Jean-Claude Risset to Compare the Playing of the Pianist Own Research Led Him to Successfully (1938–2016) to a Sporting Act

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Jean-Claude Risset to compare the playing of the pianist own research led him to successfully (1938–2016) to a sporting act. In parallel with synthesize copper trumpet sounds his scientific studies, Jean-Claude and various other natural sounds, [Editor’s note: We thank Evelyn Risset took private lessons to train under the watchful eye and ear of Gayou of the Institut National de himself in music. From 1961 to 1964 Edgard Varese.` In 1968, Jean-Claude l’Audiovisuel Groupe de Recherches he studied the piano with Robert Tri- Risset composed his first work that Musicales (INA-GRM) for writing maille and Huguette Goullon (pupils used sounds synthesized by com- Computer Suite from Little this obituary and tribute.] of Alfred Cortot), harmony and coun- puter: Boy Born in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, terpoint with Suzanne Demarquez, . It was precisely to illustrate the in 1938, Jean-Claude Risset (see and composition with Andre´ Jolivet endless fall of the bomb, “Little Boy,” Figure 1) would become not only a (pupil of Edgard Varese).` In 1962 and that he began to work on “paradox- musician recognized by the interna- 1963, he attended the Jolivet summer ical sounds” and acoustic illusions: tional artistic community, but also an course at the French Center of Mu- sounds that rise or fall perpetually, undisputed theorist of the technolog- sical Humanism in Aix-en-Provence glissandi that go up and down at the ical musical adventure of the second where he met Darius Milhaud, Henri same time. In 1968, during his second half of the 20th century. Dutilleux, and Lejaren Hiller. Ris- stay at Bell Labs (1967–1969), Risset As a student at the Ecole´ Normale set was already impassioned by all attended John Chowning’s demon- Superieure´ (ENS) in Paris from 1957 that was new in music. He also ap- stration of the results of his first to 1964, he obtained an Aggregation proached Pierre Schaeffer’s Groupe experiments on frequency modula- of Physics in 1961 under the direc- de Recherches Musicales (GRM) and tion (FM). Chowning communicated ´ tion of Professor Pierre Grivet, on met Abraham Moles, Emile Leipp, to Risset his synthesis data; the latter the subject of “Analysis, Synthesis, and Michel Philippot; the latter put would soon use them to animate the Mutations Perception of Sounds, Studied with him in contact with Pierre Barbaud sounds in his work . the Help of Electronic Computers.” (an eminent French representative of All these pioneers of computer As a sportsman, he participated in automatic music composition). From music become friends at work but student athletics and basketball com- his first steps as a musician, Risset also in life, and forever. A year would petitions at ENS, which led him later kept a taste for elaborate tones and not pass without one crossing the timbres, but also a rigor in his work, Atlantic to find his friends for a doi:10.1162/COMJ e 00418 instilled by his various professors. colloquium, a symposium, exchanges It was also his professor Grivet (an on their research work, master classes influential advocate of electronics in universities in the four corners of research in France) who encouraged the world, or even a family holiday. him to join Max Mathews and his In 1969, the GRM under Scha- team at the Bell Telephone Laborato- effer in Paris, through its research ries in New Jersey to pursue research engineer Enrico Chiarucci (in charge in the framework of his thesis. There, of emerging technologies), received after much hesitation about his fu- from Jean-Claude Risset a copy of ture, torn between art and science, Max Mathews’s Music V software. he finally saw his contribution to the This gift would allow the GRM to field as undertaking a unique path bridge the gap in computer music simply combining art and science on and embark on a great adventure a daily basis. The year was 1964. of computer-based sound-processing During his first stay at Bell Labs developments guided by the concepts in 1964–1965, he notably met not of musique concrete` .Franc¸ois Bayle, only Edgard Varese` but also John R. director of the GRM after Schaeffer, Pierce, Newman Guttman, and, of then commissioned a piece from course, Max Mathews. From then on, Jean-Claude Risset, which became the synthesis of sounds by computer the masterpiece Mutations (for two would be one of his major centers tracks, synthesized at Bell Laborato- Figure 1. Jean-Claude of interest. Risset began by assisting ries and mixed at the GRM). Risset. (Photo: Rozenn Mathews in the development of the Finally, very Schaefferian in his Risset.) Music V software and, in 1965, his musical approach (as he was more

