Breaking Every Rule: The Avant-Garde Revolution in 20th-Century Music

Imagine a painter who throws the canvas on the floor and walks across it in muddy boots. Is that art? Now imagine a composer who sits at a grand piano — and says nothing, for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. That actually happened. In 1952, the American composer John Cage performed a piece called 4'33". The performer sits in silence; the 'music' is every accidental sound in the room — coughing, rustling, birdsong outside. Audiences were baffled. Some were furious. Others felt they had heard something completely new. Before we dive in, ask yourself: what are the 'rules' of music you have always taken for granted?