4′33″
E508599
4′33″ is John Cage’s landmark experimental composition in which performers remain silent for four minutes and thirty-three seconds, focusing attention on ambient sounds as the music.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
conceptual artwork
ⓘ
experimental music composition ⓘ musical composition ⓘ |
| alternativeTitle | Four Minutes, Thirty-Three Seconds NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| artisticGoal | draw attention to the sounds of the environment as music ⓘ |
| associatedMovement |
avant-garde music
ⓘ
conceptual art ⓘ experimental music ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
chance operations
ⓘ
indeterminacy in music ⓘ silence in music ⓘ |
| composer | John Cage NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| controversy | challenged traditional definitions of music ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| dedicatedTo | David Tudor NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| duration | 4 minutes 33 seconds ⓘ |
| firstMovementDuration | 30 seconds ⓘ |
| focusesOn |
ambient sounds
ⓘ
environmental sounds ⓘ |
| hasMedium |
live performance
ⓘ
written musical score ⓘ |
| influenced |
conceptual music
ⓘ
minimalist music ⓘ performance art ⓘ sound art ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Marcel Duchamp’s readymades
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Robert Rauschenberg’s White Paintings NERFINISHED ⓘ Zen Buddhism NERFINISHED ⓘ environmental soundscapes ⓘ |
| keyIdea |
silence is never absolute
ⓘ
the frame of a performance can turn any sound into music ⓘ |
| languageOfScore | English ⓘ |
| movementCount | 3 ⓘ |
| notableFeature |
contains no intentional musical notes
ⓘ
redefines the concept of listening ⓘ treats all sounds as potential music ⓘ |
| notatedAs | TACET in each movement ⓘ |
| originalInstrumentation | any instrument or combination of instruments ⓘ |
| performanceInstruction | performers do not intentionally produce sounds ⓘ |
| premiereDate | 1952-08-29 ⓘ |
| premiereLocation | Maverick Concert Hall, Woodstock, New York, United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| premierePerformer | David Tudor NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| publisher | Edition Peters NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| secondMovementDuration | 2 minutes 23 seconds ⓘ |
| structure | three movements ⓘ |
| thirdMovementDuration | 1 minute 40 seconds ⓘ |
| title | 4′33″ NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| yearComposed | 1952 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.