Spiritualità e surrealismo alla radio

John Cage e Pierre Schaeffer durante la Seconda guerra mondiale

Abstract

This essay explores the theme of spirituality by comparing two radio works created on opposite sides of the Atlantic during the Second World War: The City Wears a Slouch Hat (1942) by John Cage and La Coquille à Planètes (1942–43) by Pierre Schaeffer. Although the authors belong to different aesthetic worlds, the two works have some interesting points in common. Their relationship to radio is central: both see the medium as an innovative means of expression, capable of opening up new horizons for music, but above all, of leading to a broader aesthetic and philosophical reflection, revealing a profound spirituality of a humanistic nature. The analysis of the two works reveals a dialectic between universal themes and inner dilemmas, explored with dramaturgical and expressive techniques of a surrealist matrix.