In 1968, the artist Marcel Duchamp and composer John Cage appeared together at a concert entitled "
Reunion," playing a game of chess and composing aleatoric music by triggering a series of photoelectric cells underneath the chessboard.
Reunion premiered in 1968 in Toronto, when Cage played against Duchamp, who had taught Cage the game himself. The game works as an indeterminate structure: as a game of chess is played, the moves of the players on the board activate four compositions and distribute them to eight speakers surrounding the audience.
Reunion was Duchamp’s last public appearance; he died October 2nd, 1968 of heart failure at the age of 81.
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