California native John Cage (1912-1992) pushed the boundaries of what was considered music throughout his distinguished career. Among his most iconic creations was 1952’s 4’33”, presented here in its version for band:
It also exists in versions for orchestra (with soloist):
Choir:
Piano:
And Death Metal combo:
To name a few. Read more about it here.
This was originally (2014) an April Fools post. But in 2020, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, this piece took on an extra poignancy. With concerts cancelled everywhere, I teamed up with the Hartwick Wind Ensemble to present a semi-synchronous performance of this piece. Each performer recorded their own 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence on (or around) 8pm on April 20, the day we were supposed to perform at Carnegie Hall. We put these together, thus creating a hybrid soundscape that represented the sonic environment of each of our members. It allowed us to celebrate our connection and perform together even when we were impossibly far apart. Here is how it came out: