“To what end does one write music?” For a composer like John Cage, this was not just a question about the meaning of his work, it was a question about the meaning of his life. It is not surprising, then, that Cage would turn to sources that combined the artistic and the religious to seek out answers.
2 — The purpose of music Read More »
John Cage’s “A composer’s confessions” tells the story of his professional ambition, its failed realization, and the resulting disappointment and self-doubt. Disillusioned in New York, he turned away from the world, looked inward, and began a search for meaning.
1 — Confessions (1948) Read More »
Introduction to a series of posts on John Cage’s musical and spiritual path of the 1940s and early 1950s. To understand his taking up of chance in 1951, you have to understand this journey, and to fully understand the journey, you must be able to see it as a journey into both musical silence and inner silence.
Introduction — The still point (1951) Read More »
I just finished my latest project, which has been occupying me since January: the text for a new piece by Frances called “The third night”. It’s been an adventure and a discovery, my first text written specifically for video.
Site-specific writing Read More »
I’ve posted another piece of “non-non-fiction” here: As night falls, which is a kind of sequel to my earlier The old rose reader. Frances has composed a new work using this text and it will be premiered in Seattle later this month. For those not familiar with The old rose reader, here’s the story of that work, and then the story of how As night falls came about.
A sequel to “The old rose reader” Read More »
I’ve been thinking about David Tudor and John Cage a good deal lately, following some hunches to develop what I think is a useful way of looking at their history in the 1960s. I don’t know that I’m completely convinced of my story line here, but it’s intriguing.
The unclear boundary between David Tudor and John Cage Read More »
I don’t usually talk or write much about my non-musical writing. One reason for this is that I don’t really know what I’m doing when I write what I call “non-nonfiction” (is it fiction? poetry? I have no idea). That world has become more important to me over the past few years, however, and thought I’d say a little bit about it and about a new piece titled “From a fairy tale.”
Lost in a fairy tale Read More »
This week’s mail brought the new recording of John Cage’s “The ten thousand things” from MicroFest Records, and a beautiful thing it is.
“The ten thousand things” fulfilled Read More »
A passage from Beethoven’s Op. 90 reminds me of Morton Feldman: it makes me aware of two different worlds that a piece of music can reveal to us.
Morton Feldman speaks with Beethoven, again Read More »
It is becoming my summer tradition to learn something fun at the piano. Last summer, it was the Chopin Barcarolle; this summer, it was Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse.
Summer on L’isle joyeuse Read More »
