Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/03/16

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Subject: [Leica] 4'33" (was: concert shooting)
From: Michael Bell <mbell@mail.utexas.edu>
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 09:48:02 -0600

Jeremy Kime <jeremy.kime@bbc.co.uk> writes:
>* Cage's most famous musical composition is entitled 4'33''. It is played at
>the piano and is divided into three movements. All of the notes are silent.

It should be noted that a performer of John Cage's 4'33" is to not 
play anything, as opposed to playing "silent notes."  There's a 
difference.  Cage believed there was no such thing as absolute 
silence.  The point of 4'33" is that the environment, whatever that 
may be, provides the music for the piece.

At early performances of the work, the audience would start to murmur 
to itself and then start getting louder, sometimes ending in angry 
shouts.

As to CD recordings, I don't know about that.  Seems like anyone 
interested would be perfectly capable of "performing" the piece 
themselves.

No Leica content whatsoever, but this perhaps ties in with some of 
the "what is art" discussions we've had.

- -- 
Michael Bell
MBell@mail.utexas.edu