Great Composers: John Cage
Summary
TLDRJohn Cage, born in 1912, was a pioneering composer and philosopher of the 20th century. Initially indecisive, he explored various fields before focusing on music, studying under notable figures like Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg. Cage's innovative approach, including the invention of the 'prepared piano' and the use of chance techniques, revolutionized music. His most famous work, '4'33'', challenged traditional musical norms. Despite financial struggles, Cage's influence grew, and he became a prominent figure in the avant-garde scene, advocating for the acceptance of all sound as music.
Takeaways
- 🎼 John Cage was a renowned composer and philosopher of the 20th century, known for his unconventional approach to music.
- 👶 Born in Los Angeles in 1912, Cage showed early musical talent and graduated as valedictorian from high school.
- 🎓 Initially studying theology, Cage's restlessness led him to explore various paths, including writing and hitchhiking through Europe.
- 🎼 After returning to the U.S., Cage decided to focus on music, studying with pioneers like Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg, despite Schoenberg's early critique of Cage's lack of harmony.
- 💬 Cage's famous reply to Schoenberg's critique was to dedicate his life to 'banging his head against that wall,' signifying his commitment to challenge traditional musical norms.
- 💔 Cage had a tumultuous personal life, including a marriage to Xenia Kashevaroff that ended in divorce, and numerous affairs.
- 🎹 One of Cage's innovations was the 'prepared piano,' which involved altering the piano's sound with household objects placed among the strings.
- 📚 Cage collaborated with choreographer Merce Cunningham, using the I Ching to determine the structure of their performances, emphasizing chance and indeterminacy.
- 🤫 His most infamous work, '4'33"', challenged the concept of silence and music, becoming a pivotal piece in the avant-garde movement.
- 🎭 Cage was also involved in organizing 'happenings,' which were performance art events that incorporated elements of chance and indeterminacy.
- 🍄 Beyond music, Cage had a wide range of interests, including mycology (the study of fungi) and playing chess with Marcel Duchamp.
- 🌐 Cage believed that all sound was music, and he sought to break down the barriers between everyday sounds and musical compositions.
Q & A
Who is John Cage and what was his significance in the 20th century music?
-John Cage was a major musical philosopher of the 20th century known for his unconventional approach to music composition, which included the use of silence and chance operations.
Where and when was John Cage born?
-John Cage was born in Los Angeles in 1912.
What was Cage's initial educational pursuit before focusing on music?
-Cage initially studied theology in college but was restless and unsure of his life's direction.
What significant life event led Cage to explore music seriously?
-After dropping out of college and traveling in Europe, Cage returned to the United States with a new artistic direction and decided to focus on music.
Who were Cage's early mentors in music, and what was their assessment of his abilities?
-Cage studied with Henry Cowell, a pioneer of tone clusters, and then with Arnold Schoenberg, who thought Cage had no sense of harmony.
What was Cage's famous response to Schoenberg's critique of his lack of harmony?
-Cage replied that he would dedicate his life to 'banging his head against that wall,' signifying his commitment to challenge traditional musical norms.
What is the 'prepared piano' and how did it contribute to Cage's musical exploration?
-The 'prepared piano' is an invention of Cage's where he would place household objects among the strings of a piano to alter its tone, creating a range of sounds not normally possible.
How did Cage's relationship with Merce Cunningham influence his work?
-Cage's collaboration with dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham led to the development of chance techniques, using the I Ching to determine musical and movement courses of action.
What is the significance of the piece '4'33"' in Cage's career?
-'4'33"' is Cage's infamous silent piece that represents the culmination of his artistic philosophy, challenging the traditional understanding of music and silence.
What were 'Happenings' and how did they relate to Cage's work?
-Happenings were events organized by Cage and his followers, combining elements of indeterminacy and chance, similar to his musical compositions, but in a broader, often stage-less and script-less context.
How did Cage's philosophy of music differ from traditional views?
-Cage believed that all sound was music and that there was no distinction between musical sound and everyday noise, embracing the concept of indeterminacy in his compositions.
What was Cage's attitude towards new ideas in music?
-Cage was a proponent of new ideas and concepts in music composition, stating that he was not frightened by them but rather by the old ones.
