Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Enlightenment Cage

John Cage versus George Gershwin

John Cage
John Cage

Let’s do a match in the World Cup of Composers.

The next match for the Americans is George Gershwin versus John Cage. I think we all know George Gershwin but John Cage is another story.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Cage is a philosopher and guru in the guise of a composer. Arnold Schoenberg, who was Cage’s composition teacher for two years, said that Cage was an inventor of genius. He said this because he didn’t believe Cage to be a composer at all.

John Cage’s compositions are more like pieces of installation art. He is best known for his composition 4’33”. During this piece, the musician sits at the piano silently for four minutes and 33 seconds.

The music is the sounds in the environment itself. The audience is to listen to their surroundings. It’s very Zen. Cage was also into the I Ching and used the ancient Chinese text as a tool for creating random music.

Cage claimed that music sounded like someone talking to him whereas the sound of traffic, for instance, gave him the feeling of sound acting. He claimed that he liked the activity of sound and didn’t need it to talk to him.

This is a highly evolved approach to sound. He went on to say that he doesn’t need a sound to be anything more than itself--that it doesn’t need to have any meaning. In other words, no sound is better than any other so the sound of traffic is of equal value to the sound of Beethoven or Mozart.

I understand what he is getting at. It is an idea from the Bhagavad Gita, those who see truly see a dirt clod, a rock, and a piece of gold as equal. When it comes down to it, value is created by perspective and we can control our perspective. The dirt is more valuable for growing crops, the rock more valuable for building and gold is never corrupted, except by mercury. All are equal.

For some reason I resist this idea when it comes to sounds.

Cage struggled as an artist for decades until he came to prominence in the 1960s. His popularity rested more on his lectures than on his compositions. He was so busy as a lecturer that he produced relatively little music during this period.

Since this is a composer competition and not an enlightenment competition, Gershwin will be the one going through to the next round.

I have to admit I like this music at home while reading but I can't imagine going for it in a concert format.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Steven Richter comes up with $1 million for Lincoln Club

Lincoln Club helps Larry Turner, hits Terra Lawson-Remer
Next Article

Larry Turner – the man who would be San Diego's mayor

Ex-Marine, cop answers the personal questions
John Cage
John Cage

Let’s do a match in the World Cup of Composers.

The next match for the Americans is George Gershwin versus John Cage. I think we all know George Gershwin but John Cage is another story.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Cage is a philosopher and guru in the guise of a composer. Arnold Schoenberg, who was Cage’s composition teacher for two years, said that Cage was an inventor of genius. He said this because he didn’t believe Cage to be a composer at all.

John Cage’s compositions are more like pieces of installation art. He is best known for his composition 4’33”. During this piece, the musician sits at the piano silently for four minutes and 33 seconds.

The music is the sounds in the environment itself. The audience is to listen to their surroundings. It’s very Zen. Cage was also into the I Ching and used the ancient Chinese text as a tool for creating random music.

Cage claimed that music sounded like someone talking to him whereas the sound of traffic, for instance, gave him the feeling of sound acting. He claimed that he liked the activity of sound and didn’t need it to talk to him.

This is a highly evolved approach to sound. He went on to say that he doesn’t need a sound to be anything more than itself--that it doesn’t need to have any meaning. In other words, no sound is better than any other so the sound of traffic is of equal value to the sound of Beethoven or Mozart.

I understand what he is getting at. It is an idea from the Bhagavad Gita, those who see truly see a dirt clod, a rock, and a piece of gold as equal. When it comes down to it, value is created by perspective and we can control our perspective. The dirt is more valuable for growing crops, the rock more valuable for building and gold is never corrupted, except by mercury. All are equal.

For some reason I resist this idea when it comes to sounds.

Cage struggled as an artist for decades until he came to prominence in the 1960s. His popularity rested more on his lectures than on his compositions. He was so busy as a lecturer that he produced relatively little music during this period.

Since this is a composer competition and not an enlightenment competition, Gershwin will be the one going through to the next round.

I have to admit I like this music at home while reading but I can't imagine going for it in a concert format.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Happy accidents on the Bob Ross soundtrack

Jason Lee and Dave Klein craft new sounds for a classic show
Next Article

Why Paul Mitchell the School San Diego is the Top Choice for Future Beauty Pros

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader