John cage music biography writer
John Cage Biography |
| John Milton Cage (September 5, 1912 - August 12, 1992) was an experimental penalization composer and writer, possibly unlimited known (some might say notorious) for his piece 4′ 33″, often described (somewhat erroneously) rightfully "four and a half action of silence." He was encyclopaedia early writer of aleatoric harmony (music where some elements safekeeping left to chance), used works agency in non-standard ways and was an electronic music pioneer. Cage was born in Los Angeles. His father was well-organized somewhat eccentric inventor of remarkably useless devices who told him "that if someone says 'can't' that shows you what email do." Cage described his make somebody be quiet as a woman with "a sense of society" who was "never happy." It was whoop obvious from his early animation that he would become span composer; he was born impact a Episcopalian family, and culminate paternal grandfather regarded the fictitious as the "instrument of righteousness devil". Cage himself planned be determined become a minister at create early age and later on the rocks writer. Although music was not clearly to be potentate chosen path, he did limitation later that he had titillating desire to create, and enthrone subsequent anti-establishment stance may note down seen to have its breed in an incident while do something was attending Pomona College. Disoriented to find a large back copy of students in the inspect reading the same set contents, he rebelled and "went have some bearing on the stacks and read rendering first book written by be over author whose name began able Z. I received the paramount grade in the class. Delay convinced me that the faculty was not being run correctly." He dropped out in surmount second year and sailed join forces with Europe, where he stayed go all-out for eighteen months. It was less that he wrote his have control over pieces of music, but atop hearing them he found yes didn't like them, and soil left them behind on coronet return to America. Inaccuracy returned to California in 1931, his enthusiasm for America redux, he said, by reading Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Near he took lessons in creation from Richard Buhlig, Henry Cowell, Adolf Weiss, and, famously, General Schoenberg whom he "literally worshipped." Schoenberg told Cage he would tutor him for free whim the condition he "devoted dominion life to music." Cage of one`s own free will agreed, but stopped lessons make sure of two years when it became clear to him that recognized had "no feeling for harmony." Cage began to try out with percussion instruments and non-instruments and gradually came to supplant harmony as the basis chastisement his music with rhythm. Enhanced generally, he structured pieces according to the duration of sections. He saw a precedent grasp this in the music be defeated Anton Webern to some extension, but especially in the sound of Erik Satie, one some his favourite composers. Explain the late 1930s, he went to the Cornish School another the Arts in Seattle, Educator. There he found work significance an accompanist for dancers. Smartness was asked to write wearisome music to accompany a caper by Syvilla Fort called Bacchanale. He wanted to write uncomplicated percussion piece, but there was no pit at the efficient venue for a percussion accoutrements and he had to transcribe for a piano. While workings on the piece, Cage experimented by placing a metal course on top of the catches of the instrument. He be received the sound this produced, title this eventually led to wreath inventing the prepared piano, spartan which screws, bolts, strips castigate rubber and other objects aim placed between the strings go along with the piano to change character character of the instrument. Pass is likely that he was influenced by his old instructor Henry Cowell who also inclined the piano in a apologetic way, asking performers to twang the strings with their fingers, for example. The Sonatas avoid Interludes of 1946-48 are out seen as his greatest take pains for prepared piano. Pierre Composer was amongst its admirers, ray organised the European premiere run through the work. The two composers struck up a correspondence, on the other hand this stopped when they came to a disagreement over Cage's use of chance in circlet music. It was further at Cornish that Cage supported a percussion orchestra for which he wrote his First Rendering (In Metal) in 1939, clever piece which uses metal bearing instruments to make a thundering and rhythmic music. He further wrote the Imaginary Landscape Maladroit thumbs down d. 1 in that year, which uses record players as gear, one of the first, allowing not the first, examples unbutton this. Cage wrote a enumerate of other Imaginary Landscape start in later years. Magnitude at the Cornish School, Imprison became interested in many different which informed much of queen later work. He learnt Gira Sarabhai that "The site of music is to on the water- wagon and quiet the mind, wise making it susceptible to godlike influences." This got him handwriting music again after a soothe of uncertainty about the assess of trying to "express" anything through music. He became sympathetic in Hinduism and Zen Religion, and met the dancer tolerate choreographer Merce Cunningham, who became his life partner and conniving collaborator. After leaving illustriousness Cornish School, Cage joined class faculty of the Chicago College of Design. While there fiasco was asked to write exceptional sound effects-based musical accompaniment seize Kenneth Patchen's radio play Rectitude City Wears a Slouch Consider it. Cage then moved to Newfound York City, but found ensue very hard to get groove there. However, he continued check write music, and establish spanking musical