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_e_00418 by guest on 30 September 2021 interested in the effects of sound than In 1979, Jean-Claude Risset ex- In 1990, he received the National its causes), Risset composed works pressed the wish to return to his post Grand Prize of Music, which he that played with perception. At the in Marseille-Luminy to get away from perceived as a true affirmation of his same time, however, he did not deny the hectic life of IRCAM. He assessed musical work. To crown his years of the instrumental world. Mutations that he was too burdened with public research, in 1999, Risset received the II, in 1973, incorporated elements of communication tasks (a consequence Gold Medal of the CNRS, one of the the tracks synthesized at Bell Labs of IRCAM’s success) and that his most significant awards attributed to for Mutations and four acoustic in- research had suffered. So he returned scientific researchers in France. He struments. He composed Dialogues to Luminy, then to the Laboratoire had been research director at CNRS (1975) for flute, clarinet, piano, and de Mecanique´ et d’Acoustique of the since 1985. two-track tape synthesized by com- Centre National de la Recherche Sci- From the early 2000s, Jean-Claude puter in Marseille. After his return entifique (CNRS) in Marseille from Risset increasingly devoted him- to France in 1969, Risset joined the 1985 to 1999. From 1993 to 1999, he self to musical creation, alternat- Aix-Marseille University Faculty of helmed the national DEA (master’s ing mixed works, electroacoustic, Sciences at Luminy. There, he high- degree) in “Acoustics, Signal Process- instrumental—interactive or not, lighted the difference in perception ing and Computer Science Applied to sometimes spatial—until finally con- of sounds according to their pitch Music,” taught at IRCAM jointly by fronting the orchestra: Escalas (2001) or spectral height, depending on the the University of the Mediterranean and Schemes` (2007). cerebral hemispheres. He also worked and the University of Paris VI. Jean-Claude Risset kept in touch on nonlinear distortion synthesis, During this time, Jean-Claude with his pioneering companions in temporal slowing without transpo- Risset never stopped composing— computer music. Since the late 1980s, sition, synthesis by Gabor grains, mainly mixed works: Mixte (1982), he was regularly invited to Stanford hybrid synthesis, wavelets . . . his Passages (1982), Aventure de lignes University in California, where he contributions are innumerable. (1981), and others. On the other hand, continued his research and musical It was quite natural that in 1972 for the composition of Sud, in 1985, compositions between disciplines Pierre Boulez proposed to Jean-Claude an electroacoustic work in four tracks without hiatus. Stanford’s Center for Risset the position of director of the made at the GRM, Jean-Claude Risset Computer Research in Music and computer department of the future started from concrete` sounds recorded Acoustics (CCRMA, founded by John Institut de Recherche et de Coordina- in nature near Marseille and gradually Chowning in 1975) benefited also tion Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in hybridized them to synthetic sounds from the contributions of John Pierce Paris; he would occupy this post until following a grid of pitches. This piece and Max Mathews, who, following 1979 (IRCAM was officially inaugu- won the Ars Electronica Golden Nica their professional retirement, became rated in 1975). Boulez insisted that all Award in 1987. Jean-Claude Risset involved with the institution, thus the heads of departments should be also liked composing with voice: for encouraging contact and regular not only good scientists or engineers instance, L’autre face (1983), Sola interaction with the professors and but also composers. This is how Ger- (1985), Derives´ (1985), La nouvelle students. In 1993, the University of ald Bennett, head of IRCAM’s “diago- Atlantide (1988), and Etre (1989). The California, Berkeley, welcomed Risset nal” department, called on the young year 1989 was also marked by his as Kennedy Lecturer. These United and talented American artist and work Huit esquisses en duo pour un States–based engagements deeply scientist David Wessel, who would pianiste [Eight Sketches in Duet for marked Risset, who said he found now become part of the wider circle One Pianist] where Risset, the pianist, there the best working conditions of of pioneers and friends. Jean-Claude played live on a Yamaha Disklavier his life. His last visit to Stanford was Risset spent several exciting years at in duet with a computer program. in 2015. IRCAM. In addition to conducting This was the first piece in which the Risset was a Knight of the Legion research, he composed several im- computer is sensitive to the playing of Honor, Officer of Arts and Letters, portant works: Inharmonique (1977), of the human pianist. Risset had a member of many learned societies, Moments newtoniens (1977), Mirages developed the computer program a member of editorial boards in Eu- (1978), Distances (1979), and Songes that same year at the Massachusetts rope and in the world, and a man (1979). He opened the door to the idea Institute of Technology in Boston of conviction—very committed, un- of directly composing the spectrum with the assistance of Scott Van hesitant to publicly expose his views, of sounds. Duyne. particularly on the organization of

