Not my aphorism, but the epithet of michael finnissy, a composer who worked with cage and who deeply admires him, but who suggests that the cageian legacy is. This interview with fluxus artist alison knowles took place in her soho apartment in june 2011. David vaughan, interview with john cage, 1978122019790118, the new york public library digital collections, 1979. People who liked john cage interview and performance, empty words also liked these free titles. John cage genuinely wanted to open up the beauteous experience of sound for everyone, writes tilson thomas in a piece on the composer. Historically, music has been a communication of feelings, but cage argues that all sounds have this. He discusses his empty words concert, henry david thoreau, modern art, and mureau, a work combining music and thoreau. The discussion covers several aspects of cages creative process and aesthetic. In this interview from april 12, 1983, john cage discusses his diet, travelling, his educational background, being a tour guide, his current. And this frequently engages my atten tion more than the melodies, harmonies, etc. Dialogues with and about john cage eastman studies. Find john cage composition information on allmusic.
John adams, in his memoir hallelujah junction, describes how a reading of cages 1961 book silence encouraged him to drop out of. Cage said late in life, in an interview with the filmmaker elliot caplan. Start reading cagetalk on your kindle in under a minute. It is not difficult, in fact, to picture cage in this role. He studied with richard buhlig, henry cowell, adolph weiss, and arnold schoenberg. John cage interview and performance, empty words, august. In addition, he quotes from numerous sources including norman mailer, michael steinberg, igor stravinksy and others criticizing cage and his music. I gave up the notion of communication as impractical in my case.
A year with john cage how to get out of the cage documentary, 2012. In a 1963 interview with public radio station kpfk, cage described a. Conversations with john cage, philip glass, laurie anderson, and 5 generations of. In the nearly five decades since he helped lead an arty, experimental rocknroll revolution with the velvet underground, john cale has enjoyed an onagain, offagain relationship with the musical mainstreamone filled with all manner of romantic gestures, sudden rejections, brief reconciliations, and unexpected excursions. Conversations with cage, a booklength composition of excerpts from interviews by richard kostelantz, was published in 1988 by limelight editions. At every turn cott antagonizes cage with challenging questions. What had its origins in a simple but wideranging collection of conversations with daniel charles becomes under cages hands a work for many voices and many subjects. John cage was a respected composer when, in 1952, he created his silent piece, 433 a piece that would have the music world scratching their heads.
An interview with merce cunningham and john cage duration. John cage has 94 books on goodreads with 18328 ratings. Nineteen eightytwo was the year of his seventieth birthday and marked over half a century of creative activity. It is not only his music that this reputation is based on his ideas were. Cage, john and morton feldman 1993 196667, radio happenings. Since 1958, many of cages scores have been exhibited in galleries and museums. Composed in america 1994, edited by marjorie perloff and charles junkerman. Cage talks at length about his early career with dancers, meeting cunningham, and their collaborative work.
One such occasion however is the vinyl factorys recent reissue of the landmark electronic music compilation. This episode asks whether 433 is really silent, and we explore the history of a piece musicians still talk about today and speaks to the ma. The richard kostelanetz books john cage explained, or conversing with cage, or cages own a year from monday are highly entertaining, funny, and super thoughtprovoking. Like photographers, electronic musicians such as dominik eulberg above are dependent upon mechanical, electronic andor digital reproduction and as a result, both. A research and information guide routledge music bibliographies. From 1951 to 1956 he held the post of instructor and rector at black mountain college, north carolina. John cage publishes a book of graphic musical scores, featuring visualizations of works by leonard bernstein, igor stravinsky. Brief excerpts from this interview have appeared in classical music may 22, 1982. Kay larson is the author of a new book called where the heart beats. John cage has been the subject of numerous biographies and critical studies, including john cage. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th. What about a mime troupe or dancers where sound is in cidental.
