Prompts

Summary

Here is the list of relevant examples I sent to composers, inviting them to contribute to the book. In doing interviews with some of them, I would start by citing some of the examples below.

The Courage of Composers

John Cage related how he had been encouraged to realize his idea for the silent piece 4ʹ33” by the empty paintings of Robert Rauschenberg:

I think I had already had such ideas as far as the fusing of life and art went and they came to me from my study of Zen Buddhism with Suzuki. I had also thought of the silent piece two years before I wrote it. And the reason I did not write it when I thought of it was because I was aware that many people would take it as a joke and not seriously.

That was why, when I saw the empty paintings of Rauschenberg, I was prepared to have, as it were, a partner in this serious departure from conventions. The French would call it démarche. In other words, I don't think I was influenced by him—I was encouraged in something that I was already convinced about individually.

In his autobiography Hallelujah Junction, John Adams relates: “John Cage was also instrumental in making me feel comfortable and in tune with new technology. His playful yet disciplined approach to objects of twentieth-century life like radios, loudspeakers, microphones, tape recorders, and even computers had for me the effect of empowerment. He gave me the courage to see technology as a fertile terrain for creativity.”

Goffredo Petrassi drew courage from the works of Bruno Maderna and Alberto Burri:

I first heard Maderna's music around 1957—I think, his style had matured by then and his personality had grown independent from Darmstadt. The encounter with Maderna's art helped me a great deal—it gave me courage to make a big leap forward. I was ready for it intuitively but lacked self-confidence.

A few years before, a painter had influenced me in a similar manner. I was insecure; I did not know how to master the serial technique. One day, I came face to face with pictures by Alberto Burri—I bought two on the spot.