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_e_00418 by guest on 30 September 2021 Table 1. Selected Works of Jean-Claude Risset

Selected Discography Title Label/Catalog Number Year

Sud, Dialogues, Inharmonique, Mutations INA-GRM: C 1003 1987 Songes, Passages, Computer Suite from Little Boy, Sud Wergo: 2013-50 1988 Elementa INA-GRM: C 1019 2001

Selected Bibliography

Risset, J.-C. 2014. Composer le son: Reperes` d’une exploration du monde sonore numerique´ . Paris: Hermann. Risset, J.-C. 2011. Portraits Polychromes: Jean-Claude Risset, vol. 2 Portraits Polychromes (ed. Evelyne Gayou). Paris: INA-GRM. Mathews, M. V., J. E. Miller, F. R. Moore, and J.-C. Risset. 1969. “Music V Manual.” In M. V. Mathews, ed. The Technology of Computer Music. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, pp. 113–172.

Selected Articles

Risset, J.-C. 1964. “Musique, electronique´ et theorie´ de l’information.” L’Onde Electrique 44:1055–1063. Risset, J.-C. 1964. “Modele` numerique´ de la reconnaissance des formes par correlation´ et application alafonction` auditive.” Comptes rendus de l’Academie´ des Sciences 259:1219–1221. Pierce, J. R., M. V. Mathews, and J.-C. Risset. 1965. “Further Experiments on the Use of the Computer in Connection with Music.” Gravesaner Blatter¨ 27/28:92–97. Risset, J.-C., and M. V. Mathews. 1969. “Analysis of Instrument Tones.” Physics Today 22(2):23–30.

Selected Awards and Prizes Name Year

Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica 1987 National Grand Prix of Music (France) 1990 International Competition of Bourges (Computer Music) 1980 Euphonie d’Or 1992 L’Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique´ de Bourges Magisterium Prize 1998 ZKM Giga-Hertz Award 2009 Knight of the Legion of Honor 1989 Commander of Arts and Letters 2006

research in France. “It is in the area comprehensive list is available at Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016) of innovation and expertise that is http://brahms.ircam.fr/jean-claude staked the future of a country,” he -risset) that have been released in [Editor’s note: This obituary was asserted in a 2009 letter to Valerie´ numerous recordings, authored or authored by assistant editor Doug Pecresse,´ the French Minister of co-authored around 150 scientific and Van Nort.] Higher Education and Research. He scholarly articles, and was awarded Highly influential composer, per- was an ardent supporter of multidisci- numerous prizes (see http://jean former, and humanitarian Pauline plinarity, and regularly railed against -claude-risset.fr/welcome/biograhie Oliveros died on 24 November 2016 the tendency of politicians to segment /distinctions for a full list). at her home in Kingston, New York. fields of study and thereby prevent op- Jean-Claude Risset left us on 21 Over six decades, her career spanned portunities for major innovation. As November 2016. He is survived by boundaries and defied categorization, documented in part by Table 1, Risset his wife, Rozenn, and two children, integrating improvisation, ritual, composed over 70 musical works (a Solenn and Tanguy. composition, teaching, technology,

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_e_00418 by guest on 30 September 2021 Figure 2. Pauline Oliveros. (Photo: Gisela Gamper.)

