In 1952 at a concert in Woodstock, New York, David Tudor sat down before a piano to play 4'33", a work scored in three movements for any instrument or combination of instruments for any duration. The sole direction--the score has no notes--is tacet, which requires the performer to be silent. While some might interpret 4'33" as mocking the seriousness of formal concerts, Cage's piece also suggests that everyday sounds such as the shuffling, rustling, and tense coughing common to concerts are not only possible musical material, but actual music.

Of course, the greatest revolutionaries have more than one idea. Apart from the conceptual masterstroke of 4'33", Cage also paved the way for live electronic music processing with 1960's Cartridge Music, which uses phonograph cartridges to amplify small sounds ordinarily beneath the threshold of hearing. Needless to say, today's practitioners of lowercase sound and glitch owe a debt to John Cage.

In honor of Cage's pioneering work, the UW's Contemporary Group tackles three Cage classics: 4'33" and Cartridge Music, as well as the driving Construction No. 3 for four percussionists. The concert's second half is a homage to the Portsmouth Sinfonia, a 1970s collective of variously (un)skilled musicians dedicated to communal nonhierarchical music making. Along with compositions by group members, they played--some say butchered--the classics. Sounding much like an orchestra of sixth-graders, the Sinfonia spun strange sound worlds from the warhorses of classical music. In this performance, plan to hear Bizet, Strauss, Rossini, Wagner, and Debussy as you've never heard them before. Joël-François Durand, director of the Contemporary Group, suggests that "with some luck, the audience will be able to recognize the music." CHRISTOPHER DeLAURENTI

The Contemporary Group performs Tues May 27 at 7:30 pm (Meany Theater, UW Campus, 543-4880), $5/$8.

chris@delaurenti.net