john cage
...Cage began composing in the twelve-tone technique in the early part of his career but later he changed over to pieces based on rhythmic percussion. In 1946 he began a piece called Sonatas and Interludes, which was based on Eastern Indian philosophy. At this point Cage became enthralled with Zen and Hinduism. He studied Zen Buddhism in the late 1940's and used their influence in his piece Music of Changes, which was composed in 1951. In this piece, he began to use chance and luck in his composition. This form of composition is known as indeterminism. The duration of notes was determined by the flipping of a coin. This philosophy was based on the fact that he wanted his music to be more traditional rather than reflect his own personal tastes. In 1952 came his most regarded piece. Entitled 4' 33", it was a duration where the performers would simply sit on stage with their instruments and not play a single note. The span of silence was to emphasize the sounds of ones natural environment and make the listener become more aware of his or her surroundings. His next piece, called Life, was a novel idea as well. He stood on stage with a group of vegetables, chopped them up, blended them and then proceeded to drink the juice all while he amplified the sounds from this 'natural occurrence' in life. May of these types of performances were scoffed at and even ridiculed, but he continued t...