Outlines
🎼 John Cage: The Maverick Composer and Philosopher of Silence
John Cage, born in 1912, was a significant figure in 20th-century music, known for his unconventional approach to composition. Initially studying theology, Cage's journey led him through various artistic pursuits, including writing and hitchhiking through Europe, which exposed him to diverse cultural influences. His eventual focus on music was marked by a unique interest in rhythm and sound, culminating in the invention of the 'prepared piano.' Cage's work with choreographer Merce Cunningham and the use of chance techniques, such as the I Ching, further pushed the boundaries of music and dance. His most famous piece, 4'33'', challenged the very concept of silence in music, and his philosophy of embracing all sound as music was revolutionary. Despite financial struggles, Cage's influence grew, and he became a respected figure in the avant-garde scene, known for his innovative ideas and dedication to exploring the limits of musical expression.
🌱 Cage's Philosophy: All Sound is Music
John Cage's philosophy was centered on the belief that all sound constitutes music, blurring the lines between everyday noise and musical composition. He was often found appreciating the ambient sounds of the city as if they were symphonies, reflecting his deep connection to the concept of sound as an art form. Cage's approach to composition was innovative, as he sought to introduce new ideas to the traditional craft, unafraid of challenging established norms. His quote, 'I have nothing to say and I am saying it, and that is poetry,' encapsulates his artistic ethos. Cage's life was filled with eccentric moments, such as playing an amplified cactus, which further illustrates his boundary-pushing spirit. His dedication to new concepts and his fearlessness in the face of the unknown were defining aspects of his identity as a composer and philosopher.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡John Cage
💡Musical aptitude
💡Theology
💡European artistic culture
💡Prepared piano
💡Chance techniques
💡Indeterminacy
💡Silent piece '4'33'
💡Happenings
💡Eric Satie
💡Number pieces
Highlights
John Cage was a major musical philosopher of the 20th century known for his innovative compositions and unique approach to music.
Born in Los Angeles in 1912, Cage showed early musical talent and graduated as valedictorian of his high school.
Cage initially studied theology in college before deciding to become a writer and dropping out to travel in Europe.
After 18 months in Europe, Cage returned to the US with a new artistic direction inspired by European culture.
Cage studied music with pioneers Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg, though Schoenberg recognized Cage's lack of harmonic sense.
Cage's famous response to Schoenberg's critique was to dedicate his life to 'banging his head against the wall' of musical limitations.
Cage had a tumultuous romantic life, including a marriage to Xenia Kashevaroff that ended in divorce.
Cage invented the 'prepared piano', using household objects to alter the piano's sound, a technique that took hours to set up.
Cage's early works showed a fascination with rhythm and a departure from traditional harmony.
Cage collaborated with dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham, using chance techniques inspired by the I Ching to create music and dance.
Cage's 1952 composition 4'33
Cage's financial situation was often dire, despite his growing fame and credibility in the avant-garde scene.
Cage was known as much for his musical philosophy as for his compositions themselves.
Cage organized 'happenings', a form of performance art blending elements of indeterminacy and chance.
Cage's 'Number Pieces' pushed the concept of indeterminacy to its limits, allowing for extreme flexibility in performance.
Despite health issues, Cage remained active until his death in 1992, influenced by figures like Yoko Ono.
Cage believed all sound was music, with no distinction between everyday noise and musical composition.
Cage was known for his unconventional ideas and collaborations, from mushroom foraging to playing an amplified cactus with Marcel Duchamp.
Cage's philosophy was driven by the desire to bring new concepts to the traditional craft of musical composition.
