Tod Machover (1953- )
Tod
Machover has been called "America's most wired composer" by
the Los Angeles Times. He is widely recognized as one of the most
significant and innovative composers of his generation, and is also
celebrated for inventing new technology for music, including
Hyperinstruments which he launched in 1986. Machover's music
has
been acclaimed for breaking traditional artistic and cultural
boundaries, offering a unique and innovative synthesis of acoustic and
electronic sound, of symphony orchestras and interactive computers, and
of operatic arias and rock songs. His compositions have been
commissioned and performed by many of the world's most prestigious
ensembles and soloists, including the Ensemble InterContemporain, the
London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern, Speculum Musicae, BBC Scottish
Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston
Pops, Houston Grand Opera, Bunkamura (Tokyo), Lincoln Center for the
Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin,
the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Collage New Music, Speculum Musicae,
Ars Electronica, Casa da Musica (Porto), American Composers Orchestra,
Tokyo String Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Ying Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua
Bell, Kim Kashkahian, David Starobin, Matt Haimovitz, and many more.
His work has been awarded numerous prizes and honors, among others from
from the Fromm and Koussevitzky Foundations, the National Endowment for
the Arts, the German Culture Ministry, and the French Culture Ministry,
which named him a Chevalier de l'Order des Arts et des Lettres. In 2007
he was awarded the Steinmetz Prize from the IEEE. He was the first
recipient of the World Technology Award for the Arts, in 2010, and was
Finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music. He has been
Professor of Music and
Media at the MIT Media Lab (Cambridge, USA) since it was founded in
1985, and is Director of the Lab's Hyperinstruments and Opera of the
Future Groups. Since 2006, Machover has also been Visiting Professor of
Composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London.COMPOSITIONS Machover Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Machover on Machover
[under construction]
Ye Gentle Birds, soprano, mezzo-soprano and wind ensemble (1979)
Fresh Spring, baritone and large chamber ensemble (1977)
With Dadaji in Paradise, cello (1977-78; rev. 1983)
Two Songs, soprano and chamber ensemble (1978)
Concerto for Amplified Guitar, amplified acoustic guitar and large chamber ensemble (1978)
Deplacements, amplified guitar and computer-generated tape (1979)
Light, chamber orchestra and computer electronics (1979)
Soft Morning, City!, soprano, double bass and computer-generated tape (????)
Winter Variations, large chamber ensemble (1981)
String Quartet No. 1 (1981)
Fusione Fugace, keyboard, 2 specialized interfaces and live 4X digital synthesizer (1981-82)
Chansons d'Amour, piano (1982)
Electric Etudes, amplified cello, live and pre-recorded computer electronics (1983)
Spectres Parisiens, flute, horn, cello, chamber orchestra and computer electronics (1983-84)
Hidden Sparks, violin (1984)
Famine, 4 amplified voices and computer-generated sounds (1985)
VALIS, a science fiction opera (1987)
Desires, orchestra (1985-89)
Nature's Breath, chamber orchestra (1988-89)
Towards the Center, ampl flute, clarinet, violin, cello, elec keyboard, percussion and 5 hyperinstrument electronics (1988-89)
Flora, pre-recorded soprano and computer-generated sound (1989)
Bug Mudra, 2 guitars (elec & ampl-acoustic), elec percussion, conducting dataglove & interactive computer electronics (1989-90)
Hyperstring Trilogy, hypercello, hyperviola, hyperviolin and chamber orchestra (1991-93; rev. 1996-97)
- Begin Again Again …, hypercello (1991) [for Yo-Yo Ma]
- Song of Penance, hyperviola and chamber orchestra (1992)
- Forever and Ever, hyperviolin and orchestra (1993)
Bounce, hyperkeyboards, Yamaha Disklavier Grand piano and interactive computer electronics (1992)
Media/Medium, a "magic" opera (1994) [for magicians Penn & Teller]
He's Our Dad, soprano, keyboard and computer-generated sound (1997)
