If it seems like I'm being a little vague about Cage's compositional ideas (trust me, my brief summation is NOTHING next to the lengthy essays that have been written about most of his works), you'll understand why when you hear the outcome. There are a few theories as to how Cage utilised these texts in his composition, but the one that seems to be referred to the most (and the one I was told about by the lecturer who encouraged me to look into Cage's works) is that he tossed sticks in the air and related the pattern in which they landed to symbols in the I Ching, before using the corresponding information in the texts to determine the pitch, length, and intensity of the next note(s) to be played. The I Ching consists of a system of symbols which is used to "identify order in chance events," and is based around "ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites, the evolution of events as a process, and acceptance of the inevitability of change" (thanks Wikipedia! Incidentally, if you can make sense of any significant amount of the article regarding I Ching, you're a far more intelligent individual than I.). Apparently, Cage utilised an ancient Chinese text called the I Ching when composing the four "books" that make up Music of Changes. However, Music of Changes is a slightly more complicated affair an aleatoric piece (that is, a piece of music where part of or all or the composition process is governed by chance) composed for solo piano. Ever the contrary type, his most famous piece ("4'33"") consisted of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of NOTHING being played, which speaks volumes about the way the man's mind worked. Review Summary: An interesting approach to solo piano composition, but one with a lofty concept which completely overshadows and undermines the music itself.įor the unitiated, John Cage was one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th Century, famous for his wildly experimental compositions which challenged the very definition of music in the modern era.
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