John Cage: Composed in America
The late John Cage began his career in the late 1930s as an experimental composer whose prepared piano and percussion works established him as a master of rhythm and sonority. After 1950, his music became ever more conceptually daring, including individual pieces ranging from the notorious, silent piano composition, 4:33, to works created by using star charts, street maps, and theI Ching as compositional tools. His writings became popular enough that he is today recognized as a great experimental writer. His collaborations with choreographer Merce Cunningham helped establish a new style of ballet. Through such work, he became crucial in the international avant-garde and influenced several generations of composers, writers, and artists. This volume's contents, derived from presentations made at a Stanford conference held shortly before Cage's death in 1992, pay tribute to Cage the "polyartist." They include Cage's last major writing, "Overpopulation and Art," and 10 essays by well-regarded humanities scholars.John Shreffler--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.