This celebratory 2-disc special edition features Cage's most visionary masterpiece, Sonatas and Interludes performed by pianist Aleck Karis, as well as a free-bonus-disc that brings us to an intimate California living room, where Cage converses and gives a reading of his poem-cum-manifesto, Composition in Retrospect. While John Cage never wrote anything you'd call Classical Top 40, his music up to 1950 is far more accessible than the random and chance-influenced pieces he created later on. These mysterious, wispy pieces sound as though they were written for a small ensemble of ghostly percussion instruments, although they are played by a single performer playing a piano with various gadgets attached to the strings. You need the clear sound of this recent digital recording to appreciate the music, and Karis keeps everything moving without overstressing the rhythms.