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John Cage Live at the Barbican

First transmitted in 2004, this concert from London's Barbican features the music of composer, writer, and artist John Cage.

First transmitted in 2004, this concert from London's Barbican features the music of composer, writer, artist and mushroom expert John Cage, one of the most extraordinary artistic figures of the 20th Century.In this concert, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra as part of its annual Composer Weekend, we hear music by some of the giants of American music including Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, William Schuman and Henry Cowell, who was a major influence on Cage.There are two pieces by Cage himself, The Seasons and the work for which he is infamous - the silent 4'33".

Available now

2 hours, 10 minutes

Last on

Fri 16 Jan 2004 20:30
BBC Four

Clips

See all clips from John Cage Live at the Barbican (3)

Music Played

  • William Schuman

    New England Triptych

    Conductor: Lawrence Foster. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra.

  • John Cage

    The Seasons

    Conductor: Lawrence Foster. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra.

  • Henry Cowell

    Piano Concerto

    Performer: Philip Mead. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Lawrence Foster.

  • George Antheil

    A Jazz Symphony

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Lawrence Foster. Performer: John Alley.

  • Charles Ives

    Central Park in the Dark

    Conductor: Anthony Legge. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra.

  • Aaron Copland

    El Salon Mexico

    Conductor: Lawrence Foster. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra.

  • John Cage

    4'33"

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Lawrence Foster.

BBC Four Modern Classical Music Collection

BBC Four Modern Classical Music Collection
This programme is part of a collection of programmes featuring trailblazing 20th Century classical music composers.

Go to the BBC Four Modern Classical Music Collection

More about this programme

BBC Radio 3 broadcast the performance of John Cage's 4'33" live and was the first broadcaster to risk airing nearly five minutes of ambient silence, with BBC Four broadcasting it an hour later. Radio 3's emergency backup systems, designed to cut in when there is apparent silence on air, were switched off.

About BBC Four Collection programmes

Programmes are selected, in part, for their historical context and reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current BBC editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required.

Credits

Composer John Cage
Orchestra BBC Symphony Orchestra

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