The revenge of the dead Indians : In memoriam John Cage

Since the 1960s, the ideas of John Cage (1912-1992) have had a great influence on thinking about music. He took that which had until then been neglected in art music as the starting point for his own compositions. Coincidence and silence play a crucial role in this. Shortly before his death, Cage expressed his musical credo as follows: “What I like in music, you know, is silence: all of the sounds that take place, when we ourselves don't make them”. These principles inspired documentary makers Henning Lohner and Van Carlson to create an unusual in memoriam. Not only do kindred spirits from the world of art and science have their say, a number of his musical concepts are also incorporated into the documentary. The film concludes with a cinematographic version of perhaps Cage's most famous composition: 4'33 ”. For four minutes and thirty-three seconds, the viewer follows the passing traffic at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, just hours before the wall would fall; a trivial image with a symbolic charge. In addition to this documentary, the DVD contains an in-depth interview with the documentary makers about the creation of the film. (JWvR)