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Courtesy C. F. Peters Corporation HPSCHD Bird Cage

John Cage (1912 - 1992) John Cage described himself as a musical inventor. He was the first to open music to the world of all sounds. He organized music by defining intervals of time into which any sounds or silences could be placed. These contents included percussion and electronic sounds, sounds of everyday life, noise, and silence. He wrote: "any sound may occur in any combination and in any continuity." In 1940, searching for a means to perform percussion music on a piano, Cage invented the prepared piano, best exemplified in his 'Sonatas and Interludes' (1948). His desire for sounds to be heard simply as sounds led to his use of chance procedures in composition. This represented a profoundly new aesthetic, which he described as a "psychological turning which leads to the world of nature, where, gradually or suddenly, one sees that humanity and nature, not separate, are in this world together; that nothing was lost when everything was given away." Cage predicted that composers would soon use electronic means to create sounds: "I believe that the use of noise to make music will continue and increase until we reach a music produced through the aid of electrical instruments which will make available for musical purposes any and all sounds that can be heard" (1937). He subsequently began to incorporate electronic instruments in his music. 'Imaginary Landscape #1' (1939), utilized variable-speed phonograph turntables. The use of oscillators and radios followed shortly thereafter. During the 1950s, in works such as 'Williams Mix' (1952), Cage began to splice together recorded sounds on tape, organized with chance procedures. His use of live electronics, in the 1960s, pointed to a new direction in electronic music. In 'Cartridge Music' (1960), Cage amplified very quiet sounds. Many of Cage's works were created for live performance, often juxtaposing multiple unsynchronized events, elements of which were prerecorded on tape. 'HPSCHD' (1969) and 'Roaratorio' (1979), are examples. His multimedia works, such as 'Variations IV' (1964) expanded upon the use of electronics. John Cage conceived of music making in an all encompassing way. Few have influenced musical and cultural thought in the 20th century as did John Cage.

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