finetune artist: John Cage

b. 5 September 1912, Los Angeles, California, USA, d. 12 August 1992, New York City, New York, USA. Renowned as an avant garde classical composer and experimental musician, Cage was also a poet, teacher, writer, commercial artist and lecturer. After studying with Arnold Schoenberg and Adolph Weiss in the 30s, he moved on to his own compositions, heavily influenced by the work of Edgar Varse. By his 20s he was a leading exponent of the musique concrte movement that combined electronics with traditional sounds and eventually led to the development of the synthesizer. His "utilized sounds" included doors slamming, pouring water and radio static and he is credited with the invention of the prepared piano technique, wherein the piano has everyday objects lodged inside the instrument in order to produce unusual sounds when played. He studied Zen Buddhism in the Far East during the 50s and used the principles of the I Ching (Book Of Changes) to develop his own brand of experimental music. Far and away his most famous piece of music is "4'33'", which consists of complete silence (barring natural environmental sounds). The performer, usually a pianist, is expected to show the audience which of the piece's four movements he is "performing" by the use of his fingers, as if a composer. Cage encouraged performers to add their own artistic input to the composition. He remained one of the biggest influences on many of the electronic and industrial exponents of the 70s and 80s, from the Grateful Dead through to the Pet Shop Boys.

Listen to John Cage at Finetune.

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