Brain Opera (1996-98) [audience-interactive]
Meteor Music, interactive installation (1998)
Resurrection, opera (1999) [based on Tolstoy's last novel]
Sparkler, orchestra and interactive computer electronics (2001)
Toy Symphony, hyperviolin, children's chorus, music toys and orchestra (2002/03)
Mixed Messiah (2004) [a 6-minute remix of Handel's "Messiah"]
I Dreamt A Dream, youth chorus, piano and electronics (2004)
Three Hyper-Dim-Sums, string quartet (2004)
Meteorite (2000-05) [building-size underground art experience, Essen, Germany; collab. /w media entrepreneur Andre Heller]
Sea Soaring, flute, electronics and live audience interaction (2005)
...but not simpler..., string quartet (2005)
Jeux Deux, hyperpiano and orchestra (2005)
Another Life, 9 instruments and electronics (2006)
Interlude 1 "After Bach", electronic (2006; rev. 2011)
VinylCello, amplified cello, DJ and live computer electronics (2007)
Skellig, opera (2008) [based on the award-winning novel by David Almond]
Death and the Powers, a "robotic" opera (2010) [libretto: U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky]
Interlude 2 "After Byrd", electronic (2011)
WORKS BY GENRE Machover Links ~ ~ ~ Machover on Machover ~ top of page ~
[under construction]
Dramatic/Theater
VALIS, a science fiction opera (1987)
Media/Medium, a "magic" opera (1994) [for magicians Penn & Teller]
Brain Opera (1996-98) [audience-interactive]
Resurrection, opera (1999) [based on Tolstoy's last novel]
Skellig, opera (2008) [based on the award-winning novel by David Almond]
Death and the Powers, a "robotic" opera (2010) [libretto: U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky]
Orchestra
Light, chamber orchestra and computer electronics (1979)
Desires, orchestra (1985-89)
Nature's Breath, chamber orchestra (1988-89)
Sparkler, orchestra and interactive computer electronics (2001)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra or Ensemble
Concerto for Amplified Guitar, amplified acoustic guitar and large chamber ensemble (1978)
Spectres Parisiens, flute, horn, cello, chamber orchestra and computer electronics (1983-84)
Hyperstring Trilogy, hypercello, hyperviola, hyperviolin and chamber orchestra (1991-93; rev. 1996-97)
- Begin Again Again …, hypercello (1991) [for Yo-Yo Ma]
- Song of Penance, hyperviola and chamber orchestra (1992)
- Forever and Ever, hyperviolin and orchestra (1993)
Toy Symphony, hyperviolin, children's chorus, music toys and orchestra (2002/03)
Jeux Deux, hyperpiano and orchestra (2005)
- Swift & Stealthy
- Freely Lyrical
- Buoyant & Precise
Chorus w/Orchestra
Toy Symphony, hyperviolin, children's chorus, music toys and orchestra (2002/03)
Choral
I Dreamt A Dream, youth chorus, piano and electronics (2004)
Chamber
Winter Variations, large chamber ensemble (1981)
String Quartet No. 1 (1981)
Towards the Center, ampl flute, clarinet, violin, cello, elec keyboard, percussion and 5 hyperinstrument electronics (1988-89)
Bug Mudra, 2 guitars (elec & ampl-acoustic), elec percussion, conducting dataglove & interactive computer electronics (1989-90)
Three Hyper-Dim-Sums, string quartet (2004)
- Glade
- Winding Line
- Punchy
...but not simpler..., string quartet (2005)
Another Life, 9 instruments and electronics (2006)
Solo Instrument
With Dadaji in Paradise, cello (1977-78; rev. 1983)
Deplacements, amplified guitar and computer-generated tape (1979)
Electric Etudes, amplified cello, live and pre-recorded computer electronics (1983)
Hidden Sparks, violin (1984)
Begin Again Again …, hypercello (1991) [for Yo-Yo Ma] [from "Hyperstring Trilogy"]
Sea Soaring, flute, electronics and live audience interaction (2005)
VinylCello, amplified cello, DJ and live computer electronics (2007)
Piano/Keyboard
Fusione Fugace, keyboard, 2 specialized interfaces and live 4X digital synthesizer (1981-82)
Chansons d'Amour, piano (1982)
Bounce, hyperkeyboards, Yamaha Disklavier Grand piano and interactive computer electronics (1992)
Vocal
Ye Gentle Birds, soprano, mezzo-soprano and wind ensemble (1979)
Fresh Spring, baritone and large chamber ensemble (1977)
Two Songs, soprano and chamber ensemble (1978)
Soft Morning, City!, soprano, double bass and computer-generated tape (????)
