Jump to content

Tod Machover

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tod Machover in Barcelona 2007

Tod Machover(born November 24, 1953, inMount Vernon, New York), is acomposerand an innovator in the application oftechnologyinmusic.He is the son of Wilma Machover, apianistand Carl Machover, acomputer scientist.

He was named Director of Musical Research atIRCAMin 1980. Joining the faculty at the new Media Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1985, he became Professor of Music and Media and Director of the Experimental Media Facility. Currently Professor of Music and Media at theMIT Media Lab,he is head of the Lab's Hyperinstruments/Opera of the Future group and has been co-director of the Things That Think (TTT) and Toys of Tomorrow (TOT) consortia since 1995. In 2006, he was named visiting professor of composition at theRoyal Academy of Musicin London. He has composed significant works forYo-Yo Ma,Joshua Bell,Matt Haimovitz,theYing Quartet,theBoston Pops,theLos Angeles Philharmonic,Penn & Teller,and many others, as well as designed and implemented various interactive systems for performance byPeter GabrielandPrince.Machover gave a keynote lecture at NIME-02, the second international conference onNew Interfaces for Musical Expression,which was held in 2002 at the formerMedia Lab EuropeinDublin,Ireland,and is a frequent lecturer worldwide. Machover is a Finalist for the 2012Pulitzer Prize in Musicfor his operaDeath and the Powers.

Education

[edit]

He attended theUniversity of California at Santa Cruzin 1971 and received a BM and MM from theJuilliard SchoolinNew Yorkwhere he studied withElliott CarterandRoger Sessions(1973–1978). He also started his Doctoral studies at Juilliard before being invited as Composer-in-Residence toPierre Boulez's new Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in 1978.

History

[edit]

In the fall of 1978, Tod Machover arrived atIRCAMin Paris, and was introduced toGiuseppe di Giugno's digital synthesizer 4 series.Lightwas premiered at the Metz Festival in November 1979 using 4C, the brain-child of di Giugno's concept that "synthesizers should be made for musicians, not for the people that make them." (Electric Sound,p. 181). In 1981 he composedFusione Fugacefor solo performance on a real-time digital synthesizer, called the 4X machine. AtIRCAM1986 and 1987 he was motivated to score for keyboard and percussion duet with emphasis on extending their performance into many complex sound layers. He composedValis,again using di Giugno's 4X system to process voices. This desire to enhance the human performance foreshadowed his concept of the hyperinstrument (term coined in 1986). AtMIT's Media Lab, he developed methods for taking many more sophisticated measurements of the instrument as well as the performer's expression. He focused on augmentingkeyboard instruments,percussion,strings, even the act of conducting, with the goal of developing and implementing new technology in order to expand the function of the musical instruments and their performers. He propelled forward-thinking research in the field of musical performance and interaction using new musical and technological resources. Originally concentrated to the enhancement of virtuosic performance, research has expanded in a direction of building sophisticated interactive musical instruments for non-professional musicians, children, and the general public. He premiered 'Brain Opera' in 1996, an interactive music experience with hyper instruments that aimed at making every human being into a musician.[1]

Hyperinstruments

[edit]
Tod Machover of MIT Media Lab demonstrated the sound-creating Hyper-Glove while conducting musicians at the 1990CyberArts Internationalfestival.

Hyperviolin

[edit]

Basically an electricviolin,audio output provides raw material for real-timetimbreanalysis and synthesis techniques. Coupled with an enhanced bow (see Hyperbow), measured properties of both the audio output of the instrument and the bowing gesture of the player create data which controls aspects of the resulting amplified sound.

Hypercello

[edit]

In addition to bow pressure and string contact, wrist measurements and left-hand fingering-position indicators create measurements which are evaluated and processed in response to the performance.

Hyperbow

[edit]
Main article:Hyperbow

Bowing parameters (speed, force, position) are measured and data is processed to create an interaction between performance properties and audio output. Different types or styles of bowing create complex calculations which are conducive to the performance and manipulation of larger structures and compositional shapes.

Hyperpiano

[edit]

MIDIdata generated by performer on aYamahaDisklavieris manipulated by variousMax/MSPprocesses as accompaniment and augmentation of keyboard performance.

Stage works

[edit]

