Either a philosophical attack, that true chance does not exist. In my view both of these miss the mark. Cage's personality is always readily evident, and you can you can always tell one of his pieces, from any of his eras. It is the tension between control and lack of control which is at the heart of Cage's music. The one thing that unifies all of Cage's works for me is the underlying calm.
Cage is at peace with the world.
This is true even in the cocophonous chance works. No matter how much banging, and things coming from no where, one senses an inner peace with the moment. The pregnancy of each moment, latent with desire. Back to top Back to Kandell's music pages.