About This Book:
Open this unique picture book and meet John Cage, the pioneering, inspiring composer who believed all sound—from the crash of a slamming door to the whirr of a blender to the whoosh of the wind—was music.
For John Cage, music was everywhere: in the hum of the refrigerator, the screech of a garbage truck, the patter of the rain. But other people disagreed. They felt that, surely, a pianist on stage must actually play their piano to create music…not just sit there. And in no way was it melodic to turn a musician’s mic on and off as they do play their instruments–it was just chaos!
John Cage found sound in silence, and knew that all noises were unique. All you had to do was listen to hear it.
Told in second person and paired with exciting illustrations as innovative as Cage’s music, here is a picture book–perfect for any budding musician–that celebrates the genius of a nonconforming musician who always stayed true to his artistic vision
*Review Contributed By Connie Reid, Staff Reviewer*
John Cage
Beautiful Noise is a biography of John Cage and highlights his inventive style regarding music. My takeaway is that John Cage was a rare person who could hear music in mundane sounds. I am curious what some of the music must have sounded like with the unique things he did. It makes total sense that his father was an inventor because Cage took that spirit and open mind as he pursued all aspects of music. However, as someone who finds most sound just annoying noise, I think in real life I would have been utterly disgusted to pay for a concert just to have someone sit silently at a piano while we all enjoyed the mutterings of the confused and angry audience. That sounds a lot more interesting in a book than a lived experience. The illustrations do a nice job of capturing the frenetic energy that seemed to surround John Cage’s creative mind. Overall, the book does a nice job of highlighting John Cage’s life and eccentric style of music.
