If this old curmudgeon may quote the rather prosaic W. S. Gilbert (Patience).
"If you're anxious for to shine/in the high aesthetic line/as a man of culture rare, You must get up all the germs, of the transcendental terms/ and plant them everywhere. You must lie upon the daisies and discourse in novel phrases of your complicated state of mind, The meaning doesn't matter if it's only idle chatter of a transcendental kind. And everyone will say, as you walk your mystic way, 'If this young man expresses himself in terms too deep for me, Why, what a very singularly deep young man this deep young man must be' " Best, Jon ----- Original Message ----- From: "MWWilson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "lute list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, December 19, 2003 10:59 PM Subject: Re: John Cage > Tom, > > You are well informed on aspects of Cage's life and music and deliver your > thoughts with eloquence. Thank you. > > Cage questioned everything musical and, from what I understand, felt in no > way compelled to follow convention. > Like his music or not (I like much of it - am still struggling to understand > some), his innovation did influence musical thought for some years. I > agree, Oliver Messiaen (another of my favorites), Boulez, Alban Berg and > other 20th century greats do indeed owe him a debt. Cage was a pioneer. > He constantly challenged boundaries and somehow made it okay for others to > take their music where it may not have otherwise gone. Cage was passionate > about the use of "chance" in his works ... maybe that was his convention. > > In May of 1973, I was fortunate to be able to spend a day with John Cage > hunting morel mushrooms (one of his favorite endeavors in later years) in > the north Michigan woods. He had agreed to visit the composition class at a > small music school in northern Michigan I was attending at the time. > Strangely enough, most of our conversation was about non-musical > subjects.... rather, I should say, "non-compositional". I think the woods > had a profound effect on him. That of course, was 30 years ago and memory > fades but, to this day, I'm struck by both the quiet intensity of his > persona- and his love and reverence for all life. That was the only time > only time I met John Cage. . > > I, for one, see no duality in your love of things serial and your interest > in the lute. My musical interests float between early music, what we called > "avante garde" 20th century , and serial music. I might leave one genre for > a while, but I always come back. > > John Cage's music on the lute...... why not? > > Best wishes, > > Mike > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, December 19, 2003 6:38 PM > Subject: John Cage > > > > Though I was never, even in my most radical student days, an admirer of > > Cage's music, his influence has been enormous. The music I always found > profoundly > > dull, the notorious 4' 33" silly (though it must be one of the first > pieces of > > concept art in modern times (pace Duchamps et al). But questions like his > > 'Why is a Beethoven symphony more interesting than a cow bell?' is much > less easy > > to answer than might at first seem. One usually ends up arguing in > circles, > > 'Beethoven is better than a cow bell because Beethoven us better than a > cow > > bell'. And the concept of silence or the effects of extraneous noise not > only in > > the world in the world around us, but also in music itself, is something > that, > > as Howard pointed out, often overlooked. As regards silence, Webern made > its > > dramatic effect clearer than ever before, and I find it difficult to > imagine a > > time when I didn't hear, say, the beginning of the 'Eroica' without taking > > into account the effect of the pauses (there are, of course, countless > other > > examples of the structural significance of silence in classical music). > > > > Cage knew what he was doing, and why. Of course he was an iconoclast, but > a > > fascinating one, like so many intelligent Americans. We Europeans tend to > look > > at our heritage in an incestuous way, while the Americans see it from the > > outside, and ask, perfectly sensibly, 'Why all the fuss?' I first came > across this > > as a post-grad in Oxford in the 1960s, where many of my best friends were > > Americans. Initially one was shocked by their questions, but very soon saw > that > > they were in reality questioning not the 'thing in itself', but our > European > > attitude towards it, encrusted with devotion, history, reverence because > it was > > 'old', and convinced it was 'great' because we had been told by the > powers > > that be that it was. Their attitude was, 'What does it mean to ME?', and > not > > what the establishment intend it to mean to me. It was intensely > refreshing, and > > has certainly left its mark on me for life. 'Go your own way', was the > > message, 'Do your own thing, and if the toffs don't like it, well, hard > luck on the > > toffs!' > > > > There is lot to be said for that. Friends think it odd that a lover of > serial > > music like me should take up the lute, but, following the lesson my > American > > friends taught me, I've always gone my own way, and am glad I've done so. > John > > Cage is part of that way of thinking. He questioned the basis of European > > music, above all its love of itself, and that was a great moment in the > recent > > history of the art. Boulez, Messiaen and others owe a huge debt to him, > for he > > helped return sound to the world of sound, and it no longer was there > merely to > > portray things, landscapes, feelings, etc., but simply to be sound for its > > own wonderful sake. Mallarme, did much the same for poetry. But as I say, > I > > never liked Cage as a musician. But as a pointer and prophet, he was > peerless. > > Cheers > > > > Tom > > > > -- > > > >
