perhaps they did, but if so they missed the point - which is that there is
never a silence there. There are always the sounds of the space & the audience
/ performer etc etc - which was the whole point of the piece. By the way Cage
more or less nicked the idea from Raymond Scott who decades before composed a
'silent' piece for big band that lasted 6.40mins & was played on radio (with no
metronome added).
--- In "Avocet" <> wrote:
>
> > 'silence' as Cage used it was a musical term, related to the use of
> > a space between gestures. It works in that sense but its interesting
> > to note that Cage never meant it to mean 'silent' - it was just an
> > instruction for the musicians or to frame a space.
>
> Jez,
>
> When the BBC first broadcast Cage's 4'33", they couldn't transmit
> "silence", so they added a metronome ticking.
>
> David
>
> David Brinicombe
> North Devon, UK
> Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
>
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