Even his strongest admirers may admit to sometimes feeling as jeanne reynal did when, in 1950, cage recited his lecture on nothing at the artists club. The official site for information about the life and works of john cage, administered by the john cage trust. John cages lecture on nothing as a landmark in media history. This lecture on nothing was written in the same rhythmic structure i employed at the time in my musical compositions sonatas and interludes, three dances, etc. If among you are those who wish to get somewhere, let them leave at any moment. Mar 10, 20 included in silence, john cages most relevant collection of writing, lecture on nothing is in many ways an essayistic response to the thinking behind his music. Lectures and writings, 50th anniversary edition cage, john, gann, kyle on.
San francisco symphony interprets john cage, with great results. John cage 1912 1992 was an american composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and provocative artist. He published silence in 1961, which included lectures and writings from the period 19391958. John cage silence lectures and writings, 50th anniversary. So it was that i gave about 1949 my lecture on nothing at the artists club on eighth street in. John cage publishes a book of graphic musical scores, featuring visualizations of works by leonard bernstein, igor stravinsky.
John cage s books published by wesleyan are, silence. The claremont colleges library tccl presents a concert of renowned composer john cage. The work is a neat summarisation of the composers philosophy of music, as well as an application of his musical structures to a piece of prose. Nov 06, 2012 john cage songbooks voicepaul berkolds, jacqueline bobak, carmina escobar, electronicsmarek bobak, harmonica lucie vitkova, radim kolar drums. A performative interpretation of john cages lecture on nothing, written in 1949 and published as part of his book silence from 1961. These are extracts from the 50th anniversary edition of silence. To describe the process of composition used in music of changes and imaginary landscape no. Because of this, the book of music was used by the owi office of war information during the war as indonesian supplement n.
Jul 21, 2016 now the selected letters of john cage, edited by laura kuhn, director of the john cage trust, arrives. The curious score for john cages silent zen composition 4. Silence, a year from monday, m, empty words and x in this order form the five parts of a series of books in which cage tries, as he says, to find a way of writing which. Lectures and writings is a book by american experimental composer john cage 19121992, first published in 1961 by wesleyan university press. The sense of disorientation yielded by this experience is probably the best possible introduction to cages lecture on nothing, recited as part of the barbican theatres dancing for duchamp series. Ever since i first saw the john cage lecture on nothing art show t shirt. Francesmarie uitti, john cage, none works for cello. As a homage to revolutionary composer john cage, robert wilson performs cages lecture on nothing, one of the central texts of twentiethcentury experimental literature.
One of its muchquoted lines is i have nothing to say and i am saying and. Comprising of repetition, selfreferential musings on its own structure, comments on american geography, as well as scattered observations on music including connections between brahms and thirds, and the general popularity. He greatly looked up to the exiled austrian as a model of how a true artist ought to live. Avantgarde composer john cage started out as a disciple of arnold schoenberg. This collection of essays and presentations by noted composer and musical innovator john cage attempts to capture on paper both the intellectual and stylistic creativity with which he approached his work. Cages lecture reflects the medial rupture as it happens not only on different levels but also, as will be shown, in different modes. Beginning around 1950, and throughout the passing years, he departed from the pragmatism of precise musical notation and circumscribed ways of performance. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and nonstandard use of musical instruments, cage was one of the leading figures of the postwar avantgarde. Cage s 1959 lecture on nothing remains a touchstone for artists thinking about how to empty their work of themselves. There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. Originally delivered by john cage at an artists club in new york in 1949, the composers lecture on nothing went on to become a core text within his 1961 collagemeditation of essays, silence. John cage was an american composer, zen buddhist, and mushroom eater.
John cage, a leading figure of the american musical avantgarde and lecturer and writer extraordinary, dedicated himself to the search for new horizons in musical composition. Silence is a collection of essays and lectures cage wrote during the period from 1939 to 1961. Lecture on nothing, which is published in john cage s silence, is a classic, studied and often recited. Or you may leave it forever and never return to it for we possess nothing. Listen to nothing but the truth by john lescroart at. Lectures and writings by john cage wesleyan university press, 1961. John cage is the outstanding composer of avantgarde music today. Silence is a collection of some of the essays and lectures that have made john cage s name synonymous with all that is unpredictable and exciting in contemporary miusic. This performance was done at the diego rivera gallery in san francisco, as part of the show i have nothing to say and im saying it. This performance was done at the diego rivera gallery in san francisco, as part of the show i have nothing to say and im saying it curated by aaron david kissman, on april 2015. The audience, generally prepared for what will follow, namely nothing, may sometimes wonder what could be printed on those pages. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non. Music, sound, and silence t he theories of avantgarde american composer john cage 19121992 on music, sound, and silence are of more interest than his musical compositions. John cages lecture on nothing the barbican, london 2502.
Catching most of his many facets, the letters, spanning 1930 to mid1992, show why cage. Restoring it to spoken form and thus reanimating the beautiful tensions of this unspeech, this voiced absence, robert wilson. Lectures and writings is a book by american experimental composer john cage. Comprising of repetition, selfreferential musings on its own structure, comments on american geography, as well as scattered observations on music including connections between brahms and thirds, and the general popularity of. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. Sep 06, 2012 the richard kostelanetz books john cage explained, or conversing with cage, or cage s own a year from monday are highly entertaining, funny, and super thoughtprovoking. Nov 29, 2009 when san francisco attorney dismas hardy gets a call saying his wife never picked the kids up from school, hes worried. The page numbers in brackets in the introduction to each extract refer to that book. In these lectures, scores, and writings, cage tries, as he says, to find a way of writing that comes from ideas. Dismas knows his wife, frannie, is the most reliable of.
