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His teacher, Arnold Schoenberg, said JOHN CAGE was "not a composer but an inventor of genius." Composer, author, and philosopher, John Cage was born in Los Angles in 1912 and by the age of 37 he had been recognized by the American Academy of Arts and Letters for having extended the boundaries of music. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1978, and in 1982, the French government awarded Cage its highest honor for distinguished contribution to cultural life, Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Cage composed hundreds of musical works in his career, including the well-known "4'33"" and his pieces for prepared piano; many of his compositions depend on chance procedures for their structure and performance. Cage was also an author, and his book Silence was described by John Rockwell in the New York Times as "the most influential conduit of Oriental thought and religious ideas into the artistic vanguard-not just in music but in dance, art and poetry as well." John Cage's books, published by Wesleyan, are Silence (1961), A Year From Monday (1967), M (1973), Empty Words (1979), which Cage also regarded as a performance piece, and X (1983). John Cage died in 1992 at the age of 79.
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