Cage3: Cage Centennial Celebration   Tags: john cage, music  

John Cage (1912-1992)

John Cage (1912-1992) was one of the foremost pioneers of the 20th-century avant-garde. An iconoclast who described himself as having “no ear for music,” Cage rebelled against the very foundations of western art music: tonality, harmony, counterpoint. By freeing himself from nearly all of the constraints of traditional music, he was able to experiment with what he called the “organization of sound.” His innovations ranged from finding new ways to use established instruments, to utilizing non-traditional sound sources in his works, to leaving the elements of performance and even composition itself to chance.

Throughout his career as a composer, Cage continued to breach the traditional boundaries of the arts. His lectures, writings, and collaborations with talents such as pianist David Tudor, choreographer Merce Cunningham, and artist Robert Rauschenberg gifted him with international fame and long-lasting influence as one of the most prominent music personalities of the last century.

In celebration of the centennial of this truly remarkable icon of modern music, The Marta and Austin Weeks Music Library presents an dual physical/digital exhibit of scores, recordings, and other materials by and about John Cage. The physical exhibit may be viewed in the lobby and on the second floor of the Weeks Music Library.