John cage music silence pour
John cage music 4 33!
Why John Cage’s provocative ‘silent piece’ is still powerful today
John Cage sitting in Harvard University's anechoic chamber in 1951. Wikimedia Commons
John Cage’s 4’33” is one of the most iconic and provocative musical works of the 20th century.
John cage music silence pour
It is also one of my absolute favourites. This is admittedly a bit of a fringe view, given that the score simplyinstructs any combination of musicians to produce no purposeful sounds for a duration of 4 minutes and 33 seconds.For its 1952 premiere, the pianist David Tudor sat on stage, silently opening and closing the lid of a piano to demarcate the three subsections Cage indicates.
Audiences dismissed this ostensibly silent piece as a provocative joke, leading Cage to complain that they ‘missed the point’. But what is the point, and why do I think 4’33” can actually be incredibly powerful?
Cage’s aesthetic interests at the time help to answer this.
The piece was first conceived in 1948 as a “Silent Prayer,” relating to the compos