John cage and david tudor by martin iddon cambridge core. John cage 191292 is regarded as one of the most influential and controversial composers of the 20th century. Today, exactly 100 years after his birth, composer, writer and conceptual artist john cage is still, for many, public enemy no. The entire cage at 70 was filmed by peter greenaway transatlantic films for a forthcoming documentary on cage. John cage in conversation with daniel charles london. Amirkhanian begins with a quick history of cage s musical. Provenance this interview is part of the archives of american art oral history program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the united states, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others. Much of his work could be described as kits to be used in the creation of a performance that relies on the perceptions, imaginations and choices of. Peters corporation and has been recorded on many labels. Rather than offering a history of contemporary music, audio culture traces the genealogy of current musical practices and theoretical concerns, drawing lines of connection between. John cage biography john cage childhood, life and timeline. First half of an interview and performance by john cage.
Music is a succession of sounds and the composer the organizer of sounds. Most of these interviews were given to peter dickinson but there are others in which with. Silent prayer i intend to compose a piece of uninterrupted silence and sell it to muzak co. September 5, 1912 august 12, 1992 was an american composer, music theorist, artist, and philosopher. One of the monolithic names in modern music, it can be a daunting and fairly thankless task trying to apply yourself to the work of john cage without prior introduction, particularly when many of the best bits are so scarely sighted on vinyl. And when expression sweeps sound into its production then you also get into a. In 1952, at black mountain college, he presented a theatrical event considered by many to have been the first happening. This book includes transcripts of the question and answer periods that followed each lecture, and an audiocassette of cage reading one of the six lectures.
A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and nonstandard use of musical instruments, cage was one of the leading figures of the postwar avantgarde. 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. John cage biography, albums, streaming links allmusic. Interview with john cage, 1978122019790118 names merce cunningham dance company associated name cage, john interviewee vaughan, david, 1924interviewer collection.
T he theories of avantgarde american composer john cage 19121992 on music, sound, and silence are of more interest than his musical compositions. Celebrations were worldwide for the artist and man who has become one of the most important and influential composers of this century. Dialogues with and about john cage and millions of other books are available. Conversations with john cage, philip glass, laurie. And as his new album, shifty adventures in nookie wood, proves. The composer decided to let elements of chance into his work. Includes archival video and audio of interviews or performances with cage. Introduction to the music of john cage james pritchett. During that intervening time, he changed the face of avantgarde music and art. Olson was educated at wesleyan university, yale and harvard, where he taught from 1936 to 1939. An archive of john cages oneminute stories from indeterminacy. John cage during his 1966 concert at the opening of the national arts.
A research and information guide routledge music bibliographies haefeli, sara on. The music of avantgarde composer john cage now available. Vaughan conducted three interviews with cage on december 20 and 27, 1978 and january 18, 1979. Cage muses on words, art, music 1992 is a transcription of cages final, lengthy interviews in the last two years of his life, with joan retallack.
Based on an interview with john cage, conducted by charles amirkhanian at the exploratoriums speaking of music in san francisco, this ode to gravity program was heard nationwide over the npr satellite. Cage thus wanted to do something with early american music that would let it. John cage interviewed by jonathan cott 1963 youtube. John cage 19121992 was a composer and printmaker from new york, new york. On a scale far beyond the reach of any other 20thcentury art. Song books solos for voice 392 is a collection of short works by john cage, composed and compiled by the composer in 1970. An early disciple of arnold schoenberg, cage made his biggest creative breakthrough by studying the i ching, zen buddhism and the art of marcel duchamp. The music in this seemingly silent composition is all of the sound that occurs. A lively 1963 interview of john cage by jonathan cott.
The range of his fathers inventions including a dieselfueled submarine and electrostatic field theory, could be characterized as both revolutionary and eccentric, and certainly left an impression on the. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and nonstandard use of musical instruments, cage was one of the leading figures of the postwar avantgarde. American composer john cage, among historys most influential artistic innovators, strove to broaden the definition of music and introduced chance operations into the compositional process. He discusses his empty words concert, henry david thoreau, modern art, and mureau, a work.
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