Cage's 100th

Today is the 100th birthday of John Cage, perhaps the most original, certainly the most provocative, composer that American music has produced. At Deceptive Cadence, the NPR classical music blog, Anastasia Tsioulcas assembles a sampler of music and words by Cage, whom she describes as a figure who “forces you to reconsider your expectations and assumptions” about music:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/

Here in Richmond, the principal celebration of Cage’s centennial week comes on Sept. 7, when organist David Sinden performs “Organ 2/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible),” beginning at 10 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Ninth and Grace streets.

Sinden’s rendition, expected to last about 10 hours, is high-speed compared with the most (in)famous performance of the piece, which began in 2001 at St. Burchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, and is projected to conclude in 2640, a duration of 639 years. The original “As Slow as Possible,” for piano, typically lasts just over an hour.

More compact Cage programs are scheduled for March 21 and 27 at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center.