John Adams blogs about a visit with John Cage to the Soviet Union, including a local performance of a Cage work:
...Rendered by this ensemble on a violin, clarinet, trumpet, cello and double bass, and without the charm of Cage’s typically unconventional sound sources such as prepared piano, toy instruments, kitchen appliances or electronic circuitry, the piece sounded dishearteningly drab. I thought of Cornelius Cardew’s savage attack on Cage in the essay “Stockhausen Serves Imperialism,” a twisted, hurtful condemnation of what this Maoist convert felt was the vacuous uselessness of Cage’s chance-controlled aesthetic. I wondered in what state of mind Cage received performances such as the one we were hearing.But the Russian players were utterly jazzed to be performing this piece for the famous composer himself, and they all but outdid each other with the antic athleticism of their playing.
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