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The composer John Cage, b. Los Angeles,
Sept. 5, 1912, d. Aug. 12, 1992, rejected the compositional
practices of the past to explore a new world of musical sound
and structure. His influence on many contemporaries was profound.
Fascinated by percussion instruments, Cage experimented with
extramusical sounds and noises in musical composition, using
tin cans, cowbells, a lion's roar, a cricket caller, and similar
nonmusical devices (Second Construction, Third Construction).
Then he began to introduce other sounds into his compositions:
banging doors, closing windows, the whine of generators, and
electronic distortion (Imaginary Landscape, Water Music, Fontana
Mix). He drew unorthodox sonorities from the piano by preparing
it--that is, by stuffing it with bolts, screws, wood, felt,
spoons, clothespins, and other materials attached between
the strings on the soundboard (Sounds and Interludes). At
the other extreme, Cage experimented with silences. Probably
his most provocative piece is 4'33'', in which the performer,
seated in front of the piano, plays nothing for 4 minutes
and 33 seconds.
Cage sought out the possibilities of chance in music (ALEATORY
MUSIC), where music is no longer produced by careful calculation
and design but through unpredictable elements, either during
the process of composition or through spontaneous improvisation
during a performance (Variations I, Variations II, Renga).
Cage also exploited nonsense in an attempt to revive dadaism.
In Theatre Piece, a man wrapped in a black plastic cocoon
hangs upside down; another waves banners from a bamboo pole;
balloons are punctured; buzzers are sounded--all while a cellist
performs Cage's music. Cage's many writings include Silence
(1961), Empty Words (1979), and X (1983).
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