Pauline Oliveros was born in to establish the school as a major Houston, Texas, on 30 May 1932. She center for musical experimentation. studied music at the University of She would go on to do the same at the Houston before moving to San Fran- University of California, San Diego cisco, where she earned a Bachelor of (UCSD), where she served as director Fine Arts (BFA) degree in composition of the Center for Music Experiment from San Francisco State College from 1976–1979, at the Oberlin Con- while studying composition with servatory of Music, and most recently Robert Erickson. It was here that she as Distinguished Research Professor met a number of key experimental at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute music allies, including lifelong friend (RPI). and collaborator Stuart Dempster; Always a maverick, as perhaps she subsequently became a founding best exemplified by her choice of member of the legendary San Fran- accordion as primary performance meditation, and electronic music cisco Tape Music Center (SFTMC). instrument, Oliveros famously left a (see Figure 2). Her fundamental In this context Oliveros began to fur- full professorship position at UCSD in respect for the power of creative com- ther push the boundaries of applying order to free herself from creative time munities and her lasting ability to cutting-edge technologies to musical constraints, moving to upstate New define them are best exemplified in creation, engaging in extremely novel York to function as an independent her legacy of “Deep Listening—her approaches to working with tape ma- artist and consultant. Never relenting lifelong research/practice of opening chines, oscillators, noise generators, to societal norms in her work or life, her and others’ sensibilities to all feedback, delay, and reverberation. she penned an influential essay in facets of sound (Oliveros 2005). The Her highly singular and inventive 1970 for the New York Times (13 concepts and practices that underlie approach led to her define her “own September) entitled “And Don’t Call Deep Listening have expanded out- technique of ‘playing’ the classical Them ‘Lady’ Composers,” in which ward to define a global wave of practi- studio in real time” (Duguid 1998). she articulated issues of gender bias tioners and a growing consciousness Applying a sensitive performer’s ap- in the musical world and beyond. of the importance of listening in proach to the studio-as-system led to Indeed, through her life example the present moment to all aspects works that today still feel fresh and and her unwavering voice, Oliveros of oneself and to one’s environment organic. Working on setups at Mills served as a major source of inspiration (Oliveros 1976, 1984). The practice College as well as the University of for generations of women composers, originated in Oliveros’s childhood Toronto Electronic Music Studio (dur- musicians, artists, and thinkers. fascination with all sounds, from the ing work in the summer of 1966) led Oliveros’s unique approach to cre- frogs and cicadas surrounding her to many lasting works such as IofIV, ative work with feedback and delay Houston home to the sound effects Big Mother is Watching You,andBye and her delight in eliciting musical of her favorite radio shows and the Bye Butterﬂy, which New York Times innovation from technological sys- radio static itself. This opening up to music critic John Rockwell called tems would persist throughout her all sources of sound equally would “one of the most beautiful pieces of career. She successfully transformed be a hallmark of Oliveros’s approach electronic music to emerge from the and augmented her earlier approach to the moment, to acoustic versus 60s.” Speaking to her always-dual role to the tape music studio through a electronic sounds, as well as to her as singular artist as well as initiator of project known as the Expanded In- welcoming attitude towards people new community directions, under the strument System (EIS) (Gamper and from all walks of life. This boundary- directorship of Oliveros the SFTMC Oliveros 1998). The EIS focused on crossing and integrated approach is received a major grant to transition augmenting the acoustic sounds of precisely what makes it difficult to into the Mills Center for Contem- performers, acting as a “time ma- focus purely on the considerable com- porary Music. In this context and chine” and returning past content puter music-related influences of her beyond, Oliveros was instrumental in a transformed state, asking Oliv- work, but, to complement the many in shaping the pedagogy and prac- eros or other performers to react in wonderful tributes that have been tices of teaching electronic music, the moment to this mirroring part- and continue to be written, it is what and she would maintain a teaching ner and integrating past and present this obituary will attempt. presence at Mills for decades, helping with future musical directions. This

