Both Morton Feldman and John Cage at various times remembered fondly the long talks they had together during the 1950s, soon after they met. What did they talk about? One topic may have been a spiritual one: seeking something beyond their own sense of self in their work, something larger.
Some thoughts on Cage and Feldman and silencing self Read More »
I went to the Philadelphia Orchestra’s performance of Rite of Spring looking to recreate my youthful excitement about the work. Instead I found a circus.
Hearing Webern and Feldman next to each other is a real ear-opener. The other day I decided to explore this a little further. I listened to the Webern Symphony again, then to two Feldman pieces from the time of that famous concert walk-out: Projection 1 for cello (1950) and Structures for string quartet (1951).
Morton Feldman speaks with Webern Read More »
I’m playing Federico Mompou’s Musica callada (“Silent music”) these days. The music is beautiful and strange. I was attracted to this music by its title, which immediately put me in mind of Cage’s string quartet.
Mompou’s silent music Read More »
“John Cage was a composer: this is the premise from which everything in this book follows.” Twenty years ago I opened my book on the music of John Cage with this strong statement. There were field marks by which I identified Cage as a composer, and I learned them by studying “the other subject” of my book.
What is a composer? Who is she? Read More »
The bilingual (Portuguese/English) arts magazine Cine Qua Non has just published their John Cage tribute issue. It includes my essay on John Cage and silence.
John Cage on silence Read More »
I’ve said that I’m more a storyteller than a musicologist. I was reminded of this while reading Kay Larson’s new book “Where the heart beats”. Our tellings of the story of Cage’s spiritual journey aren’t that far apart.
I was contacted recently about a project to assemble a version of Cage’s ‘A dip in the lake’ in Potenza, Italy. They asked me if I would write a short text for the program book, and naturally I agreed.
A dip in the lake in Potenza Read More »
A good while back, I wrote about Morton Feldman’s Intermission 6. I’ve been playing it some more this month and just made a recording of it.
Morton Feldman: Intermission 6, again Read More »
The John Cage Trust has released an app for iOS and Android devices. It’s a demonstration of Cage’s prepared piano and ties into the recent recording of the Sonatas and interludes released by the Trust. I found it to be the perfect audiovisual aid for a recent class on the Cage string quartet.
Prepared piano app Read More »
