Are people who stereotype what Cage did with his music even aware that he
produced a great number of works before even getting into the whole "chance
operations" thing? If you want to call Cage abstruse, vague, anti-musical,
etc, first go listen to the Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (out
on Naxos now-- spend the $6.  Most sensuous piano music after Debussy and
very rhythmically vital to boot) and the pre-chance piano works like The
Seasons, Ophelia, etc (Try Margaret Leng Tan's Daughters Of The Lonesome
Isle disc).  This music is easy to love.  I don't care much for the later
chance works, but big deal, that doesn't subtract from my pleasure in the
stuff I do like.  Please, though, be aware that there was more than one
phase to the man's career before setting him up as whipping boy for some
kind of threatening anti-proletarian formalism.

Jon Lewis, American Cartoonist
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