Dedicatee)
Cunningham, Merce (Choreographer)
Lancaster, Mark, 1938- (Lighting designer)

Date / Origin

Date Created: 1978
Date Issued: 1979

Library Location

Music Division
Shelf locator: JPB 94-24 Folder 576 Originals

Subjects

Manuscripts, Musical
Ballets
Aleatory music

Genres

Scores
Sketches

Notes

Content: On p. 1: Make a loop of Erik Satie pronounced lettristically; while it is playing pronounce the ostinati (accessory ostinati) the required (1=2) number of times in so far as possi[ible] in chorus (all at once).
Content: Used for the dance Tango, choreographed and first performed by Merce Cunningham, with design and lighting by Mark Lancaster, at City Center, New York, N.Y., Oct. 5, 1978.
Content: Contains notations possibly relating to Sound anonymously received.
Content: Based on a mesostic on the name Erik Satie, labeled mesostinatostic.
Date: At bottom of each page: c1979 by Henmar Press.
Content: Holograph in ink.
Content: Dedication, p. 1: for Walter Marchetti, 5/6/78 Milan. P. 2: for Juan Hidalgo, 5/7/78.

Identifiers

NYPL Catalog ID (bnumber): b12590737
RLIN/OCLC: NYPG95-C732
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 41a81510-c617-012f-1f27-58d385a7bc34

Rights

The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.

Type Of Resource

Notated Music

Date Issued

1979

Cite this item

MLA format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "Letter to Erik Satie" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1979. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/41a81510-c617-012f-1f27-58d385a7bc34

APA format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. (1979). Letter to Erik Satie Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/41a81510-c617-012f-1f27-58d385a7bc34

Chicago/Turabian Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "Letter to Erik Satie" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 9, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/41a81510-c617-012f-1f27-58d385a7bc34

Wikipedia citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/41a81510-c617-012f-1f27-58d385a7bc34 | title= (notated music) Letter to Erik Satie (1979) | author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library | accessdate=November 9, 2025 | publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>