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_e_00418 by guest on 30 September 2021 work and Oliveros’s history of ideas would go on to apply to the band sound, listening, and music-making, around listening and improvising name for her many collaborations and her profound ability to envision with technology set the groundwork with Dempster and David Gamper, as far-off musical futures (Oliveros for a later five-year project, funded well as the identifier for the expansive 2008) very naturally and gracefully by the National Science Foundation, practice and community that she has have led to fundamental shifts in wherein Oliveros and colleagues at left us with. musical thought, and, as a result, to RPI focused on applying artificial Oliveros did a great deal to mo- new approaches to computer-based intelligence to musical systems for bilize technology towards furthering music-making as well. The entirety improvisation (Van Nort, Oliveros, expression and connection for all of the musical world mourns the and Braasch 2013). Her ideas of non- people. Beginning with her friend, loss of Pauline Oliveros; through her human agent systems as reflective musician and occupational thera- generosity of spirit, those of us who musical partners (such as EIS) pre- pist Leaf Miller, Oliveros initiated have had the deep honor of working ceded by many decades—and helped the Adaptive Use Musical Instru- closely with her and studying her to establish—a line of musical re- ments (AUMI) project, which enables approach have been given more than search in this area that is currently people with very limited voluntary just writings and recordings—we have being actively developed worldwide. movement to independently engage been shown a way forward as artists, Pauline Oliveros was also deeply in music-making (Oliveros et al. scholars, and teachers, ensuring that invested in the influence of acoustic 2011). AUMI has become a major Oliveros’s brilliant life of listening space on musical performance, and in multi-university–supported project will continue to reverberate for many the possibilities of utilizing spaces as that continues to provide not just years to come. instruments in and of themselves. In therapy but authentic creative voice addition to the importance placed on to those in need, through the kind of concepts of time and surprise, through deeply human-oriented application of the various phases of her EIS system technology of which Oliveros was a References the composer developed moving pat- master. This desire to connect with terns of multichannel sound sources others led Oliveros to pioneer the Duguid, B. 1998. “Pauline Oliv- and continuous transformation of application and conception of telem- eros Interview.” EST Magazine. simulated reverberant spaces (Oliv- atics in music-making, once again Available online at http://media eros 1995) that pushed the boundaries situating her as a pioneer in the vi- .hyperreal.org/zines/est/intervs of what was technologically possible, sioning of near and far future musical /oliveros.html. Accessed March while demonstrating a supreme abil- experiences (Oliveros 2009). Always 2017. ity to seamlessly integrate a given traversing disciplines and engaging in Gamper, D., and P. Oliveros. 1998. acoustic performance space with fresh collaborations, at the time of her “A Performer-Controlled Live such virtual spaces that she would passing Oliveros was working with Sound-Processing System: New invoke. A famous lover of puns, the her wife and longtime collaborator Developments and Implementa- term for her practice (Deep Listening) Ione on a major mixed-reality opera, tions of the Expanded Instrument was inspired by a recording session The Nubian Word for Flowers. This System.” Leonardo Music Journal in which she, Stuart Dempster, and project, still in development, speaks 8(1):33–38. vocalist Panaiotis descended into to the volume of her creative output Oliveros, P. 1976. “On Sonic Medita- an underground water cistern and as well as the continued influence of tion.” The Painted Bride Quarterly recorded a now cult-classic album of her life and work. 3(1):54–68. the same name. Once again speaking Critic John Rockwell once said Oliveros, P. 1984. Software for People: to her open approach to all sound, the of Oliveros, “On some level, music, Collected Writings 1963–80.Balti- 1989 Deep Listening album sounds sound consciousness and religion are more, Maryland: Printed Editions. like a masterful exposition of ad- all one, and she would seem to be Oliveros, P. 1995. “Acoustic and vanced electronic treatments, when very close to that level.” In this same Virtual Space as a Dynamic Ele- in fact all “processing” is the result way we simply cannot reduce her ment Of Music.” Leonardo Music of the cistern itself and of the musi- many accomplishments to the field Journal 5(1):19–22. cians’ openness to sonic space in the of computer music proper; rather, her Oliveros, P. 2008. “Quantum Impro- moment. The Deep Listening term balanced attention to all aspects of visation: The Cybernetic Presence