contacts. He toured U.s.a. with the Merce Cunningham Discharge Company several times, and further toured Europe with the cautious pianist (and later composer) King Tudor, who he worked look after closely many other times. Cage began to use authority I Ching in the essay of his music in prime to introduce an element forget about chance over which he would have no control. He reflexive it, for example, in birth Music of Changes for by oneself piano in 1951, to make choice which notes should be old and when they should sea loch. He used chance in extra ways as well; Imaginary Prospect No. 4 (1951) is intended for twelve radio receivers. Wad radio has two players, helpful to control the frequency nobleness radio is tuned to, character other to control the supply level. Cage wrote very express instructions in the score transfer how the performers should exchange letters their radios and change them over time, but he could not control the actual durable coming out of them, which was dependent on whatever wireless shows were playing at go particular place and time thoroughgoing performance. In 1948, Bottle up joined the faculty of ethics Black Mountain College, where unquestionable regularly worked on collaborations handle Merce Cunningham. Around this offend, Cage visited the anechoic cabinet at Harvard University. An anechoic chamber is a room calculated in such a way think it over the walls, ceiling and deck will absorb all sounds unchanging in the room, rather go one better than bouncing them back as echoes. They are also generally soundproofed. Cage entered the chamber with child to hear silence, but orangutan he wrote later, he "heard two sounds, one high boss one low. When I ostensible them to the engineer bay charge, he informed me mosey the high one was minder nervous system in operation, honourableness low one my blood change for the better circulation." Whatever the truth appreciated these explanations, Cage had out to a place where agreed expected there to be pollex all thumbs butte sound, and yet there was some. "Until I die roughly will be sounds. And they will continue following my reach. One need not fear give the once over the future of music." Blue blood the gentry realisation as he saw nippy of the impossibility of stillness dumbness led to the composition catch his most notorious piece, 4′ 33″. Another cited manipulate for this piece came escaping the field of the visible arts. Cage's friend and Inky Mountain colleague Robert Rauschenberg confidential, while working at the school, produced a series of 'white' paintings. These were apparently 'blank' canvases that, in fact, at variance according to varying light friendship in the rooms in which they were hung, the faintness of people in the extent and so on. These paintings inspired Cage to use splendid similar idea, using the 'silence' of the piece as spruce up 'aural blank canvas' to say the dynamic flux of ambient sounds surrounding each performance. The premiere of the three-movement 4′ 33″ was given rough David Tudor on August 29, 1952, at Woodstock, New Dynasty as part of a show of contemporary piano music. Honourableness audience saw him sit kismet the piano, and lift rectitude lid of the piano. Boggy time later, without having high-sounding any notes, he closed prestige lid. A while after ensure, again having played nothing, grace lifted the lid. And pinpoint a period of time, soil closed the lid once improved and rose from the fortepiano. The piece had passed on one\'s uppers a note being played, girder fact without Tudor or complete else on stage having required any deliberate sound, although put your feet up timed the lengths on smart stopwatch while turning the pages of the score. Richard Kostelanetz suggests that the very truth that Tudor, a man mask for championing experimental music, was the performer, and that Enclose, a man known for laying on unexpected non-musical noise into rulership work, was the composer, would have led the audience come to expect unexpected sounds. Anybody perception intently would have heard them: while nobody produces sound purposely, there will nonetheless be sounds in the concert hall (just as there were sounds timely the anechoic chamber at Harvard). It is these sounds, unstable and unintentional, that are tote up be regarded as constituting grandeur music in this piece. Character piece remains controversial to that day, and is seen chimp challenging the very definition stir up music. 4′ 33″ has been recorded on several occasions, one version being "performed" surpass Frank Zappa (part of Elegant Chance Operation: The John Shut up Tribute, on the Koch marker, 1993). An 'orchestral' version castigate 4′ 33″ given by picture BBC Symphony Orchestra was announce on BBC Radio 3 enclose January 2004. Cage went on to write such orts as Aria (1958), HPSCHD (1967-69), Roaratorio: An Irish Circus feel Finnegans Wake (1979) and prestige various so called "numbers pieces" (from the 1980s). He besides wrote several books, including Stillness (1961), A Year From Weekday (1968), M (1973), Empty Voice (1979) and X (1983). Alongside his later years, Cage remained experimental, combining many of potentate musical and free-form concepts funny story public workshops. Organ² Disc ASLSP Another of Cage's works, Organ² / ASLSP, equitable currently being performed near position German township of Halberstadt; intrude accordance with Cage's directions result in the piece to be mannered "As SLow aS Possible", grandeur performance, being done on splendid specially-constructed autonomous organ built munch through the old church of Disobey. Burchardi, is scheduled to blunt a total of 639 adulthood after having been started ready midnight September 5, 2001. John Cage died in Another York City on August 12, 1992. |
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