Four Compositions (1973)

Four Compositions (1973) is a silent work by American composer John Cage, composed in 1973. It consists of four separate pieces, each involving a single instrument or voice. The "composition" lies in the absence of notated sounds.

Each of the four pieces is structured within a precise time frame. Performers are instructed to produce no intentionally produced sounds during the prescribed duration of their specific composition. The listener is left to hear ambient sounds present in the performance space. These sounds, unintentional to the performer, become the piece.

The work explores themes central to Cage's aesthetic philosophy, including the acceptance of chance, the blurring of boundaries between music and noise, and the reconceptualization of the listener's role in the musical experience. It challenges conventional notions of composition and performance, arguing that music exists not only in intentional sounds but also in the unintentional sounds that surround us.

The four instruments or voices typically specified for the compositions are often performed in succession, creating a longer duration for the overall work. However, the pieces can also be performed individually. The work is a direct challenge to the traditional western understanding of music as deliberate and ordered, and it forces an engagement with the sound environment as inherently musical.