Follow the creation of “Every Thing Has Its Limits for/with Glass Cymbals.” on CONFLUENCE, premiering this month on PBS.
Tod Machover’s process of experimentation with “glass cymbals” was designed especially for the new three-part series CONFLUENCE, which explores the enduring and surprising connections between the arts and the fields of science, engineering and design. Machover is among the array of creative people — including Nick Cave, Iris van Herpen, Refik Anadol and Joshua Bell — featured in the series who are crossing boundaries where multiple perspectives are fused to open up new insights.
Episode 2, in which Machover is featured, premieres on PBS TV on July 19; the first episode of CONFLUENCE premieres on July 12.
Viewers follow the entire process as Machover works with UK artist and material scientist Zoe Laughlin and glass artist and engineer Michael Stern to develop a new instrument — a glass cymbal — that Machover describes as simultaneously “sonically superb, percussively resilient, and extremely fragile.” Through experimentation with different glass textures, techniques and resonances, they ultimately create glass cymbals on which Machover performs a new composition — Every Thing Has Its Limits — in a one-time-only event for an intimate audience gathered in his 18th-century barn outside of Boston.
VIDEO: Watch Tod Machover testing glass sounds
To watch the episode of CONFLUENCE featuring Machover:
- On PBS TV, check your local listings, beginning July 19.
- Online for free, visit PBS.org beginning July 19 (the episodes will remain online for two months after the premiere on July 19).
For more information about all three episodes of CONFLUENCE, visit Confluence TV.
Opera of the Future 