John Cage was born in 1912 in Los Angeles, California. His early exposure to music came through piano lessons, but his dissatisfaction with traditional education led him to seek new artistic experiences. After a brief stay in Europe in 1930, he returned to California and studied composition with Richard Buhlig, Henry Cowell, and later Arnold Schoenberg, whose rigorous approach reinforced Cage’s instinct to break away from harmonic conventions. In the late 1930s, while teaching at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, he met Merce Cunningham, his lifelong collaborator, and developed groundbreaking techniques such as the prepared piano and early electronic compositions.
he 1940s and 1950s marked a turning point as Cage became deeply involved in New York’s avant-garde scene, forming close ties with figures like Pierre Boulez, Morton Feldman, and Robert Rauschenberg. Influenced by Zen Buddhism and the I Ching, he introduced chance operations into music, exemplified in Music of Changes (1951) and his iconic silent piece 4’33” (1952). His role as the musical director of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company further solidified his experimental approach, redefining the relationship between music and movement. He also pioneered multimedia performances and environmental sound art, pushing the boundaries of composition.
From the 1960s onward, Cage expanded his artistic practice into writing and visual arts, applying the same principles of randomness and structure. His Song Books (1970) and projects like HPSCHD (1969) reflected his interdisciplinary vision. In his later years, he continued to innovate with automated composition techniques, culminating in works like Europeras (1987-1991) and Number Pieces (1987-1992). Honored with numerous awards, including the Kyoto Prize, Cage remained devoted to artistic freedom and experimentation until his passing in New York in 1992.