John Cage (1912-1992) had a particular predilection for poetry. "[Poetry]," he wrote, "is not poetry by reason of it's content or ambiguity, but by reason of it's allowing musical elements (time, sound) to be introduced into the world of words." And about Stefano Scodanibbio who transcribed the "Freeman Etudes" and "Dream" for contrabass and in this recording also serves as the conductor of "Concert for Piano and Orchestra" and "Radio Music": "Scodanibbio. I thought he played beautifully. He played 'Ryoanji' absolutely better, than anyone I ever heard. - I haven't heard better double bass playing than Scodanibbio's. He's really extraordinary. His performance was absolutely magic."