One email coming from Ecuador today doing a survey asking , among others : "What avantgarde piece(s) of music do you consider a masterpiece ?" (why do all those issues about avantgarde still exist in those developing countries ? They are developing, right, not degrading ?)
My answer : 4' 33" by John Cage . Why ? Because it meets all the requirements of what I ask from an avantgarde piece of music : It should be short, soft and easy to play . For your info, that mentioned piece is just a pianist sitting down on the piano, doing nothing, and gets up after that duration. If the pianist happen to be a celebrity, he would get applauded, because that's how one gets acclaim nowadays : by doing nothing.
But it has even a bigger quality. That's why it's great avantgarde art. Why ? Because while one is listening to it in a concert, he can listen to real music through MP3 . Or he can listen to 4 ' 33" at home while watching Oprah Winfrey show or whatever. So, one doesn't waste his time while he can still boast that he DOES listen and understand art.
I wish all avantgarde music could be like that ..... RIP John Cage. You are the greatest.
