This article begins with David Tudor’s rendition of 4:33 a piece originally by John Cage, going through 4 minutes and 33 seconds of “silence, where the song picks up the ambient noise of the venue with many people vocalizing their frustrations in the 3rd act and Q&A section, with even his own mother having doubts about the piece.
Then it moves into Pedja Muzijevic’s rendition of the piece where he broke the silence with “Tristan und Isolde”, while many in the audience wished for the silence to go on longer, contrasting with John Cage’s original rendition, which many disliked at the time.
They then go through Cage’s life in detail, and his accomplishments, interweaving the author’s own experiences in relation to these distinct landmarks and moments, alongside focusing on some key qualities, such as Cage’s optimism, rigidity, Excentres and his mushroom collecting hobby.
It ends by discussing the end of Cage’s life, and the fact that even towards the end, he never changed who he was, keeping his signature creativity and joy.
I feel as though most of Cage’s traits are in some ways the same as the medium he uses, at its core, in my view, you should find joy in creating your art, find creative and new ways to make or change art and to express yourself and do and make what is important to you, all things central to Cage’s work and life.
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