The line quoted above, i have nothing to say and i am saying it and that is poetry as i need it, summarily defines the fundamental tenetsand contradictionsof cages aesthetic. A composers confession by john cage new world symphony. John cage s century one hundred years after his birth, john cage s openminded ideas about the possibilities of music and sound still inspire. It has just reappeared in a 50th anniversary edition of cage s classic first book, silence. What john cage offers is more refreshing, more spirited, much more funa kind of. Silence quotes by john cage meet your next favorite book. Lecture on nothing, john cage lecture on nothing is perhaps, next to the future of music.
Cage was also an author, and his book saenee was described by john rock well in the new york times as the most influential conduit of oriental thought and religious ideas into the artistic vanguardnot just in music but in dance, art and poetry as well. And he inspired the university press to publish this book. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and nonstandard use of musical instruments, cage was one of the leading figures of the postwar avantgarde. As a homage to revolutionary composer john cage, robert wilson performs cage s lecture on nothing, one of the central texts of twentiethcentury experimental literature. Suzuki, the japanese writer and scholar, came to north america in 1950 on a tour sponsored by the rockefeller foundation, and cage attended some of suzukis lectures in new york. Later i was able to commission a soul portrait of myself by ej gold. John cage lecture on nothing moscow, russia tv 1992. I am talking about nothing of course will go on talking for a long time. A performative interpretation of john cage s lecture on nothing, written in 1949 and published as part of his book silence from 1961. As a lecture, or as an accompaniment to a merce cunningham dance, he would read them aloud, speaking quickly or slowly as the stories required so that one story was read. Cage, john, lecture of nothing in lecturers and writings, 1959, p. Sep 03, 2012 robert wilsons new piece at the ruhrtriennale is based on john cages lecture on nothing. Any design repeated often enough on a sound track is audible. This lecture was printed in incontri musicali, august 1959.
What john cage offers is more refreshing, more spirited, much more funa. Jun 02, 2010 see fetterman, john cages theatre pieces. September 5, 1912 august 12, 1992 was an american composer, music theorist, artist, and philosopher. Premiered on august 22, 2012 at the ruhrtriennale festival, jahrhunderthalle, bochum, germany.
This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on silence. In light of these connections, the claremont colleges library presents a week of cage at claremont celebrations, including panels lectures, artists. Cage s lecture reflects the medial rupture as it happens not only on different levels but also, as. Seven2, for bass flute, bass clarinet, bass trombone, two percussionists instruments not specified, violoncello and contrabass 1990. This time his family is involvedand for hardy, a devoted husband and father, the stakes have never been higher. Modern music sevenths, always, all, fascinated me the seconds, with all its modern intervals. Cage possesses one of the rarest qualities of the true creator that of an original mind and whether that originality pleases, irritates, amuses or outrages is irrelevant. John cage at 100 cages most lasting influence may be in his ideas about the boundaries between noise and music and the artistic freedom that comes from breaking the rules. Downtown poet brendan constantine performs john cages. In the fore word to this book john cage explains how in writing those two fundamen. T hough its origins go back more than a decade earlier to a talk he gave in new york, john cage s lecture on nothing was included in his first and most important collection of writings, silence.
It has just reappeared in a 50th anniversary edition of cages classic first book, silence. The son of an inventor, cage briefly attended pomona college and then traveled. Included in silence, john cage s most relevant collection of writing, lecture on nothing is in many ways an essayistic response to the thinking behind his music. Information, audio samples, and purchase from information and audio sample from smithsonianfolkways. In 1949, john cage received an award of one thousand dollars from the national academy of arts and letters, and wrote his lecture on nothing and lecture on something, both reprinted in silence 1961. One of the structural divisions was the repetition, some fourteen times, of a single page in which occurred the. Oct 26, 2011 cages 1959 lecture on nothingremains a touchstone for artists thinking about how to empty their work of themselves. John cage 19121992 was a singularly inventive and much beloved american composer, writer, philosopher, and visual artist, whose influence, already profound, has yet to be fully felt. Feb 26, 20 t hough its origins go back more than a decade earlier to a talk he gave in new york, john cage s lecture on nothing was included in his first and most important collection of writings, silence. One hundred years after his birth, john cages ideas about the possibilities of music still inspire. John cage s century one hundred years after his birth, john cage s ideas about the possibilities of music still inspire. John cage has 94 books on goodreads with 18335 ratings.
Im just finishing up the book of fellow composer morton feldmans writings. John cage lecture on nothing performed by kaegan sparks vicki bennett aka people like us has archived all her work on ubuweb. I used many samples of audio from that film on the album dirtbike 3. Jul 05, 2000 from the acclaimed new york times bestselling author of guilt and the th juror comes an electrifying new thrillera novel in which san francisco defense attorney dismas hardy faces the case of his career. John cage attended pomona college from 1928 to 1930, and the claremont colleges have many connections to his groundbreaking art and music. Wesleyan university press, 20 i am here and there is nothing to say. Using the computer as an oracle in conjunction with a large source text, he happens upon ideas. James pritchett, the music of john cage cambridge england. Kyle gann silence, john cage s first book and epic masterpiece, was published in october 1961. The range of his fathers inventions including a dieselfueled submarine and electrostatic field theory, could be characterized as both revolutionary and eccentric, and. Join us throughout the evening for popup performances of john cage s lecture on nothing, performed in the palace galleries by actor ayesha jordan. I have owned almost every cd of cages work and this.
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