Four minutes, thirty-three seconds sound of silence. It is a three-movement composition written by Cage in 1952, where the performer is not to play the instrument during the entire duration of the piece throughout the three movements. This piece was included in "The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century".
In later years, this piece became the most famous composition of Cage and he also regarded it as his most important work. 4′33" also became controversial and a subject of discussions. It is an outstanding piece to some, others find it boring, absurd, and so on.
Music is built from the beauty of silence and from the sensitive art of listening of the environment. It is a personal experience where the audience becomes the performer and true appreciation relies on each person. Because of its unconventional nature, it draws a lot of attention in the music history.
On January 16, 2004 a concert tribute to John Cage was held at the Barbican Centre in London.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra gave the UK’s first orchestral performance of the piece broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
A poem about the beauty of silence written by the author published in Authspot, 25 November 2009
In silence
Body reconnects to soul
Mind and hearts meet
In the middle of a crowd
A defeaning silence
Darkness…
Confinements…
In silence
No confinements…
No boundaries…
Only hope, beauty, and profoundness
In silence I am alone…
I am free.
