Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage.

[Joseph Zitt <>]

Here's an interesting anecdote, from page 77 of "Deep Listening: A Composer's Sound Practice" by Pauline Oliveros:

When John Cage went into this room [an anechoic chamber] he heard a high sound, and a low sound. And the story went that the high sound was the sound of his nervous system and the low sound was the sound of his blood going though his veins. Well -- that's the story. However, there is more to that story that is not generally known. John Cage died of a massive stroke just before his 80th birthday. A physician has said that you wouldn't hear blood pressure the way John described it. There was plaque in the arteries building up and that if someone had taken heed of what he had said, they would have known it was building toward a stroke. That was one thing. The other -- the nervous system does not make a twang that you can hear like that either -- it was also part of the condition that led to John Cage's stroke.So that is another part of the story that hasn't been told.

On Wed, Jul 20, 2016 at 10:31 AM, Richard Leigh <> wrote:

Can anyone help me with two questions?

1. Has anyone checked whether the explanation given to Cage of his experience in the anechoic chamber was accurate? Whenever I read the anecdote (frequently!) there's no discussion of this point, as if the scientist MUST be right.

2. Is there a list of the interviews Cage gave?

Many thanks

Richard Leigh

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Joseph Zitt :: http://www.josephzitt.com

"Write what you dream. Shoot what you can. Edit what you have." -- Unknown