Crossroads of Boulez and Cage: Automatism in Music
The twentieth century is simultaneously and paradoxically the most progressive and regressive era in human history to date. While the accelerated rate of technological growth that occurred in this century provided an unprecedented standard of convenient living, it is also accountable for the swift annihilation of millions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Improvements in communication and transportation shrunk the world to a previously unimaginable size, yet political and provincial conflict on a global scale made different regions seem farther removed from each other than ever before. Likewise, the music of this century is filled with contrast. Like any of an individual’s traits and behavioral patterns, music is a product of its social environment.
by Mark Blair
