I found it interesting how John Cage said that all sounds were part of "4:33", including the people talking about how they didn't like the piece, voicing their distaste, and even the sound of people walking out. This means that in a way, they were walking out on themselves, and voicing their distaste about themselves too.
My issue with the piece is that although innovative and creative, writing the piece took no physical musical ability, in fact, with no musical training whatsoever, I could perform it. So while an interesting piece, it would be difficult to mention it in the same breath as Bethoven or Motzart. For me, it is hard to define the piece as music, and moreso a performance.
I also found the comparison to “ the emperor’s new clothes” interesting. Maybe I am a hater, but I certainly wouldn’t have given the piece a second thought if there was not a hype around it, not even to take time to talk about how much I disliked it. Interesting idea, but nothing world changing.
The article claims that an explanation for resistance to the piece is that people don’t like unfamiliar sounds. But ambient noise is probably the most familiar sound there is. And people go to concerts and performances to hear something outside the norm. I would be annoyed if I went to see a performance and had to listen to 4 and a half minutes of something I could hear anywhere.
Overall I think it was a brave idea, but not worth all the fuss.
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