An animated video with one of the most innovative music figures of the 20th century, john cage. No composition of the 20th century seems so inevitable as john cage s 433. John cage s 433 as the year, decade, century and millennium all draw to a close, every arts writer invariably will succumb to the temptation to announce the list. This is a classic book of writings by john cage, mostly about music and art. Like a zen koan, this story draws readers attention to silence, that vanishingly rare attribute of modern family life. Explorer, lawyer, art collector, publisher, and author, erling kagge is the first person to have completed the three poles challenge on footthe north pole, the south pole, and the summit of mount everest.
John cage has 94 books on goodreads with 18328 ratings. Cage wields an influence that extends far beyond sound alone. I wish to hear the silence of the night, for the silence is something positive and to be heard. How else would you know that the silence was happening, that it was music. For any instrument or combination of instruments graphic score in proportional notation, 1953.
Coomaraswamy john cages ideas on sound, easily the most influential among the post. Lectures and writings by john cage wesleyan university press, 1961. John cage, a leading figure of the american musical avantgarde and lecturer and writer extraordinary, dedicated himself to the search for new horizons in musical composition. Lectures and writings by john cage middletown, ct wesleyan university press,1973, 109. John cage 1912 1992 was an american composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and provocative artist. On the one hand, silence effectively sounds or as cage put it, there is no such thing as silence. No one would talk to you there, and you wouldnt have to talk to them. Border patrol agent eli carmichael knew the deaf child hed found outside a mexican orphanage was harboring a dark secretshe was carrying a bloodstained knife and was clearly traumatized. Music is a succession of sounds and the composer the organizer of sounds.
Classroom projects in creative music john paynter, peter aston cambridge university press, feb 2, 1970 juvenile nonfiction 382 pages. Lectures and writings john cage this study guide consists of approximately 32 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of silence. John cage 191292 composed many pieces of music but is most remembered today for the one without any notes in it. To reread silence today is to see how complex, playful, but also deeply ironic cages seemingly upbeat and casual aesthetic really was. In silence, he explains a lot of the techniques he used when composing, and discusses the value and meaning of music. John cage international breakthrough came in the late 1950s. John cage s 191292 433 premiered on august 29, 1952, distilling the composers philosophical explorations of silence into four minutes, thirtythree seconds of performed, charged silence. Your silence is not sequels, and my silence reconstructions of 433 39 inke arns 167 related material on the dark side of silence 185 discography 45 brandon labeile noise, overhearing,and cages 433 53 david toop nothing hear 59 julia h. John cages 433 as the year, decade, century and millennium all draw to a close, every arts writer invariably will succumb to the temptation to announce the list. He grew up in the west, where music is based on a specific type of scale, and is expected to have only a small.
Silence is the inner shaft that lets us go deep within ourselves to the place of stillness where, having forgotten ourselves, we become like children and enter the kingdom of god. This collection of essays and presentations by noted composer and musical innovator john cage attempts to capture on paper both the intellectual and stylistic creativity with which he approached his work. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and nonstandard use of musical instruments, cage was one of the leading figures of the postwar avantgarde. Silence is a collection of some of the essays and lectures that have made john cage s name synonymous with all that is unpredictable and exciting in contemporary miusic.
The sound of silence john cage from beatrice sala plus. It would be in keeping with his style of the 1940s to have a piece that opened with a sound, had an extended silence, and then closed with another sound. The title of this book and the exhibition it documents sounds like silence is ambiguous. Sounds of silence by elizabeth white nook book ebook. An illustrated serenade to the art of listening to your inner voice amid the noise of modern life a tender reminder that silence is not the absence of sound but the presence of an inwardlistening awareness. Historically, music has been a communication of feelings, but cage argues that all sounds have this potential for conveying. Cage s questions about the nature of silence and sound continue to reverberate decades later. There are many fine things which we cannot say if we have to shout, henry david thoreau observed in contemplating how silence ennobles speech. His work challenged the conventional notions of the music of his culture.
Beautifully and cryptically inscribed by cage to longtime friend ellsworth snyder, on the printed front endpaper. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on silence. Deborah ann campana, form and structure in the music of john cage ph. In tokyo, she worked as an oncamera tv journalist and producer for nhkworld, and has written for national geographic, the christian science monitor, npr, and the japan times. John cage at the university of illinois, 195269, 1999. You went to your favorite section and read the titles, hoping something would pop out at you. T he theories of avantgarde american composer john cage 19121992 on music, sound, and silence are of more interest than his musical compositions.
Lectures and writings is a book by american experimental composer john cage 19121992, first published in 1961 by wesleyan university press. John cage at 100 cages most lasting influence may be in his ideas about the boundaries between noise and music and the artistic freedom that comes from breaking the rules. Even if complete silence does not exist, every sound implicitly conveys the notion of silence. She lives near golden gate park with her husband and son, and spends her days eating avocados and working on her first ya novel. Katrina goldsaitos favorite sound is the sound of bare feet on tatami mats. John cage at 100 cages most lasting influence may be in his ideas about the boundaries between noise and music and. Silence is a collection of essays and lectures cage wrote during the period from 1939 to 1961. You parked your car and went into the small building. Cage was very interested in theoretical experiments in music.
