Tod Machover will be speaking on "Hyperinstruments, Robotic Operas, and City Symphonies" this Sunday, May 22, at Moogfest 2016. According to the festival's website, "Moogfest is a tribute to Dr. Robert Moog and the profound influence his inventions have had on how we hear the world. Over the last sixty years, Bob Moog and Moog Music have …
Tod Machover to speak on music and medicine
Composer Tod Machover will be giving a Keynote Talk called MUSIC, MEDICINE AND MEANING at the Mt.Sinai-Louis Armstrong Center symposium "Turned On, Tuned In" in NYC on May 2. Inspired by Marvin Minsky's seminal paper "Music, Mind and Meaning," Machover will be building on the Opera of The Future group's recent work in music, mind and …
Continue reading "Tod Machover to speak on music and medicine"
Catalyst Conversations with Tod Machover and Kevin Esvelt
You may interested in this public discussion - called Boundaries of the Possible - that composer Tod Machover will be having with biologist and new MIT Media Lab faculty member Kevin Esvelt. Part of the Catalyst Conversations series and co-hosted by MIT’s List Visual Arts Center, it will be held at the Media Lab Complex's Bartos Theater, 20 Ames …
Continue reading "Catalyst Conversations with Tod Machover and Kevin Esvelt"
Tod Machover on remembering Marvin Minsky
From Remembering Marvin Minsky: Marvin loved music and it was a central part of his life. He grew up as a piano prodigy, but especially as a “thinker” about music. He understood music’s great pull on our emotions, and this made him curious, even suspicious. (He once asked me: “What right does Schumann have to order …
Continue reading "Tod Machover on remembering Marvin Minsky"
Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)
From Tod Machover's Facebook page: Pierre Boulez - the great French composer, conductor and visionary (both imaginary and institutional) - died yesterday at the age of 90. Here is Paul Griffiths' excellent obituary in The New York Times, which covers a great deal of Boulez's career but does not mention his singular association with the …
Listen up! Great recording of Symphony in D (video)
For your listening pleasure, here's an excellent version of the "Symphony in D" recording. And here's a new press release just out about the symphony and Tod Machover's "Composer of the Year" award. "Imagination is the strongest tool we have. The reason that we make music is of course to reach our audiences, but also …
Continue reading "Listen up! Great recording of Symphony in D (video)"
Musical America’s Composer of the Year
Tod Machover was honored last night as Composer of the Year by Musical America in a ceremony at Carnegie Hall. In his article on Machover's award, music critic Mark Swed wrote, "A true futurist understands the past and thinks about things to come, but the real work is to make the moment matter. At Lucerne, Machover …
BBC interview on Symphony in D
Here's a 5-minute audio clip just released from the BBC World Service that presents the highlights from the full 12-minute interview about SYMPHONY IN D - recently premiered with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra - that was broadcast last weekend. Good way to hear a discussion about (and sounds from) the project without scrolling through a …
Symphony in D, the words
Words made powerful contributions to the "Symphony in D." Notably, the fourth movement featured texts spoken by a variety of people representing Detroit including two vivid and memorable poems by Marsha Music and Tonya Matthews. For background essays and information about the world premiere performance, view the program here. Memories and Dreams From the mire and murky …
Listen: World Premiere of Tod Machover’s ‘Symphony for Lucerne’
Tod Machover's SYMPHONY FOR LUCERNE was aired 10 days ago on WQXR radio in New York. You can hear it here (and also hear how very different it is from SYMPHONY IN D for Detroit), as well as listen to an excellent interview with Jeff Spurgeon where he and Tod discuss Lucerne, its symphony, alpenhorns, cowbells, …
Continue reading "Listen: World Premiere of Tod Machover’s ‘Symphony for Lucerne’"
Opera of the Future 