| Abstract |
Well-known composer, pioneer, entrepreneur, and teacher Joel Chadabe, in vivid and lively terms, tells how the electronic musical instrument developed from Thaddeus Cahill's Telharmonium at the turn of the century to the MIDI synthesizers of the 1990s. This book provides a comprehensive overview of electronic music, showing how musique concrète, John Cage, Edgar Varèse, Karlheinz Stockhausen, MIDI, Moog synthesizers, the theremin, the Synclavier, computer music, interactive systems, and other composers, approaches, and technologies have contributed to the field. The book is based on more than 150 interviews with leaders in the field, including Larry Austin, Milton Babbitt, François Bayle, Luciano Berio, Donald Buchla, Tristram Cary, John Chowning, Pierre Henry, Ikutaro Kakchashi, Gottfried Michael Koenig, Salvatore Martirano, Max Mathews, Robert Moog, Pauline Oliverso, Jean-Claude Risset, Carla Scaletti, Dave Smith, Laurie Spiegel, Morton Subotnick, David Tudor, Iannis Xenakis, and Peter Zinovieff. Includes provocative and easily understandable discussions on the nature and context of the electronic musical instrument in today's world, including issues of sound synthesis, new approaches to performance, the use of computer algorithms as aids to creativity, and approaches to music on the internet. This book tells the story behind the music and the instruments, showing not just what happened during one of the most exciting periods in the history of music, but how and why it happened and what it felt like to be there. |
