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no pudding

🔗Will Grant <wgrant@...>

12/14/1996 8:18:04 PM
I've left a couple of Cage performances because I was
bored. That does _NOT_ mean I think Cage is boring.
It means the performances in question were boring to
me. Cage is all about communication. Often,
communication is the _ONLY_ thing that exists in his
work. When performing "Silence," for example, the
mentality and concentration of the performer make a
difference between an audience finding it intriguing or
stupid.

Jonathan said:

<<
One of the key tenets of improvisation ... would seem
to be that the players actually *listen* to each
other.... [M]ost of the playing could ... have been these
same people at home, alone in their rooms.... No flow,
no interaction, no marvelous concordances (or
discords) - just someone meditatively whonking and
stroking a big hunk of metal, accompanied by a
gradually evolving sound-field. A thought: John Cage
might have been proud.
>>

This seems harsh to Cage, who would probably have
been bored, too, if you were. I think he liked pudding
just as much as the next guy.

But I agree with what Jonathan seems to be saying:
There's no point to a concert if there's no pudding.

Will



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