Notations

by John Cage

SCARCE HARDCOVER 1969 1st EDITION Something Else Press. LOCCN #69-14721. no dj. ex library copy. very few small minimal library markings [ one stamp at bottom edge of closed pages, one very tiny stamp on title page, one 1/4 x 1/2 inch label at spine bottom [does not cover the cool ''something else'' logo], ....& card envelope on the rear end page [with cool IBM punch card] . THAT'S IT! no other markings . ]] minor small stain spots on cover & ONE ON THE TOP EDGE OF THE CLOSED PAGES,which are black colored anyway. otherwise perfect. the interior pages are clean and nice. THERE ARE NO PAGE NUMBERS! [ABOUT 500 OR SO +/-] this book is absolutely wacky [the content i mean] wackier than you think! no need for a picture- this LARGE book is a plain white cloth HARDCOVER , WITH GOLD GILT TITLE/AUTHOR/LOGO ON SPINE. 9 X 9 INCH AND 1 1/2 INCH THICK.

Genres: Music, Art, Poetry, Design, Nonfiction

314 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist, printmaker, and amateur mycologist and mushroom collector. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives.

Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, the three movements of which are performed without a single note being played. The content of the composition is meant to be perceived as the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed, rather than merely as four minutes and thirty three seconds of silence, and the piece became one of the most controversial compositions of the 20th century. Another famous creation of Cage's is the prepared piano (a piano with its sound altered by placing various objects in the strings), for which he wrote numerous dance-related works and a few concert pieces, the best known of which is Sonatas and Interludes (1946–48).

His teachers included Henry Cowell (1933) and Arnold Schoenberg (1933–35), both known for their radical innovations in music and coincidentally their shared love of mushrooms, but Cage's major influences lay in various Eastern cultures. Through his studies of Indian philosophy and Zen Buddhism in the late 1940s, Cage came to the idea of chance-controlled music, which he started composing in 1951. The I Ching, an ancient Chinese classic text on changing events, became Cage's standard composition tool for the rest of his life. In a 1957 lecture, Experimental Music, he described music as "a purposeless play" which is "an affirmation of life – not an attempt to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply a way of waking up to the very life we're living".

Reviews

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 5 out of 5]

This bk was extremely exciting for me & is still of the utmost importance. As a young "d composer" I was very concerned w/ breaking out of almost every established musical practice. As an old fart I still am. This bk showed me a huge array of the experimentation that'd been done - mostly by composers who were expanding scores to try to address the general expansion of what was considered NEW MUSIC - music that embraced noise & extended playing techniques. Thank goodness for the deep scholarliness of John Cage! Thank goodness for the visionary publishing of Dick Higgins' Something Else Press!

[wacki_i_i · Rating 5 out of 5]

M slayed altijd

[Donal · Rating 5 out of 5]

!!!!!!!

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible

[fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first came across this book in 2nd year music theory when the prof passed around their copy. Took me 12 years but I got my own copy. I'm still psyched.

[Veerle · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the most special book I got in 2021. Browsing through its pages in awe.

[Unholy Meat Obelisk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, inspiring and even fun anthology. It also shows how limited traditional music notation became in the mid 20th Century.
Amazing.

[Creiche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a source of inspiration!

[BespectacledBookGirl]

I read this book sometime in March to accompany my thesis research, and as with all things John Cage it was quirky, beautiful, enigmatic. Will read again in life.

[Say Mayfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

great anthology! perfect for composers wishing to expand their experimental vocabulary