Silence is music.
For me, silence is the basis of all music because from there, we can create. The important thing about creating sounds is that our interpretative or compositional proposal has the same depth as silence. I think we confuse silence with nothingness, and this conception is not possible in music. We can believe that even absolute sound does not exist because our planet earth generates sound in its natural movements. Where there is no gravity, sound does not expand. John Cage’s work 4 ‘33’, ‘’ there have always been opinions and controversies. For me, everything is part of subjectivism. Each musician or each audience adopts the idea of him. Perhaps, that is the goal of the composer. We do not know precisely. I remember a master class in orchestral conducting that I had in Spain with a famous conductor, who told us that Cage’s idea was fundamental when the public understood the composer’s concept. John Cage gave each person a specific time to imagine the music he wanted and liked, without any stylistic programming. Another lesson that this master class left me was to worry that each interruption of the beautiful silence had the same quality in searching for our interpretation. This teaching has led me to believe that every note I write or play should be as lovely as possible. If not, the silence is beautiful and offers the tranquility that the public wants to find in music.
Of course, any decision or interpretation of silence deserves respect, so it will always be subjective. I want to share the last time that John Cage’s work was done in Colombia, where many friends participated, including my master’s master in conducting, Guerassim Voronkov. During this realization, it seems very important to highlight the setting they made with other works by the same composer. They incorporated other arts such as painting, dance, and theater. They also highlighted the significant influence of Zen culture on Cage’s work. The second example that I want to share is the interpretation of 4 ‘33’ ‘by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Kiril Petrenko’s direction. I like to share it because this orchestra has always been a benchmark for its sound quality. Now let’s see it as a reference from silence.
