(Main source:
Reginald Smith Brindle (1987) The new music: the avant-garde since 1945 ; Oxford University Press ; Oxford)
Avant-garde simply means 'ahead of its time' so when this applies to music there's quite a few examples.
In terms of history, the term 'avant-garde music' is primarily used to describe the post 1945 take on 'Art Music' where more modern conventions were added to keep them 'fresh'.
1945:
The year when the Second World War ended. During the war, musical activity was severely hampered by the march of armies. When Hitler assumed power, composers were forced to flee into exile or seclusion. During this time, well know composers where either forced into poverty or at least lost a majority of there fortune. When the war ended it heralded the return of true music.
The problem was that any composers that remained where favoured by the Nazis, so when there regime fell, others countries looked down and unfavourably towards these favoured musicians. So hopes turned to the likes of the USA and japan for an artistic renewal.
Post War:
Along came John Cage, an American composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist and print maker was a prominent figure in the post war music scene for exploring different avenues of music creation.
'John Cage, the highly inventive, often perplexing avant-garde composer who theorized that music doesn't have to have sound but can be anything that fills a space in time, died Aug. 12 in New York. He was 79.
A spokeswoman for St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan said Cage died there after suffering a stroke at his home.
Described by the Encyclopedia Brittanica as "a composer whose work and revolutionary ideas profoundly influenced mid-20th century music," Cage was a guru of modern sound who made voluminous and complicated tracks across the world of music as he defined his challenges to conventional musical wisdom.'
(The Washington post (1992) Avant-Garde Composer John Cage Dies at 79
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1020108.html Accessed August 13, 1992)
In 1952, Cage created what he is perhaps most known for: 4;33.
Four minutes of Silence. Cage created this piece to be instantaneous. To give a title to a piece of music that is forever different. Don't think the musicians were not allowed to make a sound, simply that any sound would be part of the music.
'As cage rightly points out, silence is only relative. His recurrent theme is that in an anechoic chamber we do not hear silence, but a pumping of the heart and intoning of nerves, while in a concert hall, on these are imposed inhalations, exhalations, ambient sounds, traffic noises, etc.'
Avant-garde simply means 'ahead of its time' so when this applies to music there's quite a few examples.
In terms of history, the term 'avant-garde music' is primarily used to describe the post 1945 take on 'Art Music' where more modern conventions were added to keep them 'fresh'.
1945:
The year when the Second World War ended. During the war, musical activity was severely hampered by the march of armies. When Hitler assumed power, composers were forced to flee into exile or seclusion. During this time, well know composers where either forced into poverty or at least lost a majority of there fortune. When the war ended it heralded the return of true music.
The problem was that any composers that remained where favoured by the Nazis, so when there regime fell, others countries looked down and unfavourably towards these favoured musicians. So hopes turned to the likes of the USA and japan for an artistic renewal.
Post War:
Along came John Cage, an American composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist and print maker was a prominent figure in the post war music scene for exploring different avenues of music creation.
'John Cage, the highly inventive, often perplexing avant-garde composer who theorized that music doesn't have to have sound but can be anything that fills a space in time, died Aug. 12 in New York. He was 79.
A spokeswoman for St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan said Cage died there after suffering a stroke at his home.
Described by the Encyclopedia Brittanica as "a composer whose work and revolutionary ideas profoundly influenced mid-20th century music," Cage was a guru of modern sound who made voluminous and complicated tracks across the world of music as he defined his challenges to conventional musical wisdom.'
(The Washington post (1992) Avant-Garde Composer John Cage Dies at 79
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1020108.html Accessed August 13, 1992)
In 1952, Cage created what he is perhaps most known for: 4;33.
Four minutes of Silence. Cage created this piece to be instantaneous. To give a title to a piece of music that is forever different. Don't think the musicians were not allowed to make a sound, simply that any sound would be part of the music.
'As cage rightly points out, silence is only relative. His recurrent theme is that in an anechoic chamber we do not hear silence, but a pumping of the heart and intoning of nerves, while in a concert hall, on these are imposed inhalations, exhalations, ambient sounds, traffic noises, etc.'
(Brindle 1987; 122)
Cage explores the idea that there is no such thing as silence, simply what we perceive as silence. Cage perceives silence as a sound on one level. 4:33 was a piece crafted with one instruction, 'Tacet' which is Latin for 'it is silent'. A person made add there own perception of silence making it a piece of music that forever changes.
The 4:33:
The piece was created in 1952 for any instrument(s). The instructions given to the performer was to not play the instrument for the duration of the piece.
This is the most significant part of Cages work as and avant-garde composer as it strikes out against the conventions of music of the time by producing no music at all.
Relations and influence on other works:
Punk band 'Crass' used a silent gap very similar to Cage in there song 'They've got a Bomb'. The band stat it is to kill the energy and allow the audience to confront themselves.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono also used some Cage inspired silence in a collaboration called 'Unfinished Music no.2: Life with the Lions. Sporadic silences are placed through out to allow the audience to think.
Rock band 'Soundgarden' created a track called 'one minute of Silence', and it contained just that. It is reported that you can hear the band faintly in the background.
Band 'Covenant' closed there 2000 album with a track called 'You can make your own music' which lasted 4:33.
Japaneses rock duo 'Ruins' included the song '0:33' on there album 'Hyderomastgroningem' which was entirely dedicated to Cage.
In 2009, Petri Purho realised a game called '4 minutes and 33 seconds of uniqueness'. You can only win by being the only person to play it for said amount of time.
What was Cage trying to achieve? Only to produce music that was different. Back in his day, he was simply making music that was different that could inspire people. People of today are trying to do the same thing but maybe with the added bonus of fame and riches.
So all in all, Cage was one of the first people to change the way the world thought of music. No longer did it belong to the big composers of yesterday. If you had an idea that you think will work then nothing should stop you. This echos to today, with people making music of there own and posting it on the Internet for all to see and listen to.
Cage started this by not only thinking outside the box, he smashed it wide open for everyone.
John Cage
September 5 1912 - August 12 1992
(http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/jchiaromonte/John_Cage.jpg Accessed on 21 March 2010)
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