Silence is Golden

[HansV]

A campaign has been launched on Facebook to make the John Cage composition 4'33", which consists of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence, the top UK Christmas hit this year

See Will Silence be Golden?

[VegasNath]

I'm speechless.

[BobH]

Too atonal for my tastes.

[HansV]

But there are no dissonants...

[BobH]

Tempo is pretty boring, too!

[Don Wells]

A campaign has been launched on Facebook to make the John Cage composition 4'33", which consists of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence, the top UK Christmas hit this year

See Will Silence be Golden?

You young cats don't know what you're missing. At the touch of a button, I can mute both of my hearing aids. Silence is truly wonderful.

[wasbit]

It should of course accompany another of John Cage's work entitled As Slow as Possible
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/2728595.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Even more bizarrely, back in 2002 Mike Batt paid a six-figure sum to settle a dispute over who owns the copyright.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/2276621.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is a Facebook page (shudder) dedicated to silent music
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Silent-Mu ... 1085266688" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards
wasbit

[StuartR]

Don't mock till you've tried it.

If you had ever been to a performance of this piece you would appreciate that a concert hall is NEVER silent. Every performance is different, as you listen to the tiny noises that permeate the space. The tension is incredible.

[stuck]

Is this piece written for full orchestra or a solo instrument? If the latter, which instrument? If the former has anyone every arranged just the melody for a solo instrument?



Ken

[HansV]

If you search YouTube, you will find arrangements for solo piano as well as for a full symphony orchestra. No doubt a skillful arranger could adapt the piece for other instruments or ensembles.

(I won't post links because many of the YouTube pages contain questionable comments - browse at your own risk)

[stuck]

If you search YouTube, you will find arrangements for solo piano as well as for a full symphony orchestra

Ken

[HansV]

John Cage's silent composition didn't make it - the X Factor has won: X Factor Beats Cage Against The Machine - 20 Dec 2010.

[Claude]

We've had that hear last year