Silent Symphony

So after we watched the film on John Cage, I was curious as too the nature of this man's famous work of 4 33.  I Found a video of a conductor leading a orchestra in performing this piece.  And although it is 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence, the video itself is interesting in its capturing of people's reaction to the "beauty" of the piece and the perfection of which it was perfected.  Although the complexity of the piece and the talent needed to perfect such a composition is subjective to the listener, why is this piece so reputable especially in regards to his other works which express extreme amounts of experimentalism.

Although the piece is too recognize and focus on the beauty of Silence, why do people react in such a way.  The people at this performance were going as fanatic as one can when going to see a symphony perform.  The two gentlemen commentating that night were saying that the playing of 4 33 was the most anticipated work of the evening.  Now is the reason that Cage is considered a genius because he has redefined music?  Normally when we even think about a symphony or classical music we are drawn into an association with emotion or a memory.  Yet what Cage is doing is to ponder the here and now in the absence of music.  People are paying to see the exact opposite of what normally occurs during such an event.  What exactly inspired Cage to do this?  Why was this theme so important for him to convey, and how was its reception.

Was the purpose to create a symphony of silence for people to recognize the silence in their lives?  Or for people to appreciate that silence?  The idea of people going to see silence seems to be somewhat interesting as Im sure there are more interesting and more reflective and spiritual places to sit in silence. Maybe the reason people still draw inspiration from the music or rather the absence of it is to celebrate the genius and ideas of John Cage who found new ways of transferring ideas through music.