Tuesday, April 01, 2014

A World-Famous Pianist Sits Down to Perform. What He Does Next Will Amaze You.

I was browsing YouTube the other day when I chanced upon this unforgettable performance by David Tudor:




In the 60-odd years since John Cage's 4'33" was (cough) written, the controversy has abated somewhat, although it remains a difficult and risky work to perform. What I always notice is that the beauty of 4'33" lies in its stillness, something that is too often forgotten in the conception of music as a marketable product.

Music comes out of stillness and silence.

Silence is the origin of music, its ground of being.












Happy April Fool's Day, everyone!






2 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:27 AM

    Amazing, my ass! This idiotic piece by a psuedo-intellectual non-musician is why classical music is dying.

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    Replies
    1. Might there have been some issues with David Tudor's reading of 4'33" that prompted this negative reaction? After all, he did play the piece without the irony that pervades many other interpretations.

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