The Sound Of Silence
On February 5, 2022 hundreds of onlookers gathered in a humble church in Halberstadt, Germany. They were there to witness. A very special concert. Or, more strictly speaking, part of a concert. In the center of the room stood a unique organ playing a monotonous tone. Unlike most, this organ features no keys, no pedals, and no bench upon which an organist can sit. The notes this organ plays are changes by adding and removing specialized pipes.
As the crowd gathered the organ continued to drone on its G-sharp note, a note which the organ had been playing since the year 2020. Spectators watched with glee as officials approached the organ to replace the pipes, suddenly ceasing the G-sharp and replacing it with a new note. And just like that, the show was over. The next show isn’t scheduled until 2025.
The organ in St. Burchardi Church was built for a very specific purpose. It is meant to play one song. The piece is called Organ2/ASLSP. Composed by American John Cage, the piece is meant to be played as the title suggests, as slow as possible. When John himself performed it, he usually drew it out for an hour or so. When more daring artists played the piece, they would push the length to 12 hours. The organ in St. Burchardi started its performance in 2001, and it will not finish until the year 2640. The 639-year concert will be of course the longest in history, a record which is unlikely to ever be broken.
Composer John Cage was born in Los Angeles in 1912. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. While Organ2/ASLSP is certainly one of his edgier pieces of composition, it is not the one that gained him the most fame. That particular piece debuted almost 40 years prior, on August 29, 1952.
In a packed Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock, New York, pianist David Tudor walked onto stage and approached the sleek black grand piano at stage center. Tudor himself was one of the most accomplished avant garde pianist of the day. His association with Cage had already covered several years with him premiering several of Cage’s compositions. On this night he sat at the bench and looked at the keys. The audience was watching his every move as his hands approached the keys. Then, just as he was to start playing, rather than reaching for the ivory of the piano keys, his hands grasped the lid, and pulled it closed over the keyboard.
The audience sat stunned. They waited to see what would happen next as Tudor sat staring at the now covered keyboard. Then at last he opened it again. A sigh of relief was audible in the crowd. At last, he would play. Then, he closed the lid again. He repeated this bizarre sequence one more time. Then stood up and walked off the stage.
Most of the audience didn’t know what to make of the spectacle. Had the great pianist succumbed to nerves? Had he not been feeling well? These questions all went unanswered for the remainder of the concert and into the next morning when reporters broke the news that Tudor had not botched his performance at all. In fact, he had played it in its entirety. All three movements. Not only had he completed the piece, but he had also played it flawlessly. Tudor had been performing a new composition of John Cage. The piece was called 4’33”. The piece is meant to be played by any combination of instruments, and the score instructs all performers to not play their instruments for the duration of the piece. John Cage, intended his audiences to listen to 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence.
Once word of the new composition got out, Cage, and Tudor were both regarded as geniuses in the art community. What had initially been seen as a disappointing botched performance was suddenly esteemed as a breakthrough in music. When critics watched the silent performance, they were sorely disappointed. But once they knew the silence was intentional, they couldn’t get enough of it. Their entire perception of the performance hinged on the origin of the silence.
Investors who closely monitor their portfolio are confronted every day with market gyrations. Sectors shift, economies change, and earnings reports can come in different than expected. All of these changes can often put investors in a position of feeling like they need to do something about it. Sometimes, you do, but often times, you don’t.
One of the hardest emotions to fight against when it comes to investing, is the desire to take action. Especially in periods of a market downturn, the desire to make a change can often lead investors to make poor decisions. Cage’s 4’33” proved to the music world that silence is in fact music. A disciplined investor would do well to apply that concept to their portfolio. Inaction, if intentional, is in fact action, and many times, it is the correct action to take.