Implicit in the title is a reference to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, which was of particular inspiration to Cardew in composing the work.

There are, however, almost infinite possibilities for the interpretation of Treatise that fall within the implications of the piece and general principles of experimental music performance in the late 1960s, including presentation as visual art and map-reading.

[3] Subsequently Cardew embraced Maoism and wholeheartedly repudiated this and other works of his avant-garde period.

[4] A savage indictment of Treatise may be seen in a speech delivered by Cardew at the ‘International Symposium on the Problematic of Today’s Musical Notation’ held in Rome in October 1972, as transcribed in his highly polemical book Stockhausen Serves Imperialism (1974).

Sonic Youth play a 3:29 minute excerpt of page 183 of Treatise on their album SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century (1999).