Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage.

[matthieu saladin <>]

Dear all,

I am writing to you because I have a request. I am looking for the official english translation of 3 short sentences in John Cage, "For the birds. In Conversation with Daniel Charles". If someone has this book and can take time to check these sentences and send them to me, I would be very very grateful to you.

1) in the end of 5th interview:

« elle peut être jouée n’importe quand […] elle ne prend vie que lorsque vous la jouez. Et chaque fois que vous l’exécutez, c’est une expérience prodigieusement vivante ! » (French edition, p. 183-184, about 4'33'')

The translation would be something like that: "it can be played any time [...] and only comes to life when you play it. And every time you perform it, it's a prodigiously lively experience!"

2) in the very end of 5th interview:

« [...] qui consiste à refuser certaines expériences au nom d’un certain discours. Cela signifie simplement qu’on s’enferme dans un discours, pour ne pas aller au concert ou pour ne pas faire de peinture au sens classique ou au sens moderne » (French edition, p. 185, about conceptual art)

The translation would be something like that: "[...] consists of refusing certain experiences in the name of a certain discourse. This simply means that we lock ourselves into a discourse in order not to go to a concert or not to paint in the classic sense or modern sense."

3) In the 6th interview: 

« L’une des dernières œuvres qui me soient parvenues est un projet musical de Marcel Duchamp. Il m’a été donné par Teeny Duchamp et part de l’hypothèse d’un train de marchandises dont plusieurs wagons passent sous un tunnel ; le train ne reçoit pas de fret, ou de liquide, mais des notes. Cela permet une distribution de notes sur différentes octaves, et la production de gammes nouvelles de sons musicaux » (French edition, p. 195)

The translation would be something like that: "One of the last works to have arrived in my hands is a musical project by Marcel Duchamp. It was given to me by Teeny Duchamp, and it starts with the hypothesis of a goods train, with several of its wagon passing through a tunnel. The train receives never goods, nor liquids, but notes. This enables a distribution of notes on different octaves, and the production of new ranges of musical sounds."

Thank you for your help.

Kind regards,

Matthieu Saladin

Matthieu Saladin
Chercheur associé à l'IDEAT
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne/CNRS