By aprilstamaria
09-Aug-2007

Not Music?  

Who says John Cage's music isn't Music?! For ages, the meaning of music has always been rooted in the western classical tradition, i.e. performance on stage and learning from sheet music. Music certainly cannot be limited to these practices alone. Music after all exists in all cultures, among the indigenous people as well.  For them, music IS life. It is identified and closely connected to a particular ritual; otherwise, music won't have any meaning at all.  There is no concept of stage performance as in the western classical tradition. Cage's concept of music is closely linked to the idea that "Music IS life itself" and that music cannot be limited to the confines of a stage and an audience. In the third track of this recording, titled 4'33", Amadinda Percussion group interprets this "open work" by recording, for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, actual sounds heard on the seashore with occasional bird sounds. Cage gave the premiere of this work by just sitting on the piano stool on stage with a piece in front of him for 4 minutes and 33 seconds! What went through within the 4'33" interval is the music itself.
more....