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Nothing: John Cage and 4'33''
Nicholas Day
Item #:
9780823454099
Price:
$18.99
One night in 1952, master pianist David Tudor took the stage
in a barnlike concert hall called the Maverick. A packed
audience waited with bated breath for him to start playing.
Little did they know that the performance had already begun.
A rain patters.
A tree rustles.
An audience stirs.
David was performing John Cage’s 4’33”, whose purpose is to
amplify the ambient sounds of whatever venue it inhabits. That
shocking first performance earned 4’33” plenty of haters; and
yet the piece endures, “performed” by the smallest garage
bands and the grandest symphonies alike, year after year. Its
fans hear what John Cage hoped we would hear: “Nothing” is
never silent, and you don’t need a creative genius, a concert
hall, or even a piano to hear something worthwhile. All you
have to do is stop and listen.
Nicholas Day’s text is reverent with a healthy drop of humor,
and is perfectly matched by Chris Raschka’s
pencil-on-watercolor illustrations. Together they capture the
visionary
spirit of
the work that they describe. Guaranteed to spark generative
thought and lively
debate among readers of all ages, Nothing is not to be
missed.
Book, 40 pages.
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