The following link is to a recording of a staging of 4’33″ at the Barbican in 2004. It is interesting to note that because the audience is clearly familiar with the piece, they change it in quite a big way. They understand that the three sections are free from intentional sound creation and as a result they attempt to refrain from creating sounds themselves. However, the audience sees the breaks as a time that is free from the preceding rule and as such they let off a cacophony of rustles, chatter and coughs. Because of this, they create quite a different piece and make the breaks quite interesting to those viewing this recording. We think Cage would have smiled at this treatment. The link can be accessed by clicking here.
Advertisement
