Introduction

Michael Oliver (1937–2002) was one of the leading British writers and broadcasters on music. For many years he presented Music Weekly for BBC Radio 3 and Kaleidoscope for BBC Radio 4. His hundreds of radio programs included biographies of Verdi and Puccini; he was a critic for The Gramophone for over thirty years and founding editor of International Opera Collector; he contributed to many books on music and published biographies of Igor Stravinsky (1995) and Benjamin Britten (1996). Oliver's interview shows Cage recycling several familiar aspects of his background, but there are some variations.

Interview

By permission of the Michael Oliver Trust

MO Some people say you’re a philosopher rather than a composer, since your ideas can be applied to all your different activities.

JC When I was very young I didn't know whether I would be a musician or a painter or a writer. And actually I’m very fortunate because through music, and the fact that not everyone understood my music, it became necessary for me to write. Then in the course of making music, the magnetic tape recording became of such high fidelity that one could make music on tape. Then it became clear that space and time had a certain equivalence, so much of my notation became graphic. That led people interested in the visual arts to invite me to make etchings [laughs], so whereas early I made the decision in favor of music, music has been generous and brought me back to all the things that interested me.

MO What caused the decision to choose music?

JC Before that, I found myself in an architect's studio in Paris. I had heard him speaking to a friend and saying, “To be an architect you must devote yourself to architecture.” The moment I heard him say that, I knew I was in the wrong place because at that very time I was working in his studio I was interested in music, painting, and poetry. So I told him, “I can’t work with you any longer because I refuse to dedicate my life to architecture.” About three years after that, having studied with Adolph Weiss, I wanted to study with Schoenberg, and when I went to him and asked him to teach me he said, “You probably can't afford my price.” I said, “Don't mention it because I don't have any money.”