Famine, 4 amplified voices and computer-generated sounds (1985)
Flora, pre-recorded soprano and computer-generated sound (1989)
He's Our Dad, soprano, keyboard and computer-generated sound (1997)
Electronic/Multimedia
Flora, pre-recorded soprano and computer-generated sound (1989)
Meteor Music, interactive installation (1998)
Meteorite (2000-05) [building-size underground art experience, Essen, Germany; collab. /w media entrepreneur Andre Heller]
Mixed Messiah (2004) [a 6-minute remix of Handel's "Messiah"]
Interlude 1 "After Bach", electronic (2006; rev. 2011)
Interlude 2 "After Byrd", electronic (2011)
MACHOVER LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Machover on Machover ~ top of page ~
[under construction]
…but not simpler… by Tod Machover (Liner Notes for Bridge Records CD By Richard Dyer)
Hypercollaborations: An Interview with Tod Machover (Carson Cooman, Fanfare)
An Interview with Tod Machover, the World's Most Wired Composer (Katie Womack, Dallas Observer)
Interview: Tod Machover, Creator of "The Death and the Powers" (Jim Sullivan, TimeOut Boston)
Music Machine Mastermind Tod Machover's in Town (Jerome Weeks, Art & Seek)
Tod Machover Crowdsources a Symphony (Kelli Korducki, Torontoist)
Tod Machover on Composing Music by Computer (Erica R. Hendry, Smithsonian magazine) also here
Visionaries: Musical Innovator Tod Machover (Bianca Vázquez Toness, WBUR)
Composer's website . . . contact Tod Machover: here
Machover @ Wikipedia
Machover @ All American Speakers
Machover @ American Composers Orchestra
Machover @ American Repertory Theater
Machover @ Big Think
Machover @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Machover @ Classical Archives
Machover @ The Dallas Opera
Machover @ Facebook
Machover @ InstantEncore
Machover @ IRCAM (in French)
Machover @ Klassika
Machover @ LinkedIn
Machover @ MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology
Machover @ MIT Media Lab
Machover @ Modern Classical
Machover @ Tim Morriss
Machover @ MusicWeb International
Machover @ NewMusic USA
Machover @ The New York Times
Machover @ W.W. Norton/The Enjoyment of Music
Machover @ OPERA America
Machover @ Opera of the Future
Machover @ Penn Humanities Forum
Machover @ The Pulitzer Prizes
Machover @ Royal Academy of Music
Machover @ Scientific American Frontiers
Machover @ SOFAlab
Machover @ Steelcase
Machover @ A Toronto Symphony
Machover @ US Opera
Machover @ World Science Festival
Publisher
Machover @ Composer's website/publisher listings
Machover @ Boosey & Hawkes
Machover @ Ricordi
Streaming Audio
Machover @ Composer's website - check under individual work listings
Machover @ Classical Archives
Machover @ last.fm
Machover @ MySpaceMusic
Machover @ W.W. Norton/The Enjoyment of Music
Machover @ NPRmusic
Machover @ Rhapsody.com
Machover @ SoundCloud
Recordings
Machover @ Amazon.com
Machover @ ArkivMusic
Machover @ CD Universe
Machover @ ClassicsOnline
Machover @ Discogs
Machover @ itunes
Machover @ Naxos
Video
Machover @ YouTube
Machover @ Big Think/Interview with Tod Machover
Machover @ Composer's website
Machover @ Google Video
Machover @ Vimeo (via Google Advanced Search)
~ top of page ~
Machover on Machover: Visionaries/WBUR, Boston (VIDEO)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HOME ABOUT RESOURCES COMPOSERS PERFORMANCES 20/21 ENSEMBLE CONTACT US
HOME ABOUT RESOURCES COMPOSERS PERFORMANCES 20/21 ENSEMBLE CONTACT US