John Cage Day at John Cabot University
Rome, Via della Lungara, 233
April 13, 2012
Department of History and Humanities
JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY- 40th Anniversary Events
John Cabot University joins in worldwide celebrations of the John Cage Centenary
As one of the leading figures of the postwar avant garde, John Cage has had a greater impact on music in the 20th century than any other American composer. He was a pioneer in innovative techniques in alternative piano sound production, and explored aspects of silence through studies in Zen, Indian and Buddhist philosophies that led to the composition of his most famous work 4’33”. This composition can be played by any number of musicians on any instrument, where four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence constitute the essence of the piece. John Cage was also influenced by the ancient Chinese oracle text I Ching where images are selected at random by means of tossing yarrow sticks or coins. Randomness became for Cage a compositional technique where the performance of the musical composition was entirely subject to the laws of chance.
John Cabot University has the honor of welcoming the German violoncellist Ulrike Brand<http://www.ulrikebrand-cello.com/>, a collaborator of John Cage, who commissioned the work One12 for the Quaderni Perugini di Musica Contemporanea in 1992. Ulrike will present an introduction to John Cage followed by a concert for solo violoncello.
The main event of the John Cage Day will be an interactive workshop for students in the preparation and performance of John Cage’s Variations under the guidance of Ulrike Brand. The performance of this work involves complex spatial relationships between performers as specified by Cage’s instructions. Reading music or playing an instrument is not pre-requisites for the successful performance of this work.
John Cage Day Schedule:
10:00a.m. – 11:00a.m.: Lecture, Introduction to John Cage, his Life and Works.
11:00a.m.-12:00p.m.: Cello Concert
Variations IV
FOUR 6
ONE12
Etudes boreales for Cello
59 ½ – 57 ½ – 1’5 ½ – 1’14” for a string player
Silence, 4′ 33”
Ulrike Brand, Violoncello
1:00p.m.-4:00p.m.: Interactive Workshop with students in the preparation and performance of the John Cage Variations.