Anarchic Societies of Sounds

ISBN-13: 9783639132090 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 280 str.

Rob Haskins

Opis

John Cage (1912--1992) is probably best known forworks that challenge the fundamental definition ofmusic---for example, his groundbreaking 433". In thelast six years of his life, however, Cage wrote 48compositions now known as the Number Pieces---works,usually scored for conventional Western instruments,that often contained precisely defined pitches. Eachperformer in one of these pieces performs his or hermusic in a strict order, but the actual start- andstop-times for each musical event vary because of Cages notational system called "time brackets." While the time-bracket system ensured that the total time for a performance would always remain the same, it allowed sufficient flexibility to the performers in the spirit of Cages indeterminate aesthetic---the brackets made the music became, in his words, "earthquake proof." This book offers anoverview of the series, an exploration ofsources and compositional process, an analyticaldiscussion of selected works, a contextual inquiry into the works with respect to Cages interests inAmerican anarchistic traditions, and a concludingdiscussion that considers aspects of reception andhistoriography.

O autorze

Rob Haskins is an assistant professor of music at the University
of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA. He holds a DMA in
harpsichord and PhD in musicology from the University of
Rochester Eastman School of Music. He specializes in scholarship
and performance of music after 1945, especially Cage and
minimalism.