托福听力TPO人物解析:John Cage

2022-06-06 07:10:02

  为了能够帮助更多的

  确实,人在缺失认知的情况下经常会有一些异想天开的想法,而事实上,托福中的所有素材都真实,无论是Rose Frantzen,Jean Painleve,Alice Neel亦或是Bela Bartok都是各自领域的翘楚,今天想要给大家介绍的是来自于TPO38 Lecure3中的大神—John Cage!

  John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist.

  A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives.

,而在听力中开头部分(0-45s)也给出了对应风格的引入:

  听力中指出:As the century progressed though, the styles of avant-garde composers began to take further shape. People didn’t always appreciate new styles of music being experimented. It was actually the other way around. You see, for many people, avant-garde music was too radical and difficult.

  上文中指出了先锋派事实上不受到当时主流风格的欢迎,并且有一定的争议性,跟许多听力类型一样,一个新事物的出现总是伴随着各种争议,比如说TPO33L1中的dadasim(达达主义),也是一个时代的产物,不愿意接受传统有秩序的事物,并且认为random是一切事物的宗旨,是天性,井然有序反而违背了自然之美,所以这样激进(radical)的想法必然在当时引起了轰动并不被大多数人接受。

  Wikipedia:

  Cage is perhaps best known for his 1952 composition 4′33″, which is performed in the absence of deliberate sound; musicians who present the work do nothing aside from being present for the duration specified by the title. The content of the composition is not "four minutes and 33 seconds of silence," as is often assumed, but rather the sounds of the environment heard by the audience during performance.

  维基里提到的4′33″在听力中(46秒起)作为例子讲解了他著名的行为艺术。

  听力中指出:This piece was completely silent. It consisted of the pianist going up to the piano and not hitting any keys for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. In other words, the entire piece consisted of silence. The only thing the pianist did was raise and lower the lid of the keyboard to let the audience know the beginning and ending of a movement.

  重复的silent让我们知道他的行为艺术就是一首钢琴曲,什么声音都没有,只有用钢琴发出指令告诉听众开始以及结束的时间,这样的演奏会给人创造出了无声胜有声的境界,也许真的只有同样radical的灵魂才能了解个中奥妙。

  最后,用一句John Cage的名言结束本次系列:

  I am trying to be unfamiliar with what I am doing.

  因为热爱,所以专注,因为专注,所以才会有更多创新。

  以上就是小编整理的精彩内容关于托福听力TPO人物解析:John Cage一文,希望可以帮助托福考生,更多精彩内容尽在,预祝托福考生取得理想成绩!


考试安排