JOHN CAGE
Name: John Milton Cage Jr
Born: 5 September 1912
Died: 12 August 1992
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American
composer. 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
and, in the opinion of many, the most influential American composer 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 the most part of the latter's life.
Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, the three movements
of which are performed without a single note being played. A performance of 4′33″
can be perceived as including 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 has become one of the most controversial
compositions of the 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
most well-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, 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 chance 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".
In addition to his composing, Cage was also a philosopher, writer, artist,
printmaker and an avid amateur mycologist and mushroom collector.
Name: John Milton Cage Jr
Born: 5 September 1912
Died: 12 August 1992
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American
composer. 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
and, in the opinion of many, the most influential American composer 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 the most part of the latter's life.
Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, the three movements
of which are performed without a single note being played. A performance of 4′33″
can be perceived as including 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 has become one of the most controversial
compositions of the 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
most well-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, 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 chance 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".
In addition to his composing, Cage was also a philosopher, writer, artist,
printmaker and an avid amateur mycologist and mushroom collector.