The late Mr. John Cage celebrates this Sunday his ninety-eighth birthday. Last year or the year before, someone on the Internet — was it The Standing Room? — had the excellent idea of marking the occasion by creating a 4'33" playlist on iTunes. I'll celebrate on Sunday with my own version: everything on my computer that's four minutes and thirty-three seconds long. Although Mozart is a little over-represented — the legacy of my 2006 slog through his complete music, Köchel by Köchel — and the intrusion of Donovan is potentially jarring, I like the look of it, particularly the idea of ending with Hans Hotter's Brahms and R. Nathaniel Dett. Click to enlarge.