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_e_00418 by guest on 30 September 2021 Figure 3. The award ceremony of the 2016 ZKM Giga-Hertz Award. From left, Ludger Brummer,¨ Atau Tanaka, Curtis Roads, Elvira Garifzyanova, Detlef Heusinger, Huihui Cheng, Peter Weibel, Bjorn¨ Gottstein, and Daniel Zea Gomez.´ (Photo: ONUK, Copyright ZKM Karlsruhe.)

11.” In P. Miller, ed. Sound Un- Giga-Hertz Awards for her piece ARCANE-II for four bound: Sampling Digital Music flutes, four Paetzold flutes, and live and Culture. Cambridge, Mas- The Zentrum fur¨ Kunst und Medi- electronics, and Huihui Cheng for sachusetts: MIT Press, pp. 119–130. entechnologie Karlsruhe Institut fur¨ Me Du C¸a for vocal and live elec- Oliveros, P. 2005. Deep Listening: Musik und Akustik (ZKM IMA) in tronics. Honorary Mention was given A Composer’s Sound Practice. Karlsruhe, Germany, awarded the to Daniel Zea Gomez´ for his inter- IUniverse. 2016 Giga-Hertz Award to com- active audiovisual piece The Fuck Oliveros, P. 2009. “Networked Music: poser, educator, and researcher Facebook Face Orchestra for four Low and High Tech.” Contempo- Curtis Roads for his contributions performers. A jury consisting of rary Music Review 28(4–5):433– to the compositional practice of Atau Tanaka, Bjorn¨ Gottstein, Ludger 435. electroacoustic music; to the de- Brummer,¨ Detlef Heusinger, and Pe- Oliveros, P., et al. 2011. “A Musical velopment of techniques, methods, ter Weibel selected the winners out Improvisation Interface for People and literature of granular synthesis; of approximately 80 international with Severe Physical Disabilities.” and to computer music literature, submissions (see Figure 3). Previous Music and Medicine 3(3):172– including his influential books re- Giga-Hertz Award winners include 181. lated to computer music. (Roads Pierre Boulez, John Chowning, Fran- Van Nort, D., P. Oliveros, and J. was also the Editor of Computer cis Dhomont, Jean-Claude Risset, Braasch. 2013 “Electro/Acoustic Music Journal from 1978–1989 and Pauline Oliveros, Brian Eno, Em- Improvisation and Deeply Listen- associate editor from 1989–2000.) The manuel Nunes, Gottfried Michael ing Machines.” Journal of New Giga-Hertz Awards for Production Koenig, Trevor Wishart, and Jonathan Music Research 42(4):303–324. were awarded to Elvira Garifzyanova Harvey.

