Organ playing 639-year-long piece changes chord
bbc.com
bbc.com
This is even better played back from a digital recording. You need those gold audio cables to truly appreciate the silence.
I personally learned about 4'33" in a music class, where it was performed live -- basically it was 4'33" of ambient noise, but there was a lot of tension if you didn't know what to expect. During the final exam for the class, the professor would play some recording and we were supposed to identify the music, and all of us would start writing "John Cage's 4 minutes 33 seconds" when the professor was too slow to start the next song.
There was also an incident where apparently Mike Batt copied 4'33" and named his song "A One Minute Silence", which resulted in an 6-figure court settlement[1], although later news said it was just £1000[2]. I also heard a version of the story that they didn't settle at all, because John Cage's publishers couldn't prove which minute out of the 4'33" was copied.
[1] https://edition.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/23/uk.silence/
By the way I love 4’33” and don’t denigrate it - the way Cage executed the idea is flawless - which is one of the reasons it’s so timeless. I just don’t think it’s something you can copyright. And indeed, the stories you linked indicate that, though rather than point out the ridiculousness of the situation they simply used it as a money and publicity making opportunity.
Your performance in your location will have a different ambient near-silence, than mine, or any other performance and circumstance. Since the near-silence is the point of the piece, we have different expressions....?
This seems wrong on its face; If I steal the chorus out of a song where it's repeated multiple times and release it as my own, the artist might not be able to prove which instance of the chorus I used.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.01106 ("Long-term evolution of the Galilean satellites: the capture of Callisto into resonance")
via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galilean_moons#Origin_and_evol...
It's definitely Art, in that it is making a statement, provoking a response, etc. But, it's just a nearly continuous sound, except for the pitch change every few years.
It's a Sound, but it's not Music.
If you were to argue that it is Music, I would ask, "Which part of the piece is your favorite? Why do you prefer it to the other parts?" Trying to answer these questions with a straight face becomes difficult.
If this is Music, then is it possible to make an art installation which has making Sound as its primary focus, and have it not be Music?
Yes.
You really can't ever say what "the point" of art is. The point of art is that every piece has its own point, or none at all.
A little clickbaity. I could change chords on a million year long piece (that started 30 seconds ago).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo#Basic_tempo_markings
If you check the Wikipedia article for the piece itself[0], it explains:
> Musicians and philosophers discussed Cage's instruction to play "as slow as possible" at a conference in 1997, because a properly maintained pipe organ could sound indefinitely. The John Cage Organ Foundation Halberstadt decided to play the piece for 639 years, to mark the time between the first documented permanent organ installation in Halberstadt Cathedral, in 1361, and the originally proposed start date of 2000.
Clearly they're attention seekers—their rustling about in seats or asleep and snoring from boredom would be far more entertaining than the actual performance.
One has to wonder what kind of people are drawn to a musical event where if it were compared with say Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue BWV 582 then the latter's performance would be seen as a prestissimo running at relativistic speeds. Perhaps social scientists have insights into such strange behavior.
Of course, it's those who've booked tickets who are the center of attention here, such antics have always been expected of Cage.
I don't think everyone is being performative or doing it for attention (what attention)
Foolishness 1, Reason 0.
A variation on the Emperor's new clothes methinks.
What a character.
That's faster than some pop "music" acts change chords.
That's one way to launch an MVP!
A 'piece' is fundamentally something to be played, or something to be heard. This silly exercise violates both of those. It's not music, it's a stunt, that's clear.
Appeals to some folks' sense of wonder, I suppose.