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Published January 1, 2013
About the author
John Cage
252 books230 followersJohn 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".
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".
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 5, 2019
Un jugo
pero un buen
jugo
pero un buen
jugo
December 14, 2024
por qué no había leído esto antes :,)
November 19, 2019
Si bien pareciera que solo la cotidianidad uniera estas breves anécdotas, al verlas desplazadas en el espacio comienzan a ser parte de su propio universo, repleto de actos silenciosos y de silencios sonoros. Distinto a lo que se está acostumbrad-, puede que cueste un poco enganchar al principio, pero luego la misma forma del libro te lleva a leer de otra manera: intermitente, ágil y graciosa, a veces pausada y llena de meditaciones. Muchas de las historias relatadas, más adelante, se van uniendo con hilo propio.
Hay que abrirse a nuevas experiencias y comenzar a disfrutarlas, dejo una cita que, para mí, podría resumir este libro:
Una mujer se paró y gritó, y después chilló, "Apáguelo. No lo puedo soportar más." Lo apagué. Entonces un hombre en la clase dijo molesto, "¿Por qué lo apagó? Estaba empezando a interesarme."
Hay que abrirse a nuevas experiencias y comenzar a disfrutarlas, dejo una cita que, para mí, podría resumir este libro:
Una mujer se paró y gritó, y después chilló, "Apáguelo. No lo puedo soportar más." Lo apagué. Entonces un hombre en la clase dijo molesto, "¿Por qué lo apagó? Estaba empezando a interesarme."
September 3, 2023
I found it unnecessary. I loved his autobiography and confessions of a composer but for me this felt out of place and although I understand this desire to capture daily life through seemingly unconnected anecdotes in a somehow disordered manner, I just didn't connect with it and I don't feel like I was left with any impression after reading this book.
January 23, 2026
El título define muy bien el contenido del libro: indeterminado. Vaguedades, anécdotas y pequeños escritos. Buen ejercicio para practicar el inglés también
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews