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From: amigo@iwpba.UUCP (amigo)
Newsgroups: net.music.classical
Subject: Re: John Cage
Message-ID: <143@iwpba.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 9-May-84 13:37:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: iwpba.143
Posted: Wed May  9 13:37:16 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 10-May-84 00:10:25 EDT
References: <247@uwvax.ARPA>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il
Lines: 37

I think that David Anderson sums up very well my main objection to
Cage (indeed, many 20th century composers--Schoenberg comes
immediately to mind) when he says:

>>	Listening to Cage (and practicing Zen) are very difficult
>>	and initially unrewarding activities.  I never got beyond
>>	this initial period, but there is evidence that other
>>	people have.

When I first started listening to Bach and Mozart, I did not know
what a fugue was, nor did the phrase "sonata form" have any meaning
to me, but there was something in the music which did appeal to my
undeveloped taste (I remember being captivated by JESU, JOY OF
MAN'S DESIRING at age 6).  I felt that there was something worth
listening to in these works, so I continued to do so.  I have never
had the same feeling with Cage et al., so I have never gotten
beyond the initial stage that David mentions, simply because I have
had such a hard time trying to get something out of the music.

I remember once listening to a programme of Schoenberg's music on
the CBC radio (they played PERRIOT LUNAIRE, which comes close to
being my all time least favourite piece, especially the section DER
KRANKER MOND, which always makes me feel nauseous), and the person 
introducing the pieces said that "Schoenberg has always had a high
regard among the musical cognoscenti, but has never achieved any
sort of popular following;" with an unspoken, but obvious, "and I've
always wondered why."  Well, I could have told him exactly why. 
During one piece (I forget which one) of serial music, I suddenly
had a flash of "He must have made a mistake, I could almost detect
a tune there for a few moments."

Well, I will break off now, and go and listen to Pachibel's D MINOR
CANON or Vivaldi's SPRING to soothe myself.

			John Hobson
			AT&T Bell Labs--Naperville, IL
			ihnp4!iwpba!amigo (NOTE TEMPORARY MACHINE)