Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage.

[David P Miller <>]

Hi everyone  --

I couldn't pretend to add much if anything to the vast library already 
detailed in this thread (and in subsequent messages to date). I just also 
want to out in a plug for Composition in Retrospect. It actually came to 
mind for me first. I find it almost poignant in places, as by design it's 
a look back across a life.

The book M also played a big part for me in my formative college years. I 
knew Silence and A Year from Monday, but I was really ready in those years 
for Cage's language experiments in M, and what followed in Empty Words, X, 
and of course far beyond.

(I was also incredibly lucky to pick up a copy of Notations, at my 
university bookstore, when it was still in print!)


Best wishes,

David M.

On Sat, 25 Jun 2011, Rob Haskins wrote:

> Themes & Variations is included in the Exact Change edition of Composition in 
> Retrospect; so that work, fortunately, is still available.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 25, 2011, at 5:19 AM, Ralph Lichtensteiger 
> <>
>  wrote:
>
> > dear Jared,
> >
> > Here's my Cage-literature list, in anarchic order...
> > hope this will inspire you.
> >
> > By Cage:
> > M: Writings ???67??????72, 1973 by Wesleyan University Press ??? my favorite
> > X: writings '79-'82, 1983 by Wesleyan University Press
> > Empty Words: Writings '73-'78, 1979 by Wesleyan University Press
> > Silence: Lectures and Writings, Wesleyan; 1st edition (June 15, 1961) ??? 
> > essential
> > A Year from Monday: New Lectures and Writings, Wesleyan; 1st edition (May 15, 
> > 1967)
> > Themes and Variations, Station Hill Press (June 1982) ??? out of print, but 
> > this is a very interesting text
> > I-VI: MethodStructureInten... (Cage's Charles Eliot Norton Lectures), 
> > Wesleyan (October 15, 1997)
> > Composition In Retrospect, Exact Change (October 1, 2008)
> > FOR THE BIRDS, In Conversation with Daniel Charles. 239 pp. Boston: Marion 
> > Boyars ??? a brilliant discussion book
> > John Cage Book of Days 2011, The John Cage Trust; Egmt Min edition (July 31, 
> > 2010)
> > Anarchy: New York City-January 1998, Wesleyan; 1st Wesleyan ed edition (July 
> > 15, 2001)
> > Notations, Something Else Press; First Edition edition (1969) ??? out of 
> > print, a great book
> >
> > On Cage:
> > The Cambridge companion to John Cage By David Nicholls ??? one of the best 
> > resources about Cage
> > Joan Retallack, Musicage: Cage muses on Words-Art-Music, New England 1996 ??? 
> > discussions about art, aesthetics and concepts
> > Marjorie Perloff & Charles Junkerman, John Cage: Composed in America, Chicago 
> > 1994
> > James Pritchett, The Music of John Cage. Cambridge: Cambridge University 
> > Press, 1993
> > The Roaring Silence: John Cage: A Life by David Revill
> > The Boulez-Cage Correspondence [Paperback], Jean-Jacques Nattiez (Editor), 
> > Robert Samuels (Editor), Cambridge University Press (January 27, 1995) ??? 
> > important correspondence document
> >
> > Books and writers that influenced Cage:
> > Norman O. Brown, Love's Body. New York: Random House, 1966
> > Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro. (1927) Essays in Zen Buddhism. Series no. 1. London: 
> > Luzac. ??? essential
> > ?????????. (1933) Essays in Zen Buddhism. Series no. 2. London: Luzac.
> > ?????????. (1934) Essays in Zen Buddhism. Series no. 3. London: Luzac.
> > Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, The Transformation of Nature in Art, (Sterling 
> > Pub Private Ltd, 1996)
> > Journal by Henry David Thoreau ??? essential
> > The Portable Thoreau (Portable Library, Penguin Books, 698 pages) ??? 
> > essential
> > Ulysses by James Joyce ??? essential
> > Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
> >
> > and the writings of
> >
> > Gertrude Stein
> > Buckminster Fuller
> > Marshall McLuhan
> > Aristotle
> > Marcel Duchamp
> > Ezra Pound
> >
> > Best,
> > Ralph Li
> > http://lichtensteiger.net
> >
> > On Jun 24, 2011, at 3:30 AM, Jared Steward wrote:
> >
> > > Hi everyone,
> > >
> > > I thought I'd start with an introduction, since I've been a "lurker" on this for the 
> > > past year or so. First of all, I'm a little envious of those of you who knew Cage personally, 
> > > since I actually didn't learn about him until college in the early to mid 90s when it was too 
> > > late to meet him!  I'm a percussionist and hope to learn as much as I can about John Cage and his 
> > > circle of friends and associates. As part of that goal, I've started a web "museum" 
> > > called Cageum, where I'm putting YouTube clips, audio and other things I've found regarding the 
> > > subject. If you're interested, the link is below.
> > >
> > > The reason I really wanted to write, is because I'd like to expand my library regarding Cage and was 
> > > wondering what suggestions any of you might have as your top choice of books or recordings or videos. I 
> > > already have "Silence", Carolyn Brown's "Chance and Circumstance", Elliot Caplan's 
> > > "Cage/Cunningham" DVD and a few CDs. I've been thinking about getting Gann's book about 4'33'', 
> > > but what would you list as your top 5 or top 10 books/CDs, etc by or about Cage?
> > >
> > > Looking forward to your responses!
> > >
> > > Jared
> > >
> > > website: jared.stewardsweb.net
> > > twitter: twitter.com/jaredsteward
> > > blog: Cageum