Digital List Price:	$17.99
Print List Price:	$29.95
Kindle Price:	$2.99 Save $26.96 (90%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

MUSICAGE: Cage Muses on Words, Art, Music by [John Cage, Joan Retallack]

Follow the Authors

John Cage

Joan Retallack

MUSICAGE: Cage Muses on Words, Art, Music Kindle Edition

by John Cage (Author), Joan Retallack (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.9 9 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$2.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$100.00

$17.62

Paperback, Illustrated

"Please retry"

$24.93

$21.99

$12.04

Kindle
$2.99 Read with Our Free App
Hardcover
from $17.62

5 Used from $17.62 2 New from $100.00
Paperback
$24.93

8 Used from $12.04 5 New from $21.99

The pioneering composer and music theorist makes his final on the totality of his work and thought in these three wide-ranging dialogues.

“I was obliged to find a radical way to work ― to get at the real, at the root of the matter,” John Cage says in this trio of dialogues, completed just days before his death. This quest led him beyond the bounds of convention in all his musical, written, and visual pieces. The resulting expansion of the definition of art earned him a reputation as one of America's most influential contemporary artists.

Joan Retallack's conversations with Cage explore his artistic production in its entirety. Cage's comments range from his theories of chance and indeterminate composition to his long-time collaboration with Merce Cunningham to the aesthetics of his multimedia works.

In her comprehensive introduction, Retallack describes Cage’s lifelong project as “dislodging cultural authoritarianism and gridlock by inviting surprising conjunctions within carefully delimited frameworks and processes.” Consummate performer to the end, Cage delivers here just such a conjunction ― a tour de force that provides new insights into the man and a clearer view of the status of art in the twentieth century.

Print length

401 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Wesleyan University Press
Publication date

January 6, 2015
File size

12300 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

John Cage
8
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $2.99

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The celebrated avant-garde musician and thinker who died in 1992 is characterized by poet Joan Retallack as an American Zen master (though he had no formal Zen training); and, in the course of her three taped conversations with Cage that comprise most of the book (the last of them only days before his death), the aptness of the description becomes apparent. Cage's constant amusement, his endless curiosity, his insistence on seeing life and art always in a new way, emerge vividly. The result is in effect a study of his thought in motion as he sometimes playfully but always seriously responds to Retallack's informed and sympathetic questioning. As cellist Michael Bach joins the discussion to talk about his role in a Cage performance, a new work actually begins to unfold on the tape. The conversations at times seem to wander inconsequentially, but their impact as the record of a lively mind at work is all the greater as a result. At one point, Cage simultaneously welcomes the aleatoric nature of traffic noise while lamenting the inevitable air pollution that accompanies it. There are extensive appendixes of such things as timings and computer programs for some of Cage's works that will interest only specialists. For the most part, however, this is a highly accessible and personal introduction to a remarkable if elusive artist.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

“Joan Retallack's conversations with John Cage are a pleasure to read -- two interesting minds at work and play. Cage enjoyed talking, but also listening. An exchange of ideas was one of his life-streams.” (Merce Cunningham)

“Of all the books on John Cage that have appeared since his death in 1992, this is without doubt the most informative, offering its readers a rich and thought-provoking profile of one of this century's greatest artists in the last years of his life. Cage on words, on art, on music. The intelligent inquisitiveness of both interviewer and interviewee is refreshingly evident at every turn, giving further evidence (if any is needed) of the truth in Cage's life-long insistence that the world is an interesting place not for the answers it provides, but for the questions we ask.” (Laura Kuhn, Executive Director, The John Cage Trust) --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"The two friends plumb some fascinating depths that reveal the unbuttoned landscape of Cage's mind . . . The intellectual level is quite high, and even Cage's detractors will find themselves stimulated by many of the ideas presented on these pages." -- Library Journal--Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Library Journal

This compilation of Cage's most recent thoughts on art, language, and aesthetics is successful in large measure because of the thoughtful and intelligent questioning by Retallack, a poet and essayist with significant training in philosophy. Over the course of five lengthy conversations from 1990 to just 12 days before Cage's death in 1992, the two friends plumb some fascinating depths that reveal the unbuttoned landscape of Cage's mind. There is some repetition in these pages and quite a bit of minutiae that will interest only the most ardent aficionados. And most readers will doubtless lose patience with reprints of some of Cage's "mesostic texts"-writing in which comprehensibility is sacrificed to chance operations to create a sort of poetry for the eye. Still, the intellectual level is quite high, and even Cage's detractors will find themselves stimulated by many of the ideas presented on these pages. Recommended for both undergraduate and graduate-level collections.
Larry Lipkis, Moravian Coll., Bethlehem, Pa.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Joan Retallack's conversations with Cage represent the first consideration of his artistic production in its entirety, across genres. Informed by the perspective of age, Cage's comments range freely from his theories of chance and indeterminate composition to his long-time collaboration with Merce Cunningham to the aesthetics of his multi-media works. A composer for whom the whole world - with its brimming silences and anarchic harmonies - was a source of music, Cage once claimed, "There is no noise, only sounds". As these interviews attest, that penchant for testing traditions reached far beyond his music. His lifelong project, Retallack writes in her comprehensive introduction, was "dislodging cultural authoritarianism and gridlock by inviting surprising conjunctions within carefully delimited frameworks and processes". Consummate performer to the end, Cage delivers here just such a conjunction - a tour de force that provides new insights into the man and a clearer view of the status of art in the twentieth century. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Publisher

