ForeWord Magazine selected this title as one of its top music books from University Presses for 2006.
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Ideal introduction to Cage.
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
The first-hand accounts related by Cage's colleagues offer new insights and a palpable vibrancy. . . . A sense of intimacy and richness of anecdotal detail. . . . Merit[s] study by all with an interest in the composer.
- Charles Madsen, BULLETIN OF THE SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN MUSIC
We hear Cage in his own words, in conversations conducted between 1966 and 1988, and put in the context of interviews with close colleagues such as pianist David Tudor, choreographer Merce Cunningham and fellow composers including Earle Brown and Virgil Thomson. . . . Dickinson's approach to collecting these interviews is methodical and fastidious. . . . [His] introductory chapter is . . . cogent.
- Philip Clark, GRAMOPHONE
This book is no eulogy compendium. Instead, the interviewees simply give us what we would all prefer to have, which is a diverse set of instructive, good-humoured accounts of their dealings with the book's subject. . . . Informative and entertaining -- often amusing: Stockhausen's thinly-veiled tetchiness makes for a diverting subtext, while Virgil Thomson refers to Cage's former wife Xenia as 'the Eskimo.' Technically, too, this book is a success, with its comprehensive references, its proper indexing and, joy of joys, footnotes . . . on the page you're actually on. A valuable and enjoyable read which I unreservedly recommend. Five stars (out of five).
- Roger Thomas, BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
A lively compilation of dialogues with and about Cage . . . [opening with Dickinson's] useful introductory overview.. . . [Cage's] influence burns brighter than ever.
- Fiona Maddocks, THE SPECTATOR
Essential reading for anyone interested in the music of our time.
WHOLENOTE
Cage's engaging manner radiates from these pages. . . . CageTalk is excellent, leaving one with feelings of affection toward its subject.
- John Robert Brown, CLASSICAL MUSIC
A real treasure house of fascinating exchanges. . . . An entertaining perspective on [Cage's] inventive and imaginative world of sound, visual imagery and movement.
- Patrick Standford, MUSIC AND VISION DAILY
Recommended to all music libraries, [and] specialists concerned with...[Cage's] enduring work.
- Brett Boutwell, JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN MUSIC