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 works catalogue at the john cage database, contains details on individual pieces, exact dates of composition and first performances, an extensive discography, etc. This collection of essays and presentations by noted composer and musical innovator john cage attempts to capture on paper both the intellectual and stylistic creativity with which he approached his work. John cage was an experimental and legendary composer of the 20th century often called the father of indeterminism. The audience, generally prepared for what will follow, namely nothing, may sometimes wonder what could be printed on those pages. John cage squeezing a rubber duck on ive got a secret, february 24. John cage s empty words 1974 is a marathon text drawn from the journals of henry david thoreau.
John cage, 433 in proportional notation 19521953, ink on paper, each page. John cage and the visual aspects of musical performance in water walk, the traditional elements of musicthings like rhythm, meter, melody, harmonyare virtually absent. John cages 433 as the year, decade, century and millennium all draw to a close, every arts writer invariably will succumb to the temptation to announce the list. Catching most of his many facets, the letters, spanning 1930 to mid1992, show why cage. A repository of observations, anecdotes, proclivities, obsessions, jokes and koanlike stories, diary. John cage synonyms, john cage pronunciation, john cage translation, english dictionary definition of john cage. Youre listening to a studio recording made by cage at mills college in oakland, california, in 1978, lasting some 10 hours. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and nonstandard use of musical instruments, cage was one of the leading figures of the postwar avantgarde. Follow the jump to read an html version of the paper.
This section lists works for which the location of manuscript is unknown, or which possibly were not notated. John cage was busy during the 1970s, and his book empty words reflects that busyness in ways obvious and hidden. John cages books, published by wesleyan, are silence 1961, a year from monday 1967, m 1973, empty words 1979, which cage also regarded as a performance piece, and x 1983. To avoid the rush, ill crawl out on my own critical limb a bit early to proclaim fanfare and drumroll. American poet, composer, essayist, and graphic artist. A chronological list of the musical works of john cage. The emotions love, mirth, the heroic, wonder, tranquility, fear, anger, sorrow, disgust are in the audience. Nov 04, 2015 john cage performs a 90 minute excerpt from empty words at the 1991 subtropics music festival in miami, florida. Slides and visual examples appear at the end of the pdf. The score is simply lines of words separated by seemingly arbitrary spaces, conveying vaguely zenlike aphorisms and obsessive, repetitive observations. The text is in four parts, becoming more and more fragmented as it proceeds.
Catalogue at the john cage compendium, compiled by paul van emmerik, alphabetical. 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. The curious score for john cages silent zen composition. Cage taking the name of the author andor the title of the book as their subject the row, write a series of mesostics beginning on the first page and continuing to the last. Foreword 1978 preface to lecture on the weather 1979 how the piano came to be prepared 1973 empty words 19745. How to improve the world you will only make matters worse registers john cages assessment of the times in which he lived as well as his often uncanny portents about the world we live in now. On a scale far beyond the reach of any other 20thcentury art. This is a list of compositions by john cage 19121992, arranged in chronological order by year of composition. The complete john cage variations john cages eight variations 195867 occupy a unique position in the composers output. As a book of essays on music, its a satisfying and provocative read.
Empty words by john cage overdrive rakuten overdrive. This nearly three hour long performance documents cage reading from the third part of his empty words in 1977 at milans teatro lirico in front of an increasingly restless crowd of italian students, which would erupt into one of the great if under reported art riots of the last century. Cage in fact walked the walk of his talk, relying on rolling dice, consulting the chinese iching book of hexagrams, and even scrutinizing the. John cage performs a 90 minute excerpt from empty words at the 1991 subtropics music festival in miami, florida. Divided into four parts, empty words is a long text derived from the journals of henry david thoreau, achieved through extraction of its words, letters, and phrases through cages use of the i ching. Part iv, which omits syllables, leaves us nothing but a virtual lullaby of letters and sounds. Lectures and writings by john cage, wesleyan university press. Sep 27, 20 john cage, 433 in proportional notation 19521953, ink on paper, each page. In celebration of his birthday, we asked contemporary musicians across a wide range of genres and backgrounds not only in classical music, but also pop.
John cage was the most significant and controversial american innovative composer of the 20th century. John cage s empty words is more of a literary work than a musical composition at least it is written or rather, assembled on typing paper with a typewriter, rather than on staff paper. John cage was a renowned american musician, philosopher, writer, artist and music theorist. The reading is ongoing, so you are entering by chance wherever cage may be in the work. John cages empty words 1974 is drawn from the journals of henry david thoreau, written in four parts. Catching most of his many facets, the letters, spanning 1930 to. In cases where a work was composed over a period of.
