John Cage: Sixteen Dances (1951): Tranquility

Ensemble Modern, Ingo Metzmacher.

Last piece in a transitional work from 1951. Composed concurrently with the Concerto for Prepared Piano, it uses the same method of composition, applying various elements from a fixed gamut of chord aggregates (moves determined by chance procedures, as in the 3rd movement of the Concerto) which gradually changes over the course of the sixteen pieces. The titles (and moods) reflect the nine permanent emotions of Indian aesthetic thought, with seven interspersed interludes.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• cage
• dances
• merce
• cunningham
• ensemble
• modern
• zen
• tranquility
• coomaraswamy
• 20th-century
• avant-garde

[Minasval]

Oh, I can see where LucasArts logo originated ;)

[rcoldman]

Cage was a supremely modest genius and the best kind of mystic. He taught us how to stop the world by listening to it.

[samsun216]

By intended sounds I mean: the sounds that are made to be exibitoned. U shouldn't forget the artistic orthodoxy and dogmatism of its period before cursing about it. And I beg you not to compare Andy Warhol and his commercial junk with Cage and his work. I agree you with all those pretentious and romantic comments on Cage or any other contemporary work. But I also believe that you hve some misjudgements about it causd by all those hypocrite 'arties'. Just belive me it's not Cage who's pretentious

[intervalkid]

@samsun216

As for the response to convention: I'd rather see dotted sixteenth note rests and quarter triplets on the upbeat of one than scribbles or blank scores. I am not denouncing the quality of some of the scribblers work, but it is disconcerting to see it and know that the musicians played the scribbles but won't look at dotted sixteenth note rests or quarter triplets on the upbeat of one without cringing or outright refusing to play them. Seems like a skip of reason to me.

[intervalkid]

@samsun216

Nonetheless; I find it pretensious that Cage would propose a piece to "offer ...a chance to experience the soundscape other than the inteded ones" (what intended ones btw), since, me being a conscious and sentient being, I have experienced many soundscapes during my life, to treat people as if they were born yesterday and need to be shown the mundane as if it were art is farce in my opinion and much, as I said already, like Andy Worhols soupcans. It's insulting.

[samsun216]

@intervalkid As for the 4'33''; it's absolutely not about shocking people with an ensemble that doesn't make any sound, unlike the expectation but to offer you a chance to experience the soundscape other than the intended ones. Of course there is also a revolt against the existing musical convention but it's only a drop in the ocean even though it's the most emphasized concept just the way it is done in the BBCSO performance. It's only the dramatic aspect of the work.

[samsun216]

@intervalkid What I mean is; of course there is an explicable concept behind nearly all of Cage's music. But not he uses music to transmit these concepts but he uses concepts to compose music. If you don't like It, like any other music it's whether not the right time or it' not just for you. But try not to ignore it just because that you don't like the idea behind it.

[intervalkid]

@samsun216

That's the thing: I was just listening. To say "instead of looking for a solid concept in it" is dishonest since the only concept in question was the "silent symphony" which is entirely based off of concept.

[samsun216]

@intervalkid I believe you should listen to it instead of looking for a solid concept in it. And ''the symphony that plays nothing'' is only BBC's extravagant interpretation. In 4'33'' i there are no specific instruments indicated. Although ''supremely modest'' is a terribly romantic expression. I can agree on that.

[intervalkid]

Well Cage did some intersting things with sounds. Yet I hate his silent symphony stuff. It reminds me of Andy Worhols soup cans. Just pretentious. As far as being "a supremely modect genius" I'd say that's BS. Nothing modest about getting a symphony together to sit there and play nothing as if you are so much more intelligent and perceptive that noone else ever pondered silence. To say best kind of mystic is absurd. What of Francis of Assisi or Paul of Tarsus?