Dear Stewart;
Obviously, Cage is not for everyone. I take it you don't like his
approach to music. It strikes me that by continuing this discussion,
and, in light of Dr. Oakroot's observations, we may be extending
Cage's compostion beyond its allotted 4':33". There are those who do
appreciate Cage's music, and since no one has been able
to satisfactorily define what art is, I feel it may be somewhat hasty
to assert that they are being duped.
Best
Wishes,
Gary
Digman
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stewart McCoy"
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 22:25:30 -0000
To: "Lute Net"
Subject: John Cage on Lute
> Dear Doctor Oakroot,
>
> To say that someone is missing the point pre-supposes that there is
> a point in the first place. There is no point in a
> pseudo-performance, where an audience is conned into listening to
> nothing. There may be some clever idea behind it all to justify the
> unjustifiable, but four and half minutes of silence is not music. It
> is not art. It is neither beautiful nor uplifting. It has no virtue.
> It has no meaning. It is utterly worthless. By purporting to be
> music, it is a lie - a shameful con - an insult to the intelligence
> and sensitivity of the audience. In fact the audience is put in a
> no-win situation: either they look stupid by accepting that the
> performance has merit; or they are made to look stupid, because,
> when they reject the charade for the meaningless poppycock that it
> is, they are told that they miss the point, or they lack a sense of
> humour. One is reminded of the story of the Emperor's new clothes,
> where a little boy - the only person with a modicum of common
> sense - unmasks the charlatans for what they are.
>
> What irritates me about the purveyors of such tosh is their tacit
> assumption that we should take any of it at all seriously. I have
> h ad the misfortune to witness one of these ridiculous so-called
> performances some years ago on an early music course. One of the
> tutors, an excellent recorder player, took his turn on stage, but
> instead of playing music like everyone else, he pranced about
> pretending to play. It was not funny. He looked a fool, and I felt
> cheated. If I'd known he wasn't going to play anything, I'd have
> gone to the pub instead. Instead I wasted my time. Who knows? I may
> have missed some subtle, questioning-the-existence-of-it-all point,
> but I certainly missed a good pint.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Stewart.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Doctor Oakroot"
> To:
> Sent: Friday, December 19, 2003 4:58 PM
> Subject: [Fwd: Re: John Cage on Lute]
>
> > Someone's missing the point :)
> >
> > The point of 4'33" is what happens in the room when the audience
> is
> > exposed to it - it's music as performance art (but before anyone
> had
> > conceived of performance art).
> >
> > Like performance art, a sense of humor is required.
> >
> > The resulting art is at least as musical as, say, serialism.
> (Which I
> > mention because I've just been listening to a CD of my own
> serialist
> > compositions - didn't use any lutes, but I may next time.)
>
>
>
--
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