John Cage - 4'33 of silence I never seem to have

 When William Marks enters the stage and sits down, one might expect him to start playing the piano he is seated at. Because in general, that is what musicians tend to do at a piano. Instead, he hits the piano to produce a thump and then some peeps as he adjusts some kind of device. Then nothing. To me it started to feel awkward, sitting in near silence, waiting for something “more interesting” to happen. But would music be more interesting, or is this change of pace already the thrill? Is it really nothing or do I start to notice small nuances in the atmosphere?

The text on the screen tells us that we will move on from this first movement to the second one. But did it already happen, did I miss it? I had to go back to check. I did neither miss it nor did I really take it in. The people coughing in the audience are me, I would definitely cough in silence. Does anyone know why we are suddenly SO aware of our bodies when we are silent? I personally tend to feel muscles I did not know where there. The same goes for looking at Marks holding his hand up for almost the entire duration of the second movement. I am impressed, as I would definitely be shaking by now.

Every time Marks opens the piano, he closes it shortly after. I keep wondering why he opens it at all, if he does not use any of the keys. Societal norms of playing a piano? The little beeping sound seems to signify the beginning and end of each movement. The irony is that there is almost no movement. At least not visible. Each segment feels longer than the one before. Is it really like that or does ist just feel like it, because we have been sitting in silence for so long. After the third movement the audience claps and it is deafening. While it is not that loud at all, after such a long silence it blows out your ears.

At the end I am confused. I don’t even know if I liked the piece with its concept or not. The coughing from the audience made me feel uncomfortable, one for the fact that I don’t like others coughing “near me” especially since we entered the pandemic, and two because I kept asking myself how quiet we the audience was supposed to be. I decided to leave it at that, awkwardness and silence and sound, all in one, I do not have to like or dislike it. It will “be” whether I approve or not. My opinion will not change the piece at all.