A chronological list of the musical works of john cage james pritchett this is a list of all the completed musical works of john cage 19121992. Those were formative years for john cage, who, on black mountain campus. From 1951 to 1956 he held the post of instructor and rector at black mountain college, north carolina. May 24, 2012 i see the words on an inspirational magnet in a shop window.
A year with john cage how to get out of the cage documentary, 2012 duration. John cage definition of john cage by the free dictionary. As poetry, that depends on what you make of his procedural driven work in the field, and also how much you like what seems today like frankly occasional poems. It quickly became one of the most controversial musical works of the 20th century because it consisted of silence or, more precisely, ambient soundwhat cage called the absence of intended. Today, exactly 100 years after his birth, composer, writer and conceptual artist john cage is still, for many, public enemy no. John cage biography john cage childhood, life and timeline. John cage s empty words 1974 is drawn from the journals of henry david thoreau, written in four parts. In most of the performances of john cages famously silent composition 433, the performer sits in front of what appears to be sheet music as in the performance below.
An archive of john cage s oneminute stories from indeterminacy. Begin anywhere the late american experimental composer john cage 19121992 tells us. He is considered to be the most distinguished american composers of the 20th century by critics. John cage empty words parte iii 2012, vinyl discogs. My original source for the quotation was the 1990 pbs american masters program on john cage which i have on vhs tape. That cage should call such a composition music is likely what made the piece appealing to a program like ive got a secret. Oct 20, 2015 a home for new and unusual music from all corners of the classical genre, brought to you by the power of public media.
Digital rights management drm the publisher has supplied this book in encrypted form, which means that you need to install free software in order to unlock and read it. And while its difficult to find communicative meaning amidst the tangled sentences at least in any standard sense of the phrase. Second inversion is a service of classical king fm 98. Choose from 90 different sets of john cage flashcards on quizlet. In celebration of his birthday, we asked contemporary musicians across a wide range of genres and. With a great sense of play as well as purpose, cage traverses vast territory, from the domestic.
His teacher, arnold schoenberg, said john cage was not a composer but an inventor of genius. Jul 21, 2016 now the selected letters of john cage, edited by laura kuhn, director of the john cage trust, arrives. Part i omits sentences, part ii omits phrases, and part iii omits words. By the late 1950s, cage had made significant progress in exploring the use of indeterminate sound sources such as radio and lp recordings, a range of chance procedures for generating notation and its indeterminacy. The curious score for john cages silent zen composition 4. Jul 14, 2007 a year with john cage how to get out of the cage documentary, 2012 duration. I see the words on an inspirational magnet in a shop window. Divided into four parts, empty words is a long text derived from the journals of henry david thoreau, achieved through extraction of its words, letters. John cage united states composer of avantgarde music john milton cage jr. John improvised the instruments he worked with, resulting in the unique music that he produced.
Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Using aesthetic theory to understand a musical notion, journal of aesthetic education 26 spring 1992 pp. 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. Sep 05, 2012 today, exactly 100 years after his birth, composer, writer and conceptual artist john cage is still, for many, public enemy no. He is known as the father of indeterminism who was influenced.
May you find great value in these inspirational john cage quotes from my large datebase of inspiring quotes and sayings. This is one of cage s most sustained and elaborate moves toward the demilitarization of language, in four parts. John cages empty words is more of a literary work than a musical composition at least it is written or rather, assembled on typing paper with a typewriter, rather than on staff paper. Now the selected letters of john cage, edited by laura kuhn, director of the john cage trust, arrives. I cant understand why people are frightened by new ideas. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on silence. Whats in mind is to stay up all night reading this is john cages suggestion for his work empty words 19731974, a chancemade rearranging of passages from the journals of henry david thoreau. Inventive and experimental, cage was an influential and controversial avantgarde. Foreword 1978 preface to lecture on the weather 1979 how the piano came to be prepared 1973. The list is presented in chronological order by date of completion. Read the article to know more on his childhood, life and timeline. It was heard communally, with mandatory breaks, at the john cage trusts empty words centennial sleepover event at bard college in june 2012. Writings 7378 is a book by american avantgarde composer john cage 19121992, first published in 1979 by wesleyan university press.
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