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_e_00418 by guest on 30 September 2021 The award ceremony of the prize cent tubes, and Sabrina Schroeder’s research and future trends on force comprised three days of concerts and Stircrazer II for cello and electronics. feedback and music. Marcelo Wan- talks, from 24–27 November 2016 at Web: www.images-sonores.be derley’s opening talk assessed the ZKM Karlsruhe. The opening concert relative dearth of popular musical presented the winning entries of the force-feedback systems, proposing Giga-Hertz Production Award, as New York City Electroacoustic solutions to facilitate an expanding well as works by previous winners Improvisation Summit role for force feedback in artistic sce- of the award Lara Morciano, Giu- narios. Additional talks approached liano Obici, Vinyl -terror & -horror, The second annual New York City similar general topics, such as the and Alexander Schubert. Another Electroacoustic Improvisation Sum- development of technical standards concert, organized by the Experi- mit took place 24–25 February 2017 for force-feedback interaction, practi- mentalstudio des Sudwestrundfunk¨ at New York City College of Technol- cal issues with low-cost commodity (SWR), included premieres of works ogy in New York City. The concert haptic interfaces, and compositional by Roque Rivas and Flo Menezes and series focused on music integrating approaches to force feedback. Other works of Luigi Nono. The award cere- improvisation and real-time interac- talks focused on specific instances of mony itself was preceded by a reading tive computer systems. Kerry Hagan force-feedback technology, such as a by Curtis Roads. A concert of Roads’s and Miller Puckette’s Hack Lumps virtual drum kit, generative music work, in collaboration with Brian utilized a networked laptop improvi- incorporating force feedback, and O’Reilly and Sekhar Ramakrishnan, sation system incorporating unstable browsing collections of audio and followed a talk by Roads and panel oscillators and stochastic samplers other media. discussion with Roads, Brummer,¨ to form a collaborative instrument Web: www.cirmmt.org/activities O’Reilly, and Ramakrishnan. subject to unpredictable effects and /workshops/research/ffedback music Web: zkm.de/en/event/2016/11 dynamics. Skronkbot, by Adam James /giga-hertz-award-2016 Wilson, was a duet between a fret- less electric guitar performer and a WOCMAT–IRCAM Forum computer-based automatic accom- Conference Images Sonores panist of the composer’s devising, responding to and improvising in the Organized by the Kainan University The Centre Henri Pousseur presented style of the human performer. Cur- School of Informatics and L’Institut the 18th Images Sonores festival in tis Bahn and Thomas Ciufo’s Sonic de Recherche et Coordination Acous- December 2016, spanning a num- Constructions incorporated hybrid tique/Musique (IRCAM), the 2016 ber of dates and locations in Liege` acoustic/digital instruments, and Joint International Workshop on and Brussels, Belgium. The festival Lauren Sarah Hayes’s Riot Map Vi- Computer Music and Audio Technol- consisted of five concerts of electro- sion combined an array of analog and ogy (WOCMAT)–IRCAM Forum Con- acoustic music. The initial concert digital music synthesis components ference took place 14–16 December in the series centered on electric controlled by a gaming interface. 2016 at Kainan University in Taoyuan guitarist Hughes Kolp, performing Web: eis.nyc City, Taiwan. The conference in- Michel Fourgon’s Drunky Jimmy cluded keynote lectures, invited talks, Plok, Steve Reich’s Electric Guitar research presentations, posters, work- Phase, and the premiere of Mingge Symposium on Force Feedback shops, a sound gallery, and concerts. Guo’s Algesia. The following concert and Music Keynote talks by Thibaut Carpentier drew inspiration from An Index of and Leigh Landy discussed hybrid Metals, a video opera composed by The Symposium on Force Feedback techniques for spatialized sound and Fausto Romitelli, including a num- and Music occurred 9–10 December the rapid pace of developments in ber of recent audiovisual pieces in 2016 at McGill University in Mon- music technology, respectively. Ad- addition to Romitelli’s work itself. treal, Canada. Organized by McGill’s ditional invited talks by IRCAM Additional concerts included Kasper Input Devices and Music Interaction affiliates presented the various tech- Toeplitz’s Suspension-aggregate for Laboratory and Centre For Interdisci- nologies developed and distributed electric guitar, percussion, sax, double plinary Research in Music Media and by IRCAM, including real-time pro- bass, and electronics, Simon Løffler’s Technology (CIRMMT), the sympo- cessing tools for Max, the AudioGu- b, performed by activating fluores- sium focused on the current state of ide concatenative synthesizer, the

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_e_00418 by guest on 30 September 2021 Antescofo score-following system, technological trends—such as mobile carnation through the lens of modern and the Orchids orchestration and devices, virtual reality, and wearable theoretical physics, and Ken Paoli’s timbral analysis software. Workshop technology—to musical expression. Cathedral, a computer-synthesized sessions further focused on working The conference’s extensive concert composition generated from fractal with a number of IRCAM software programming included Yi-Cheng Lin’s algorithms. tools on a practical level. Other talks Reincarnation for shamisen trio and Web: wocmat-ircam.strikingly discussed the application of current electronics, which interpreted rein- .com

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