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Listening report Sebastian Ermer John Cage´s 4´33´´

 

John Cage´s piece 4´33´´ is certainly special in many ways. While it might at first appear as an almost comedic performance, the piece is in no way a joke. It is truly individual; no performance is ever the same. Additionally, it differentiates itself from classical orchestral pieces by shifting the focus from the orchestra to the audience. In a sense one could argue that the audience itself becomes the orchestra performing the piece.

I personally watched multiple live recordings of 4´33´´ and staying true to its concept, every single one was unique. What I personally found really interesting is how the piece plays with the concept of silence. Technically speaking, silence is the absence of sound, meaning that there is quite literally no sound being produced at all. Now a casual bystander might call the product of 4´33´´ silence, after all the orchestra is not playing anything. Yet the result is in no way silence, after all sound is still being created just the source has changed. Instead of the orchestra, the audience is now the one performing the piece. Even though the audience is mostly unaware of this fact, every sound produced by an audience member is now part of a bigger symphony. This is what make the piece truly unique, after all the only reoccurring piece in every performance is Cage himself, who doesn´t directly contribute.

Which each change of audience the piece changes as well; the piece embodying the essence of change. In a sense, 4´33´´ shows how silence, as a concept, is often defined wrongly. What people recognize as silence in their daily life can never be “true” silence. There is never a complete absence of sound, after all even in completely soundproof room one would still be able to hear one´s own breath and heartbeat. In a philosophical sense, silence as a concept is something utterly foreign to the human existence and life as a whole. Silence can only exist in a space completely devoid a life, making it impossible for any living being to ever experience true silence.

John Cage simply shows us how that there is sound, even in what we might consider silence in our day-to-day life. He uses this background sound and turns it into a performance, something to be observed and cherished, yet also an aspect of our daily life we will never be able to escape. Who knows, maybe true silence can only be experiences once in every human´s life: In death.

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