John Cage composed 4'33" [four minutes, thirty three seconds] in 1952. For Cage, 4'33" represented the epitome of aleatoric - that is to say random or chance - music; it was the epitome of his notion that any sound constituted, or could possibly constitute, music. 4'33" was composed for any instrument, or any combination of instruments; and the score specifically instructs the musician(s) NOT to play their instrument for the entire four-minute-thirty-three-seconds duration of the piece. They do not play so much as one single note. This piece is sometimes called "four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence", but according to Cage, this is missing the point. For Cage, this piece consists of the ambient sounds in the listeners' environment. For Cage, it was not a question of silence at all, because the random sounds in the environment constituted a sort of music that was as valid as any other kind music. To state it simply, Cage equated any sound or noise whatsoever - no matter how random - with music.
Although I cannot cite a specific example at present, I have heard the Dadaists performed similar musical pieces at the beginning of the twentieth century. For example, a pianist would approach a piano and sit down. He would put his hands on the keyboard and then do nothing but sit there. Such displays were often not well received by the public, and sometimes riots would erupt.
Has anybody ever heard John Cage perform? Have you ever heard 4'33" performed? Would you be angry or upset if you paid money to hear a musical performance, only to listen to people breathe, chatter, cough etc. for four minutes and thirty three seconds? Opinions on Cage run the whole spectrum between genius and fraud. What's your opinion of him and what he does?