4’ 33″

Listeners of this track fall into 3 basic camps: the confused, the intrigued and the annoyed. I have to say I am a synthesis of all three. John Cage’s 4’ 33″ is… well watch the video: (no cheating now, all of it)

So which deem are you?
In 4’ 33″ the performance is the sounds that would usually be drowned out in a normal piano recital. In this way, Field (background) becomes Figure (focus). If this seems confusing, check out this post for more information on the layering of sound.
I first heard of this piece a while ago and strangely, after discovering that the ‘ambience was the performance’ my first question was: would one turn off one’s phone in the auditorium? I mean, that would add to the performance right? Personally, I haven’t forked out to go see a guy sit at a piano…yet, so I’m not sure of the protocol. But either way, you get a sense that something like this had to happen one day, and 4’ 33″ was it.
But enough cynicism, what are the audience there for? People usually pay for things that don’t usually take place, i.e. they pay for novelty. In today’s busy society, where even leisure is highly stimulating to the senses, is not sitting silently for 4 minutes and 33 seconds something noteworthy? It is an even greater deviation from some of our lifestyles than a roller-coaster ride would be. In this way it can be almost justified, even with no mention of abstract themes, in terms of a very novel leisure activity.

All third party images acquired royalty free from Graphicstock.com