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John Cage 1912-1992 |
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John Cage 1912-1992 |
John Cage was born in Los Angeles, California and studied composition
with Henry Cowell, Adolph Weiss and Arnold Schoenberg. Combining
his fascinations with composing for both percussion and prepared
piano, Cage predicted "the use of noise to make music will
continue and increase until we reach a music produced through
the aid of electrical instruments. This will make available for
musical purposes any and all sounds that can be heard." Cage
spoke often at subsequent compositional discussions, centering
on the differences and validity of noise and so-called musical
sound.
Cage's beliefs progressed away from the traditional compositional practices of order and structure. He began moving toward ideals strongly influenced by Buddhist philosophy. His music became free in thought and intention. He began experimenting with the use of chance in composition. Focusing on the elements of sound duration and tempo, Cage was able to eliminate the length exactness of a piece of music. Instead, he created a piece of music with indeterminate length and structure.
| Three Dances for Two Prepared Pianos, John Cage | ||
 I. (excerpt) |
II.(excerpt) |
III.(excerpt) |
John Cage chose this title as a dedication to dance as an art
form. This piece was composed in 1944-45 with pianists Arthur
Gold and Robert Fizdale specifically in mind. The three movements
are filled with the exotic combinations of timbres created by
using the prepared piano.
In a prepared piano piece, foreign objects such as screws,
nails, bolts, rubber, string or pieces of plastic are inserted
at given distances from the dampers, altering the
vibration of the piano strings and timbre. Cage's view on the
selection of objects to employ in a prepared piano piece were
at the whim of the composer. But once selected, exact placement
was rigidly followed for every performance. 
To arrange the objects perfectly took sometimes up to three or
more hours. As a result, some keys emit more than one tone, some
thump with no definite pitch, some emit muted tones and others
create synthetic timbres. Often, adjacent tones have contrasting
timbres causing interesting combinations and variety.
Although the piece appears to sound as if it has no structure, a carefully designed series of pitch durations are engineered into the texture, providing organization on a subliminal level.
Cage's use of silence as a factor of indeterminacy made his pieces distinct. This theory encompassed the idea that silence may be used to make a piece more transparent. Cage believed that sounds from the environment (stray noises) could be accommodated and would not be felt as interruptions. A piece could then become a kind of frame, having its own particular articulation, but through which one could also listen to all the sounds going on at a certain time, at a certain place.
| The Perilous Night |
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| 4'33'" |
Cage's composition entitled 4' 33" is a supremely American gesture representing a new attitude toward listening and toward music itself. This piece represents his doctrine on the liberation of sound. Sound, according to Cage, should not be subservient to some evident intention. It should not be confined to an adherence to traditional clichés and conventions.
In 4' 33", not a single note or intentional sound is made. The pianist opens and closes the keyboard lid to indicate delineation between the three movements. If a singer is performing, he/she may decide to display relaxation in their stance between movements. The composer chose to impose no control except for the arbitrary, chance-determined length of the 4 and a half-minute time frame. 4' 33" represents the antithesis of the personality-centered, self-expressive, European concept of art.
Cage's insight as an author and philosopher almost overshadowed his musical compositions. By understanding the necessary limits and traditions of European art music, Cage was able to expand his musical boundaries to include the audience, ambient sound and the dimension of chance into his music.
Cage understood that music is a victim of a business oriented, commodity driven society in which something has value only in so far as we can trade it for some thing else. We have ceased to derive from art the mystery or direct sensuous experience, which is its prime function.
Composers experimented with various new ways to communicate their written music. Often they used a synthesis of traditional notation and random placement to help reflect their ideas.
