The well-known work 4'33" by John Cage is, to this day, more often than not described as four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence.
The point of the piece is that it is not silence, but the establishment of a context for the perception, on the part of the listeners, of the sounds of the environment itself.
Audience reaction varies, but neither is it the response of the audience to the piece that is important, and one might rightly question the legitimacy of the performance if it is staged solely for purposes of condescension or to exasperate listeners.
Rightly understood, 4'33" is an awakening.
The point of the piece is that it is not silence, but the establishment of a context for the perception, on the part of the listeners, of the sounds of the environment itself.
Audience reaction varies, but neither is it the response of the audience to the piece that is important, and one might rightly question the legitimacy of the performance if it is staged solely for purposes of condescension or to exasperate listeners.
Rightly understood, 4'33" is an awakening.
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Comments opened Jan. 2016. All comments moderated, out of respect for the intelligence of the audience.