CHAPTER 2 Indeterminacy

Cage and the “New York School”

Chapter:

CHAPTER 2 Indeterminacy

Source:

MUSIC IN THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Author(s):

Richard Taruskin

Richard Taruskin

The American counterpart to the postwar avant-garde in Europe was a group of composers and performers gathered around the charismatic figure of John Cage (1912–92). Their methods differed so radically from those of the Europeans as to hide their basic affinities from many contemporary observers. What they shared, however, went much deeper than their differences, for both groups sought “automatism,” the resolute elimination of the artist's ego or personality from the artistic product. It was a traditional modernist aim (compare Josè Ortega y Gasset's ideal of “dehumanization”, enunciated in a celebrated essay of 1925), pushed to a hitherto unimaginable extremity.

Citation (MLA):

Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 2 Indeterminacy." The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. New York, USA. n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2025. <https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume5/actrade-9780195384857-chapter-002.xml>.

Citation (APA):

Taruskin, R. (n.d.). Chapter 2 Indeterminacy. In Oxford University Press, Music in the Late Twentieth Century. New York, USA. Retrieved 21 Jan. 2025, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume5/actrade-9780195384857-chapter-002.xml

Citation (Chicago):

Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 2 Indeterminacy." In Music in the Late Twentieth Century, Oxford University Press. (New York, USA, n.d.). Retrieved 21 Jan. 2025, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume5/actrade-9780195384857-chapter-002.xml