Compositions

[edit]
  • Ye Gentle Birds(1979) forsoprano,mezzo-sopranoandwind ensemble
  • Fresh Spring(1977) forbaritonesolo and largechamber ensemble
  • With Dadaji in Paradise(1977-'78, rev. 1983) for solocello
  • Two Songs(1978) for soprano and chamber ensemble
  • Concerto for Amplified Guitar(1978) for amplified acousticguitarand large chamber ensemble
  • Deplacements(1979) for amplified guitar and computer-generated tape
  • Light(1979) forchamber orchestraand computer electronics
  • Soft Morning, City!for soprano,double bass,and computer-generated tape
  • Winter Variations(1981) for large chamber ensemble
  • String Quartet No. 1(1981)
  • Fusione Fugace(1981-'82) for keyboard, two specialized interfaces, and live 4Xdigital synthesizer
  • Chansons d'Amour(1982) for solopiano
  • Electric Etudes(1983) for amplified cello, live and pre-recorded computer electronics
  • Spectres Parisiens(1983-'84) forflute,horn,cello,chamber orchestraand computer electronics
  • Hidden Sparks(1984) for soloviolin
  • Famine(1985) for four amplified voices and computer-generated sounds
  • Desires(1985-'89) forsymphony orchestra
  • Nature's Breath(1988-'89) for chamber orchestra
  • Towards the Center(1988-'89) for amplified flute,clarinet,violin, cello, electronic keyboard and percussion, with five hyperinstrument electronics
  • Flora(1989) for pre-recorded soprano and computer-generated sound
  • Bug Mudra(1989-'90) for two guitars (electric and amplified-acoustic), electronic percussion, conductingdataglove,and interactive computer electronics
  • Begin Again Again…(1991) forYo-Yo Maand hypercelloHyperstring Trilogy
  • "Song of Penance" (1992) for hyperviola and chamber orchestraHyperstring Trilogy
  • "Forever and Ever" (1993) for hyperviolin and orchestraHyperstring Trilogy
  • Hyperstring Trilogy(1991-'93, rev. 1996-'97) for hypercello, hyperviola, hyperviolin and chamber orchestraHyperstring Trilogy
  • Bounce(1992) for hyperkeyboards, Yamaha Disklavier Grand piano and interactive computer electronics
  • He's Our Dad(1997) for soprano, keyboard and computer-generated sound
  • Meteor Music(1998) interactive installationMeteorite Museum
  • "Sparkler" (2001) for orchestra and interactive computer electronicsSparkler
  • "Toy Symphony" (2002/3) for hyperviolin Children's Chorus, Music Toys, and OrchestraToy Symphony
  • "Mixed Messiah" (2004), a 6-minute remix of Handel's MessiahMixed Messiah
  • "I Dreamt A Dream" (2004) for youth chorus, piano and electronics[4]
  • "Sea Soaring" (2005) for flute, electronics, and live audience interactionMusic Garden
  • ...but not simpler...(2005)Not Simpler
  • Jeux Deux(2005) for hyperpiano andorchestraJeux Deux
  • Another Life(2006) for nine instruments and electronics
  • "VinylCello" (2007) for amplified cello, DJ and live computer electronics[5]
  • "Spheres and Splinters" (2010) for hypercello, spatialized audio reproduction, and visualsSpheres and Splinters
  • "Open up the House" (2013) for soprano and pianoNational Opera Center America
  • A Toronto Symphony: Concerto for Composer and City(2013) for orchestra and electronics composed with the citizens of TorontoA Toronto Symphony
  • Festival City(2013) for orchestra and electronics composed with the public for theEdinburgh International Festival
  • Between the Desert and the Deep Blue Sea: A Symphony for Perth(2014) for orchestra and electronics composed with the public for thePerth International Arts Festival
  • Breathless(2014) for flute, orchestra and electronicsBemidji Symphony Orchestra
  • Time and Space(2015) for orchestra, inspired by the essays ofMichel de Montaigne
  • A Symphony for Our Times(2015) for live piano and recorded orchestra and electronics, for the closing performance of theWorld Economic ForumAnnual Meeting in 2015
  • Restructures(2015) for two pianos and electronics, tribute toPierre Boulezpremiered at the 2015Lucerne Festival
  • Eine Sinfonie für Luzern(2015) for orchestra and electronics, created with the public for the 2015Lucerne Festival
  • Fensadense(2015) for ten musicians and hyperinstruments with live electronics, premiered at the 2015Lucerne Festivalra
  • "Symphony in D" (2015) for orchestra, voice, additional performers and electronics, premiered by the Detroit Symphony[2]
  • "Philadelphia Voices" (2018) for four choirs, to be premiered by Westminster Choir College's Symphonic Choir at the Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall.

Journal articles

[edit]
  • Machover, Tod (October 2004)."Shaping Minds Musically"(PDF).BT Technology Journal.22(4): 171–179.doi:10.1023/B:BTTJ.0000047596.75297.ee.S2CID8717715.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2006-09-07.

Awards

[edit]
  • Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres,France(1995)
  • DigiGlobe Prize in Interactive Media,Germany(1998)
  • Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology and theRay KurzweilAward of Technology in Music,USA(2003)
  • Charles Steinmetz Prize from IEEE and Union College, "USA" (2007)
  • Pulitzer Prize in Music Finalist for "Death and the Powers" (2012)[3]
  • Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Award for Arts Advocacy (2013)[4]
  • 2016 Composer of the Year, Musical America[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Brain Opera premieres at Lincoln Center - MIT News - 24 july 1996 -https://news.mit.edu/1996/opera-0724
  2. ^"Symphony in D | Symphony in D".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-02-14.
  3. ^"The Pulitzer Prizes".
  4. ^"Kennedy Center Award – Opera of the Future".29 September 2013.
  5. ^"MusicalAmerica - Composer of the Year".
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toTod Machover.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tod_Machover&oldid=1218351964"