Reading Blog #2

This article was incredibly interesting. It gave a more in depth look at John Cage and his impact on music and art as a whole. A defining aspect of Cage's work was his use of silence and environmental sounds. In 1952, he created his famous composition "4'33"", in which a performer sits at a piano for four minutes and thirty-three seconds without playing a single note. The piece is meant to highlight the ambient sounds of the environment, forcing the audience to listen to the world around them. Cage believed music is everything, including nothing. Cage was also an advocate for electronic music, and worked with engineers to create new technology that would expand the possibilities of sound manipulation. His 1958 piece "Fontana Mix" was one of the first compositions to incorporate electronic sounds, and he continued to experiment with new technology throughout his career. Cage's impact on music extended beyond his own compositions, as he was also a prolific writer and educator. He taught at several universities and wrote numerous books on music theory and composition, influencing generations of students and musicians. Cage first began experimenting with prepared piano in the 1940s, and went on to create several works in this style. One of his most famous prepared piano pieces is "Sonatas and Interludes," composed in 1946-1948. The piece consists of sixteen movements, each featuring a different prepared piano.