Transcripts
the infamous composer of silence was one
of the major musical philosophers of the
20th century I'm the classical work and
today we're talking about John Cate John
Cage was born in Los Angeles in 1912 he
showed musical aptitude as a young child
and ended up graduating as a
valedictorian of his high school he
began to study theology in college but
he was a restless type who really didn't
know what he wanted out of life
eventually he decided he was going to
become a good writer and since he
figured that College was going to help a
writer he dropped out and did what every
college dropout wants to do hitchhike
around Europe so he did that for 18
months he immersed himself in the
European artistic culture of the time
and he returned to United States with a
new direction and new artistic pursuits
that he wanted to explore he still
didn't quite know he wanted to do until
two years after he got back when he
decided to focus on music as he had used
positive reactions to it he said he
first with tone cluster pioneer henry
cowell and then Leonard with Arnold
Schoenberg who was at that time living
working and teaching in Los Angeles Cage
song Schoenberg's tutelage but schanberg
realized Paige's musical limitations
almost from the very beginning
Schoenberg who literally wrote the
textbook on harmony thought that cage
had no sense of harmony Annie told Cage
that if he had no sense of harmony he
will find himself running up against a
wall and cage famously replied then I
will dedicate my life to banging my head
against that wall at around this time
caged a bizarre whirlwind romance with a
Russian Alaskan Xenia kesh ever off
despite his numerous ongoing affairs of
both man and women the relationship
eventually fizzled out and they divorced
in 1945 cages early works shows a
fascination with rhythm and
in total his music was never really
based around harmony and his more
conventional as it gets all the way
interesting forward one of his great
early achievements but he said not as an
interlude written for something the cage
invented called the prepared piano what
keys did was he would stick random
household objects in and around the
strings in order to alter the tone of
the piano it takes hours to prepare
sonatas and the troops and piano
technicians are not going to like the
fact that you're messing with he
carefully tuned a balance of the strings
but when performed they produce a whole
range of sounds impossible to produce
normally the interest in more or less
pure sound became of great importance to
cage thought the rest of his life he
began to be more and more interested in
pushing the boundaries of what we would
call music spread out my dancer and
choreographer Merce Cunningham whose
affair with acacia was a final nail in
the coffin of his marriage to Xenia
their collaborations led to development
of chance techniques whereby cage and
Cunningham would use an ancient Chinese
text called the I Chi where the Book of
Changes to determine their next courses
of action musically and in movement in
many cases the music for the dance and
the dance were derived entirely
separately and were only put together in
performance his continuation of pushing
the boundaries led him to gain
credibility in leaps and bounds in the
avant-garde scene but it didn't really
help him financially in 1952 Kaiser at
his infamous silent piece for 33 this
beast represented the culmination the
very apotheosis of his artistic
philosophy post 433 cages often dire
financial situation rose to meet his
fame as a composer and he was just a
sought after as a philosopher and a
lecturer now the background for 433 my
is so interesting is the video for
another time
the piece is definitively injured the
public consciousness as
the silent piece around the same time
cage and his followers began to organize
things all happenings and broad terms
happening through minimalist stage works
without the stage or even a script like
installation art with people it was very
weird to try to explain elements of
indeterminacy and chance or as much a
part of Keita's happening as they were
in his pieces Cage was a wildly
interesting and fellow Cage loved the
life in the music of the French
eccentric Eric Satine
he paid homage to him and his piece
cheap imitation where he used the I
Ching in order to derive variations and
alterations to seti's pieces of writing
so correct and he looks like this so I
don't know I've literally never heard it
pronounced after implementation he began
a series of pieces known as number
pieces they pushed indeterminacy to it's
very limits his health began to fail and
despite the adoption of a macrobiotic
diet on the advice of none other than
Yoko Ono active until near the very end
cage died in 1992 cage was not really
famous for his pieces in and of
themselves as much as he was famous so
through the musical philosophy that led
to their development a mirrored it's
stories of his life bound from the time
that he nearly poisoned himself and all
of his friends by picking wild mushrooms
and afterwards became a very sought of
expert on mushrooms to his chest playing
with Marcel Duchamp who playing an
amplified cactus this is literally John
Cage playing amplified cash because
everyone you're welcome it's just a
majestic sight Cage felt as if all music
was sound that all sound was music that
there was absolutely no difference
between the two and friends would often
find him on street corners
or listening to the sounds of traffic
and of people walking or by as if it
were a Beethoven symphony I have nothing
to say and I am saying it and that is
poetry gauge once said above all he was
guided by the principle of bringing new
ideas and new concepts to the old craft
of composition I can't understand what
people are frightened of new ideas he
once said I'm frightened of the old ones
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