(9,3,2) block designs in 36 drawings and piano pieces.
72 pages, $24.
22 piano pieces. A new kind of twelve-tone music, all calculated from (12, 4, 3) block designs.
48 pages, $24.
For two pianos, preferably separated. All the seven-note rhythms possible in 7 to 13 beats, making a total of 64 rhythms lasting about 10 minutes. $15.
A homometric pair of six notes forms 48 very short variations, each containing 3 minor seconds, 3 major seconds, 3 minor thirds, 3 major thirds, 2 fourths and 1 tritone. About 15 minutes. 10 pages, $12.
Twelve piano pieces derived from the block design (12,4,3). Each piece contains 33 four-note chords, all 12 notes occur the same number of times, and the rigor and symmetry are considerably greater than in any serial music. Duration 20 min, $15.
30 minutes of continually changing arpeggios, following a set of mathematically determined combinations, written for pianist John McAlpine. $15
After each phrase, the listener is asked to decide whether the two things heard were the same or different. This test of perception skills can be presented silently and discreetly, or with vocal audience participation, or with answer sheets and scores. A commission of VPRO radio, premiered in Hilversum in 2004 by the Dutch pianist Dante Boon. About 15 minutes, $18.
CD recording available by Dante Boon.
Premiered in June 2004 by New Zealand’s pianist John McAlpine, this composition tiles a line of 15 points with five voices in tempos 7:5:4:2:1 and lasts about 10 minutes. It is a structure known as a “perfect tiling,” and one may read about this the article about Tom Johnson’s music in the magazine Pour la Science (novembre 2004). Score $12.
A collection of movements extracted from Organ and Silence, dedicated to John McAlpine. Premiered in Düsseldorf in September, 29, 2002. 25 minutes, $18.
Piece for player piano, in collaboration with Wolfgang Heisig. No score, just the roll, ready to roll: $72
Piece for player piano, in collaboration with Wolfgang Heisig. No score, just another roll, ready to roll: $72
Available on a CD prepared by Wolfgang Heisig and published by Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm
Four movements with a mathematical melody in one, two, three, and finally four voices. 6 minutes, $12.
A variable loop turning around on seven piano keys. Written in 1973 and revised in 1993 (a more recent guitar version is also available). About 12 minutes, $9.
Nine pieces written in 1988 for the 88 keys of the piano. Score $18.
CD recording available: Played and narrated by Tom Johnson himself in a Experimental Intermedia CD with text in English.
All the 8178 chords possible in one octave. Written on one page and playable on any keyboard in about two hours.
Download the score free of charge
CD recordings available:
Recorded by the composer for Experimental Intermedia
Recorded by Samuel Vriezen
120 permutations of a melody played with an Argentine beat.
Download the score free of charge; alternatively a paper copy is available for $7.
Four pianists repeat a single phrase. The music is always the same, but the distributions of the notes, the “voicings,” are always changing. For four pianos, $36.
A challenge for a pianist who can play, talk, and make recordings. Score in English. 10 minutes. $9
Verbal instructions to follow at the piano. A useful book for students who can not yet read notes with facility, and for others who wish to play music allowing much room for interpretation. In English, $18.
Exactly 60 minutes of music for piano. $28.
CD recordings available:
The 1979 version of Frederic Rzewski.
The 2010 version by R. Andrew Lee.
An excellent 2018 version by Keiko Shichijo.
A Scarlatti sonata transformed into minimalist repetitive piano (or harpsichord) solo that keeps going for over 15 minutes. An endurance exercise that is amusing at the same time. $15.
Twelve minutes of tranquil music, where one senses the influence of Morton Feldman, with whom Johnson studied just before, in 1967-68. 12 minutes, $10.
