[silence] Young Cage

[David Badagnani]

Thank you, Stefano, for your always-interesting posts.  I would be interested to know if, like other West Coast composers Partch, Cowell, and Harrison, Cage attended the Chinese opera as a young person (I think that tradition, which these composers were able to hear due to living on the Pacific Rim, was an important formative influence on all three composers).

>From Cage's percussion and piano works of the 1940s it's clear that at least by that time he had been listening to Afro-Cuban music (clave-type patterns typical of Afro-Cuban music appear in so many of the piano, prepared piano, and percussion ensemble works) and jazz and blues (Credo in US).  Does anyone have any details on exactly how Cage came to be interested in these musics--specifically, did he attend concerts of such music, or just listen to it on recordings or radio?  My guess is that his exposure to Cuban music would have been through Cowell's close connections with Latin American composers including the Cubans Roldán and Caturla and many others, begun, I think, in the late 1920s.  He probably also heard some gamelan music from Cowell, with whom he studied beginning in 1933.

One doesn't see much discussion about this interesting period on this list, so if anyone knows more, it would be very interesting.
--
David Badagnani
Kent, Ohio
USA

--- On Wed, 2/18/09, Stefano Pocci <stefanodoug76@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Stefano Pocci <stefanodoug76@gmail.com>
Subject: [silence] Young Cage
To: "Silence" <silence@list.mail.virginia.edu>
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 2:50 PM

Hi there, sorry if this sounds a bit silly but I was wondering if there 
are any news available of John Cage's childhood....his first 20 years, 
let's say. I'd like to understand the birth of John's maverick spirit. 
The causes and the environment that produced such personality and ideas. 
Any clues? Books or links on the web I could have a glance at?

Thanks in advance

Stefano



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