{"product_id":"9780823454099","title":"Nothing: John Cage and 4'33\"","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhat does nothing sound like? An offbeat history of John Cage’s 4’33”, a musical composition of blank bars, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne night in 1952, master pianist David Tudor took the stage in a barnlike concert hall called the Maverick. A packed audience waited with bated breath for him to start playing. Little did they know that the performance had already begun. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA rain patters.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA tree rustles.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn audience stirs. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid was performing John Cage’s 4’33”, whose purpose is to amplify the ambient sounds of whatever venue it inhabits. That shocking first performance earned 4’33” plenty of haters; and yet the piece endures, “performed” by the smallest garage bands and the grandest symphonies alike, year after year. Its fans hear what John Cage hoped we would hear: “Nothing” is never silent, and you don’t need a creative genius, a concert hall, or even a piano to hear something worthwhile. All you have to do is stop and listen.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNicholas Day’s text is reverent with a healthy drop of humor, warm and refined; two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka’s childlike pencil-on-watercolor artwork is uninhibited and electrifying, with all the visionary spirit of the work it chronicles. Guaranteed to spark generative thought and lively debate among readers of all ages, \u003ci\u003eNothing\u003c\/i\u003e is not to be missed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Holiday House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47917975994608,"sku":"9780823454099","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780823454099_p0.jpg?v=1763751735","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780823454099","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}