In the New York Times article “Searching for Silence '' by Alex Ross analyzes John Cage's composition, “Silent Piece”. First introduced to fame on August 29th, 1952 David Tudor sat at a piano silently, displaying the piece “4’33” by John Cage.
First regarded as “absolutely ridiculous,[...] stupid, [and] a gimmick”, now John Cages composition “4’33” remains a historical avant-garde piece. The “radical” piece “4’33” strayed from traditional musical compositions and pushed the boundaries as to the “implication that maybe music could be an art form rather than a music form.” As both an musical composition and an abstract work of art, John Cage's “4’33” is an interpretation of how sporadic, randomly occurring sounds can be formulated into a musical composition shows that silence is a music in itself. Through the creation of “4’33” John Cage introduced a new form of abstraction among the music, the appreciation of silence, showing how readily music can be interpreted by listeners.
The main interpretation of John Cage's “4’33” is to inspire the listeners to appreciate the sounds of the natural environment surrounding us. The composition of “4’33” is made by the listeners through “enclosing environmental and unintended sounds in a moment of attention in order to open the mind to the fact that all sounds are music” further expanding the appreciation of silence. The unintended sounds of quietness is what brings an element of tranquility and leisure to John Cage's piece, “4’33” as the appreciation of the absence of noise is a melody of itself.
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