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In Reply to: RE: Could be posted by middleground on October 29, 2014 at 09:57:29:
Your understanding of art seems somewhat petty.
That seems a little harsh. I'd argue that it's less petty than the facetious remarks that 4'33" seems to attract from folk apparently unaware that Cage was not without a touch of humour. Besides, Rick's in pretty good company - talents as diverse as Schoenberg (who taught Cage), Boulez and Stockhausen were, probably rightly, dismissive of his compositional ability. He himself admitted to having a poor understanding of harmony. And so on.
In 2012, the London Sinfonietta "performed" 4'33" at a televised BBC Promenade Concert that we happened to watch; its effect was very much as radiodaddy's post suggests. It was clear that the "performers", the conductor and the audience alike enjoyed the piece - IOW, they not only listened to the "silence" but had fun. So did we. Cage had made an important musical/philosophical point in, well, under five minutes.
I'm not qualified to comment on his stature as a composer; I find such works as I've heard attractive but not earth-shattering. That said, I'm adamant that was he an important musical thinker and not, as Rick suggests, a showman and a bit of a charlatan.
But then I like Jackson Pollock too. Anyway, thanks to all for an interesting thread, esp the link to Kazimir Malevitch whose work I had not seen before.
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Follow Ups
- RE: Could be - Ryelands 03:33:02 10/30/14 (2)
- RE: Could be - NB 14:06:02 10/30/14 (0)
- +1. All I can add ... - rbolaw 06:51:08 10/30/14 (0)