John Cage, the Avant- Garde, & the Redefinition and Expansion of the Philosophy & Fabric of Music

John Cage is known to posterity as one of the most radical, yet influential composers of the twentieth century. This is no small feat as the 1900’s during his lifetime had already disclosed itself as a century littered with extreme musical changes and a burgeoning stylistic diversity by far unprecedented in the known history of Western music. This lecture will trace the life of John Cage and his philosophies, with emphasis given to his works and the nature of his music. It will also place his music in a comparative lens with some of his American and European contemporaries and predecessors of the Avant-garde, hopefully revealing Mr. Cage not purely an incongruous revolutionary figure but very much a product of his time. Moreover, it will also touch upon some of the successive composers upon whom Mr. Cage’s influence proved greatest.