To paraphrase Satie: I like the bit around 2'19".

 

polololo lollololollololoo

 

Have you changed your meds?????!!

 

The third movement is by far my favourite. It is a lovely rondo. The main theme is very quiet, still, and tranquil. The first episode is fascinating, seemingly having neither melody nor harmony, while the second episode seems to bristle with a sort of quiet electricity.

This poll is not a critique of 4'33''. MoonlightSonata Inc. will not venture an opinion on 4'33'' and takes no responsibility for any responses made to this poll. The fact that the poll closes 433 days from now is pure coincidence.

 

Well, it all builds tension until the third movement. That's when people can't hold back sneezes anymore.

 

There's nothing new under the sun.

 

Definitely the 2nd as it is the longest and most complex in most performances. Believe it or not I have crossed over into considering this as a piece of music rather than as a mere gimmick. Or perhaps as a gimmick , yes, but much more than that.

 

Great content - five stars!

Seriously tho, 4'33" is definitely the most talked about work on this forum and that is a hilarious win for Cage, I think

 

I quite agree. Cage has certainly won notoriety.
I'm not criticising Cage. I actually do think he is a fascinating composer - I like the Number Pieces especially.

 

The third's the most expressive, isn't that the movement where the old lady's Iphone with the banjo ringtone goes off? or someone with uncontrollable retching coughs up part of their lung? No wait, my favorite part is the sadistic old Jewish lady that takes out her cough drops and slowly unwraps the cellophane wrapper, savoring the winces of her fellow audience members with every nerve-piercing crinkle.

 

I prefer the concerts where the ringtone is the tinny pop music.

 

I like 4' 33" x 10 for 43' 30" instead. Good remix too.

 

Other: Shhhh *cough* Shhhh

 

What you've intended as a harmless joke is inevitably going to be taken seriously as a ruthless, vicious attack.

 

I don't see why it has to be a joke at all. I would assume that the third movement would be the pinnacle of conscious focus on concrete sounds while the second movement would be the realization that the performers aren't just taking a moment's contemplation before playing some Brahms... and thus the movement in which we actually START listening. The first movement...well that's the shady one, isn't it.

 

I believe this poll to be unfair. It should include an option entitled "I like all of them".

And what about the "ghost" 4th movement? It has a time value of 0'00" and comes right after the 3rd movement without a break. There should have been an option for this movement, spiritually the most important even though it technically does not exist.

 

Given the vitriol that poured forth about this work in recent weeks and the general unpleasantness that resulted, may I ask what on earth is the point of this poll?
It is time this subject was laid to rest

 

To paraphase uncyclopedia, the best part is when the trumpets don't come in.

 

Wonderful poll, thank-you Moonlight !!
I voted for Beethoven.

 

The 'L'Absence' section of the 'Les Adieux' Sonata (c 4'30") makes a good fit.

 

4'33" certainly makes lots of internet forum discussion. Yet another thread dedicated to it.

 

Not really; the question is flawed, because 4'33" does not exist in a fixed, pre-determined form, and the question is being asked as if it were a fixed composition that one might like or dislike.

 

In my ignorance, I had thought that the composition was intended to always have a duration of 4'33."
In my partial ignorance: would the programme title it as the intended duration at that particular performance?
Devil's advocate question: where does this leave a spontaneously delivered performance in terms of title?

 

If someone eats lots of beans prior at a 4'33 performance, does it add to the experience?

 

No, it would degrade the purity of the piece, which supposedly will consist of unintentional sounds.

If the guy ate beans to intentionally create flatulence sounds during the performance, it degrades it.

 

Of course, the only movement of 4' 33" that happens is the wiggling of the listeners in the room as they adjust their chairs to set some better sound reception to the piece.

 

I don't recall ever hearing this selection.

 

My favorite part of 4' 33'' is the bowel movement . It's left by the pianist during the silence on the piano stool .
















:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

My favorite part of 4' 33'' is the bowel movement . It's left by the pianist during the silence on the piano stool .

:lol: :lol: :lol:

That gives a different nuance to the term "piano stool".

 

In all seriousness, seeing this piece performed never fails to put a smile on my face.

 

Which movement of 4'33'' is your favourite?

Call me a philistine, if you will, but I find the moments between the movements of 4'33" to be superiorly stimulating, thought-provoking, and refreshing. For reason's I cannot comprehend or certainly explain, I often find myself contemplating Hamlet's last words during any performance of this Cage classic. But what happens between the movements ... ah! there you have something you absolutely must hear!

 

In all honesty I would be much more interested in hearing the audience's response to the work after all movements were finished than anything I heard during the work itself. I have seen some suggest it's important not to discuss any intent of the work before the performance. Personally, I think the vast majority of people would feel the work was a waste of time and not allow "sounds to talk" to them. If a brief discussion took place before the work, I think more people would try to listen in the intended manner.

(SONNET CLV: This is not really aimed at your comment but seemed a natural extension to it.)