John Cage: The Search For Silence

Description
John Cage’s music is loved by many and hated by some. After him, no one could look at a painting, book, or person without considering how they might sound if you listened closely. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
In the 1970s, with inspirations like Thoreau and Joyce, Cage began to take literary texts and transform them into music. “Roratorio, an Irish Circus on Finnegan’s Wake” (1979), was an outline for transforming any work of literature into a work of music.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 

Transcript

John Cage was an American composer, music theorist, artist, and philosopher. 

He was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde genre and said to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.

Cage is best known for his composition “four thirty-three” (4′33″) which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound. Musicians who present the work do nothing aside from being present for the duration of the piece.

“four thirty-three” does not actually refer to "four minutes and 33 seconds of silence," but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during the performance.

Cage also pioneered the prepared piano where objects are placed between or on its strings or hammers in order to alter sound.

His teachers included Arnold Schoenberg who thought that Cage’s absence of harmony would make it impossible for him to write music. 

It is said that after Cage, no one could look at a painting, book, or person without wondering how they might sound if you listened closely.