Artist

John Cage

John Cage appears 2 times in our Modernism and Musique Concrète lists, placing as high as No. 3. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.

Ranked entries

2

Appears on

Modernism and Musique Concrète

Year

1952

Highest placing

No. 3 in Modernism

Updated

2026-08-30

Appears on

1. 03

   4'33"

   1952

   Ranked No. 3 in Modernism

   Four minutes and thirty-three seconds in which the performer plays nothing and the room becomes the piece. Endlessly mocked, and every field recording and ambient record since is standing on it.

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2. 05

   Williams Mix

   1952

   Ranked No. 5 in Musique Concrète

   Six hundred recordings spliced according to chance operations, taking a year to cut for four minutes of tape. Cage's most laborious piece and his most gleefully pointless.

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