Bio of John Cage Explores Zen Buddhist Influence
BOSTON GLOBE
By Ann Levin
‘‘Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists’’ (Penguin Press), by Kay Larson
In August 1952 in a barn-turned-concert-venue in Woodstock, N.Y., a man sat at a piano and studied a score. He opened and closed the keyboard lid three times — but didn’t play a sound. After 4 minutes and 33 seconds, the performer walked off the stage. Today many of us recognize the piece described above as 4'33’’ by legendary composer John Cage — now considered one of the major musical works of the 20th century. In a new biography of this pioneering artist, art critic Kay Larson links Cage’s daring presentation of ‘‘the sound of no sound’’ to his growing interest in Eastern religion, particularly Zen Buddhism, at a time of personal crisis in the 1940s and ‘50s. His religious studies were leading him to believe that the true purpose of music was to quiet the mind, as in Buddhist meditation, and awaken the heart to the glorious reality of the present. For much of his life, like a Zen disciple, Cage sought to make art that honored the transitory sounds and events of everyday life. [link]
By Ann Levin
In August 1952 in a barn-turned-concert-venue in Woodstock, N.Y., a man sat at a piano and studied a score. He opened and closed the keyboard lid three times — but didn’t play a sound. After 4 minutes and 33 seconds, the performer walked off the stage. Today many of us recognize the piece described above as 4'33’’ by legendary composer John Cage — now considered one of the major musical works of the 20th century. In a new biography of this pioneering artist, art critic Kay Larson links Cage’s daring presentation of ‘‘the sound of no sound’’ to his growing interest in Eastern religion, particularly Zen Buddhism, at a time of personal crisis in the 1940s and ‘50s. His religious studies were leading him to believe that the true purpose of music was to quiet the mind, as in Buddhist meditation, and awaken the heart to the glorious reality of the present. For much of his life, like a Zen disciple, Cage sought to make art that honored the transitory sounds and events of everyday life. [link]
Comments