Dallas Taylor

I think about sound all the time.

I'm a sound designer and I host the podcast 20,000 Hertz.

It's all about the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.

But I think this is the perfect time to talk about silence because what I've come to understand is that there is no such thing as silence.

And the person who opened my mind to this idea is one of the most influential composers in history.

John Cage has made an impact on artists in many genres, from avant-garde musicians to modern dance to pop music.

Right now, we're listening to his 1948 piece called In a Landscape.

This version was recorded in 1994 by Stephen Drury.

This piece is actually not very typical of John Cage's writing.

He's more known for his innovations and avant-garde techniques.

But despite his reputation, no one was prepared for what he did in 1952 when he created the most daring piece of his career.

It was called Four Minutes and Thirty-Three Seconds, and it was a piece that some critics even refused to call music.

because for the entire duration of the piece, the performer plays nothing at all.

Well, to be technical, the performer is actually playing rest, but to the audience, it looks like nothing's happening.

John Cage's 433 was performed for the first time in the summer of 1952 by renowned pianist David Tudor.

It was at the Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock, New York.

This is a beautiful wooden building with huge openings to the outdoors.

So David Tudor walked out on stage, sat down at the piano, then closed the piano lid.

He then sat in silence, only moving to open and close the piano lid between each of the three movements.

After the time was up, he got up and walked off the stage.