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Product Description
Product Description
John Cage, a leading figure of the American musical avant-garde and lecturer and writer extraordinary, dedicated himself to the search for new horizons in musical composition. 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. Outrageous they may be, but to anyone who is receptive to new ideas, to fresh and original ways of looking at and listening to things, they are a mine of fascinating discovery. And, as Cage fans will expect, the book also contains a wealth of handy information on collecting mushrooms, fishing through ice, and so on, as well as many anecdotes and Zen-type stories which illustrate Cage's exuberant artistic pre-occupations.
About the Author
John Cage, a leading figure of the American musical avant-garde and lecturer and writer extraordinary, dedicated himself to the search for new horizons in musical composition. His method of composition: an amalgam of chance operations, latitude in performace, the use of electronic sound and the inclusion of ambient noise. His aim: to increase the territory of his art and to celebrate the richness of life.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is quite simply my favourite book. This reprint is not on the best quality paper, but never mind. Most books can give you some insight into somebody else's ideas. This book not only gives great insight into the mind of a great twentieth century thinker, but is also an exploration of the readers mind. You, the reader, are forced (seduced?) into active thinking about a wonderful range of subjects - many far removed from music. This is quite possibly the best work of philosophy for the free thinker. Cage never tells you what or how to think about anything, but teases the imagination into the realization that not only are we wonderful individuals, but that the natural world can have as much fascination as we are capable of. Every sound, even every mushroom is infinitely interesting.
An excellent book for setting your mind free - or so it seems to me.
An excellent book for setting your mind free - or so it seems to me.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have had this book for many years and return to it again and again whenever I want inspiration and a broad panoramic view that has no truck with opinions and viewpoints.
It is one of the great delights of my life to have actually met this remarkable man and it would not be overstating the case to call him a sage. As Robert Rauschenberg was breaking the ground in painting so John Cage was producing his wake up calls in music that bore no resemblance to the conventions of the past.
Influenced profoundly by Zen Buddhism John Cage produced these lectures and talks over many years and delivered them in much the same way as they are produced in the book, stage managed sometimes to the second and as will be seen sometimes with long pauses and various other tongue in cheek approaches. His talks in the book are interspersed with amusing anecdotes from his life.
The book in so many ways reflects the man as he was, a reluctance to impose views, a highly original and exploratory nature that went into the depths of life, of music, of art and of spiritual development.
It is one of the great delights of my life to have actually met this remarkable man and it would not be overstating the case to call him a sage. As Robert Rauschenberg was breaking the ground in painting so John Cage was producing his wake up calls in music that bore no resemblance to the conventions of the past.
Influenced profoundly by Zen Buddhism John Cage produced these lectures and talks over many years and delivered them in much the same way as they are produced in the book, stage managed sometimes to the second and as will be seen sometimes with long pauses and various other tongue in cheek approaches. His talks in the book are interspersed with amusing anecdotes from his life.
The book in so many ways reflects the man as he was, a reluctance to impose views, a highly original and exploratory nature that went into the depths of life, of music, of art and of spiritual development.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
First published in 1968, when I was nought but an
idealistic whippersnapper, John Cage's 'Silence', a
collection of his lectures and writings, has found its
way back once again into my hairy paws. The intervening
four-and-a-bit decades have done little to diminish its
many charms. (My first encounter with the book in the
local public library resulted in my renewing it repeatedly
for several months until I had absorbed and digested
almost every single word!)
Whether or not you have an appetite for Mr Cage's
uncompromising sonic contributions to the listening world
there is much, nonetheless, to be enjoyed within these pages.
His playful and mercurial nature is evident throughout.
Whether in dense, partly chance-determined, narrative
constructions such as the infuriatingly single-minded
'Composition As Process' and '45' For A Speaker'; or the
delighfully anecdotal stories organised into the temporal
structure of 'Indeterminancy' ( A work he also recorded with
his friend the pianist David Tudor and available on the
Smithsonian Folkways label) his vision is never less than clear.
His thoughts on the development of "experimental" music in the
US, as a challenge to Europe's Second Viennese School legacy
are as refreshingly confrontational as they are enlightening!
A highly stimulating read for anyone with an open mind and ears.
Highly Recommended.
idealistic whippersnapper, John Cage's 'Silence', a
collection of his lectures and writings, has found its
way back once again into my hairy paws. The intervening
four-and-a-bit decades have done little to diminish its
many charms. (My first encounter with the book in the
local public library resulted in my renewing it repeatedly
for several months until I had absorbed and digested
almost every single word!)
Whether or not you have an appetite for Mr Cage's
uncompromising sonic contributions to the listening world
there is much, nonetheless, to be enjoyed within these pages.
His playful and mercurial nature is evident throughout.
Whether in dense, partly chance-determined, narrative
constructions such as the infuriatingly single-minded
'Composition As Process' and '45' For A Speaker'; or the
delighfully anecdotal stories organised into the temporal
structure of 'Indeterminancy' ( A work he also recorded with
his friend the pianist David Tudor and available on the
Smithsonian Folkways label) his vision is never less than clear.
His thoughts on the development of "experimental" music in the
US, as a challenge to Europe's Second Viennese School legacy
are as refreshingly confrontational as they are enlightening!
A highly stimulating read for anyone with an open mind and ears.
Highly Recommended.
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