I found Searching for Silence to be an enjoyable and interesting article about the life and ideas of John Cage. For me, he has always been a bit of an enigma. In Music History classes, his prepared piano pieces are briefly talked about, but we do not delve into his personal life, nor his impact on the avant-garde. His role, as well as the role of composer and inventor Harry Partch, within classical academia is only seen as controversial and not to be taken seriously. I believe that the music world has yet to give John Cage the credit that he deserves, as well as catch up with the constantly evolving art form of music, especially within the classical community. Being a music student at a conservatory music school, I am faced with the constant battle of playing what I want, versus playing what I have to, in order to "make it" in the music world. Instead of letting musicians have the freedom to be creative using techniques they are taught, music school has us perfectly replicate others as a way to learn how to play music. Even Cage himself struggled with this perfectionist mindset, in which he was weirdly stubborn about having his pieces be played in a certain manner. Despite this one flaw, John Cage still inspires me, because I desire a balance between paying respect to history and paving my own path, despite how much is strays from the original path. In the future, I hope to have the confidence and attitude to express myself completely unapologetically through my music.
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