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What Makes Perfect Lives a Radical Kind of Opera?
Exploring the Unique Structure of Robert Ashley’s Television Opera Robert Ashley’s Perfect Lives employs a deliberately unconventional narrative structure that significantly departs from traditional opera and typical linear storytelling. It is described as a “truly labyrinthine meta-work” and a “new approach to developing a long narrative structure.” Here are some key aspects of its structure: […] Continue Reading
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John Cage’s Radio Music (1956)
John Cage’s Radio Music, composed in 1956, is intended to be performed as a solo or ensemble piece for 1 to 8 performers, each using one radio. The piece has a specified duration of exactly six minutes. Radio Music was composed during a period when Cage heavily used chance operations, derived from the I Ching, […] Continue Reading
4 min read
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John Cage: 0’00” and the Performance of Silence
Contemporary artists have explored and reimagined 0′00″ in new contexts.Composed in 1962, 0′00″—also known as 4′33″ No. 2—is seen as a major turning point in Cage’s work. It represents a clear break from his earlier style and marks the beginning of a new direction in his approach to composition. The score for 0’00” is strikingly […] Continue Reading
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John Cage: Variations IV – Spatial Exploration
John Cage’s Variations IV, composed in 1963, is the fourth work in his series of eight Variations written between 1958 and 1967. It is considered the second part of a group of three works, preceded by Atlas Eclipticalis (1961–62) and followed by 0’00” (1962), also known as 4’33” No. 2. This sequence is aligned with […] Continue Reading
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John Cage: Atlas Eclipticalis – Compositional Method and Reception
John Cage’s Atlas Eclipticalis, composed in 1961–62, is an orchestral work that can also be performed by any ensemble, whether chamber or orchestral, and with any type and number of instruments. It is regarded as the first in a sequence of three works, followed by Variations IV (1963) and 0’00” (1962). HideKazu Yoshida’s interpretation of […] Continue Reading
4 min read
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Earle Brown’s Influences: Jazz to Abstract Expressionism
Composer Earle Brown wasn’t shaped by any one tradition. His musical identity was a vibrant mix of jazz roots, classical training, abstract art, and literary experimentation. Here’s how these influences helped define one of the most innovative voices in 20th-century music. Earle Brown’s Jazz Background Brown started as a trumpet player, deeply involved in jazz […] Continue Reading
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