6 x 9 trim. 29 illus. 15 figs. LC 95-9497 --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

JOHN CAGE was born in Los Angeles in 1912. He studied music with Adolph Weiss, Arnold Schoenberg, and others, later collaborating with artists such as Merce Cunningham, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns. He died in 1992. JOAN RETALLACK is the author of eight books of poetry including Afterrimages (also published by Wesleyan) as well as numerous essays on John Cage, four of which appear in her critical volume, The Poethical Wager. MUSICAGE was chosen for the America Award in Belles-Lettres in the year of its publication. Retallack is the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of Humanities at Bard College. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09QX33FZJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wesleyan University Press (January 6, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 6, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 12300 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 401 pages

Customer Reviews:
4.9 9 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

John Cage
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
See more on the author's page
Joan Retallack
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5

9 global ratings

5 star		92%
4 star		8%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Jamie A.

Arrived in excellent condition

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 5, 2022

Verified Purchase

I had a softback copy of this book years ago. So nice to have this lightly used hardback version. Purchased from Friends of the Berkeley Public Library, it was exactly as described. Excellent condition, and quick shipping. Thank you!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 15, 2019

A favorite artist

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 5, 2008

Verified Purchase

If you are familiar with Cage's art, you will love this account of Cages views on art and life. Joan Retallack's compilation of interviews and thoughts are precious and informative, to those of us who are fond of Cage's work and thinking. Great writing. If you are not familiar with John Cage, where have you been?... Well, it is not late to start. Excellent book.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Semih

very impressive

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 26, 2012

Verified Purchase

In addition to offering a lengthy view of Cage as is, through a series of completely unpretentious and joy-to-read interviews, the short introduction by Ms. Retallack is a thoughtful, sophisticated, comprehensive, and accurate description of John Cage's thoughts and practices.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Dan Mohr

a valuable document

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 1, 2001

Joan Retallack, a long-time friend and colleague of John Cage, has done us the favor of publishing this series of conversations between the two of them. These conversations (for they lack any conventional formality that might render them 'interviews'), which took place not long before Cage's death in 1992, run the gamut of topics. Through their amiable banter, one gets a great sense of what was going on in the oft-misunderstood artist's mind--especially as regards his fixation on chance operations and the I Ching. The talks also give ample insight into Cage's writing and visual art, practices for which he is lesser known. When not provoking thought about Cage himself, the two (and I mean both of them equally; Retallack has a meticulously rich and compelling mind, and expresses many enlightening points-of-view herself) have revealing conversations about everything from Duchamp to Joyce, Buckminster Fuller to the Koran.
Perhaps the most interesting and rare aspect of the book is the pervasive inclusion of the environmental and more mundane details of the conversations. She is careful to note the frequent occasions when Cage laughed, what he might have been cooking that day, interactions with an artist who stopped by to fix a bookshelf as a favor to Cage and to Merce Cunningham. Especially valuable is the penultimate conversation, when we are made privy to the beginning of Cage's composition process, as he begins to write a new piece on the spot with cellist Michael Bach. These insights into Cage's daily domestic life are perhaps the most revealing aspects of the book into his personality and philosophies.
For those familiar with Cage, this is a must-read. If you are skeptical or confused about his work, these talks will clarify a lot for you. If you have yet to be exposed to Cage, I recommend this book highly as an accurate and exhaustive portrait.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

cvnbs

good stuff from precious minds

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 5, 2000

Joan Retallack is immensely gifted. If you're familiar with John Cage, you'll like this book. If you're not too familiar with John Cage, well, I have someone I'd like you to meet.
This is entertaining, compelling, thought-provoking stuff. I can think of few other people who are so mindful of WORD USAGE, or in this case, I guess, WORD "USCAGE." Many insights in this book. I recommend it highly.

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Books, art & collectibles	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Sell on Amazon Start a Selling Account

Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	Amazon Fresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door	AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Experienced Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Ignite Sell your original Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Listen to Books & Original Audio Performances	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Box Office Mojo Find Movie Box Office Data	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	DPReview Digital Photography	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting

Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Prime Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy

Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Great Deals on Quality Used Products	Whole Foods Market America’s Healthiest Grocery Store	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Zappos Shoes & Clothing	Ring Smart Home Security Systems

eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room	Blink Smart Security for Every Home	Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts	Amazon Subscription Boxes Top subscription boxes – right to your door	PillPack Pharmacy Simplified	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the Authors

MUSICAGE: Cage Muses on Words, Art, Music Kindle Edition

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Review

Review

From Library Journal

From the Back Cover

From the Publisher

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the authors

John Cage

Joan Retallack

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.