John Cage 4:33 for Piano. Is it music?

Question:

John Cage 4:33 for Piano. Is it music?

This piece is written out but intended not to be played by the pianist. The performer counts out the bars, turns the pages in the music and sits in complete silence for the whole duration of the work (four minutes and thirty-three seconds).

Since it's silent, is it truly music in your opinion?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Yes, but I disagree with all the previous "yes" answers. No offense.

If you listened to a recording of Cage's "4:33", what would you hear? If you said silence, you're wrong. Early recordings would have contained crowd noise, murmurs, and even shouting. I think Cage used the piano as a conductor, and the AUDIENCE as an instrument.

I guess you could argue whether audience noise in "4:33" is music. In most cases you can hear it. You can buy a copy of the written sheet music--I've seen it! It sounds like music to me.