John Cage

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Lifespan:
September 5, 1912 - August 12, 1992, he died aged 79 and was American.
Birthname:
John Milton Cage Jr..
Snapshot:
An Artist with 95 releases, and credited 8 times on others' music. 41 collaborations.

Biography

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John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist, printmaker and amateur mycologist and mushroom collector. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century.

Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, the three movements of which are performed without a single note being played. The content of the composition is meant to be perceived as the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed rather than merely as four minutes and thirty three seconds of silence and the piece became one of the most controversial compositions of the twentieth century. Another famous creation of Cage's is the prepared piano (a piano with its sound altered by placing various objects in the strings), for which he wrote numerous dance-related works and a few concert pieces, the best known of which is Sonatas and Interludes (1946–48).

His teachers included Henry Cowell (1933) and Arnold Schoenberg (1933–35), both known for their radical innovations in music, but Cage's major influences lay in various Eastern cultures. Through his studies of Indian philosophy and Zen Buddhism in the late 1940s, Cage came to the idea of chance-controlled music, which he started composing in 1951. The I Ching, an ancient Chinese classic text on changing events, became Cage's standard composition tool for the rest of his life. In a 1957 lecture, Experimental Music, he described music as "a purposeless play" which is "an affirmation of life – not an attempt to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply a way of waking up to the very life we're living".

The Biography appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage. Portions of this Biography may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

Music

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Genres

Chamber Music, Classical, Techno. Vote on Genres

Discography

103 releases – 95 under his own name and 8 credits on others' music Edit
1
Collaborations, Groups and Family
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John Cage

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In the News

Cage Campaign Aims For A Silent Night

Dec, 13 2010

After last year’s concerted campaign to derail Simon Cowell’s selection of the UK Christmas No.1 slot, members of the Anyone But X Factor camp are spoiled for choice in 2011. Last year, Rage Against The Machine’s "Killing In The Name" became an unlikely festive chart topper, preventing that year’s X Factor winner reaching the Christmas summit for the fifth year in a row. X Factor 2010 winner Matt Cardle is current favorite with his cover of Biffy Clyro’s "Many of Horrors" (retitled "When We Collide"). Lining up against him, this year’s rebels include The Trashmen, whose 1963 novelty hit "Surfin’ Bird" featured prominently in a recent Family Guy, and an anti-government protest called "Liar Liar" from Captain Ska. However, this year’s award for cheeky subversion must surely go to "Cage Against The Machine," which has seen acts such as Billy Bragg, Imogen Heap and The Kooks contribute to a charity recording of four minutes and thirty three second of, well, nothing at all. "4’33" is a 1952 composition by experimental composer John Cage where the score instructs the musicians not to play any instruments. The creators of the supporting Facebook group hope that reaching No.1 would help to promote the piece and "make December 25 a silent night.'" Love Christmas music? Try our new Christmas quiz!

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