John Cage

b. 1912    d. 1992

A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde and, in the opinion of many, the most influential American composer of the 20th century. During the 1980s he worked with Scottish traditional music group the Whistlebinkies and composed for them his work Scottish Circus.

Photo by Sean Hudson of John Cage speaking with Robert Wallace, Stuart Eydmann and Mark Hayward of the Whistlebinkies at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 1984.