The sound of silence by katrina goldsaito, hardcover. No composition of the 20th century seems so inevitable as john cages 433. Snyder interviewed cage, wrote the first doctoral thesis on him in 1970, contributed the cage timeline to richard kostelanetzs monograph, john cage, authored several other works on the composer, and was the dedicatee of cage s piece, one. Deceptive cadence watch and hear a handful of clips that form an introduction to the master provocateurs work. Like the robert rauschenberg white canvasses that partly inspired it, cage s totally silent 1952 work intended for a single performer, closing and opening the lid of a piano at the beginning and end, respectively, of each of its three movements seems in retrospect like a historical necessity in musical modernism. Even if complete silence does not exist, every sound implicitly conveys the. On a scale far beyond the reach of any other 20thcentury art. The page numbers in brackets in the introduction to each extract refer to that book. These are extracts from the 50th anniversary edition of silence. Its a sentiment of almost unbearable bittersweetness today, a century and a half later, as we.
In his 433, a pianist sits at a keyboard without playing, merely indicating. Schroder so that one becomes aware of the presence of a soundorits absence. Yoshio, wearing the classic bright cap and backpack of the japanese pupil, sets jauntily off on his way to school through the hustle and bustle of tokyo. Contributions by hansfriedrich bormann, william letterman, kyle gann, branden w. The sound of silence by katrina goldsaito, julia kuo. Coomaraswamy john cage s ideas on sound, easily the most influential among the post. Sep 05, 2012 today, exactly 100 years after his birth, composer, writer and conceptual artist john cage is still, for many, public enemy no. David tudor was cage s premiere interpreter and performer in the 1960s. For an excellent disscusion of the concerto for prepared piano and orchestra see james pritchett, the music of john cage.
Snyder interviewed cage, wrote the first doctoral thesis on him in 1970, contributed the cage timeline to richard kostelanetzs monograph, john cage, authored several other works on the composer, and was the dedicatee of cages piece, one. Oct 16, 2010 john cage 191292 composed many pieces of music but is most remembered today for the one without any notes in it. First performed at the midpoint of the twentieth century, john cage s 433, a composition conceived of without a single musical note, is among the most celebrated and ballyhooed cultural gestures in the history of modern music. Mar 25, 2010 a short film based on an essay i wrote about john cage for a graduate english course. He published silence in 1961, which included lectures and writings from the period 19391958. Silence, john cages first book and epic masterpiece, was published in october 1961. A meditation on the act of listening and the nature of performance, cages controversial piece became the iconic statement of the meaning of silence in. After sleeping until around 1pm, you decided to go and visit your favorite place. Biographies by charles shere, mark swed, and franz van rossum are currently underway. The sound of silence by katrina goldsaito, hardcover barnes. The most beautiful sound is the sound of ma, of silence, she replies.
To avoid the rush, ill crawl out on my own critical limb a bit early to proclaim fanfare and drumroll. Oct 26, 2011 to reread silence today is to see how complex, playful, but also deeply ironic cages seemingly upbeat and casual aesthetic really was. John cage author published by wesleyan university press 20805, middletown, connecticut 20 isbn 10. Yoshio spends the rest of the book trying to listen for silence in his citya tall orderand finds it early the next. A short film based on an essay i wrote about john cage for a graduate english course. Text by brandon labelle, david toop, dorte schmidt, julia h. A process, which cage developed to achieve this goal, was the composing with chance operations.
Smithsonian libraries hirshhorn and museum sculpture garden library. On a warm summer evening in august 1952 pianist david tudor approached a piano on stage at the maverick concert hall in woodstock, new york. First performed at the midpoint of the twentieth century, john cages433, a composition conceived of without a single musical note, is among the most celebrated and ballyhooed cultural gestures in the history of modern music. James william pritchett, the development of chance tech. As composer john cage was driven by the desire and the search of original and new sounds. Sep 07, 2012 exhibition sounds like silence john cage 4. On the other hand, sound needs silence in order to be heard. Stopwatch in hand, tudor sat before the piano and, without striking a note, premiered john cages composition 4. Silence is the womb, the space that allows one to hear a harmony and a rhythm. Music, sound, and silence t he theories of avantgarde american composer john cage 19121992 on music, sound, and silence are of more interest than his musical compositions. He has written six previous books on exploration, philosophy, and art collecting, and runs kagge forlag, a publishing company based in oslo, where he lives. Dec 18, 2015 cage was very interested in theoretical experiments in music. Silence and silencing douglas kahn that a disagreeable noise should be as grateful to the ear as the sweet tones of a lyre is a thing i shall never attain to.
It has been called the silent piece, but its purpose is to make people listen. For an excellent disscusion of the concerto for prepared piano and. Exhibitions text addis abeba john cage goetheinstitut. Silence is a collection of some of the essays and lectures that have made john cages name synonymous with all that is unpredictable and exciting in contemporary miusic. To avoid the rush, ill crawl out on my own critical limb a bit early to proclaim fanfare and drumroll, please the greatest classical piece of the century. I think that his silent prayer was meant to have two sounds in it. He was performing 433, a conceptual work by john cage. Like the robert rauschenberg white canvasses that partly inspired it, cages totally silent 1952 work intended for a single performer, closing and opening the lid of a piano at the beginning and end, respectively, of each of its three movements seems in retrospect like a historical necessity in musical modernism. In these lectures, scores, and writings, cage tries, as he says, to find a way of writing that comes from ideas, is not about them, but that produces them. John cage s 191292 433\ premiered on august 29, 1952, distilling the composers philosophical explorations of. If youre familiar with cage s ideas, youll want to read these texts, some of which can be a bit offputting by their form.