Here is question 2 from New Vilna Review Editor Daniel Levenson's recent interview with composer Tod Machover: NVR: During the event at the NCAC, the moderator, Professor Lloyd Schwartz, asked a question about the role that Jewish identity plays in the work you do, and specifically whether it figured into the creation of this new opera. …
Continue reading "Q&A with Tod Machover – “What role does Jewish identity play in your work?”"
New Vilna Review Editor Daniel Levenson's recent interview with composer Tod Machover asked wonderfully probing questions that elicited thoughtful, revealing replies. It's a long interview, and we thought readers would enjoy seeing them in a "Q&A of the day" format. Here is question 1: NVR: You recently participated in an event sponsored by the New …
Message from Tod: "I thought you might enjoy this new interview that just got posted. The editor of the New Vilna Review was at the event I participated in last month with Robert Pinsky and followed up with these questions. I enjoyed this opportunity to talk about my Jewish roots, something that I haven't really …
The distinguished music critic Andrew Porter has published his review in Opera Magazine of Death and the Powers, which he saw at its Monaco premiere last September. Porter has followed composer Tod Machover's work for decades and brings a wealth of knowledge about Tod's work and the history of opera generally to this review. In …
Continue reading "Andrew Porter reviews Death and the Powers"
The Economist has published an excellent article "A technology maestro," about Tod Machover's work at the MIT Media Lab. The magazine's web site includes an excellent video documentary. In the documentary, Tod explains how the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band motivated him to explore technologies that could bring the complexity and richness of …
Continue reading "The Economist: Inventing the opera of the future (video)"
Tuesday evening's "I Sing the Body Electric" event, featuring composer Tod Machover, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and Pulitzer-winning music critic and poet Lloyd Schwartz, garnered an enthusiastic write-up by Daniel E. Levenson, ALM, publisher and editor-in-chief of the New Vilna Review. The disucssion centered on the new opera Death and the Powers, composed …
Continue reading "New Vilna Review on Machover and Pinsky evening"
Tod Machover will be delivering a talk for the Penn Humanities Forum tomorrow on the topic of "Music, Mastery, and Memory." He'll be speaking about technological innovations he has spearheaded to open the doors of musical expression to people who traditionally have been excluded. Pre-registration required. Details here. When: 8 December 2010 from 5:00–6:30pm Where: …
There's an excellent feature article in the current issue of The Jewish Advocate describing tomorrow night's program with poet laureate Robert Pinsky and composer Tod Machover. The event, titled "I Sing the Body Electric", is sponsored by the New Center for Arts and Culture and will take place at 7:30pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, …
Continue reading "Jewish Advocate: Dec. 7 Event with Tod Machover and Robert Pinsky"
What a delightful surprise! We just learned that Tod Machover was awarded the 2010 World Technology Award for the Arts. According to the World Technology Network's web site: "These Award winners and finalists are those individuals (in 20 categories) and companies/organizations (in 10 categories) who -- in the opinion of the WTN Fellows and Founding …
The French technology magazine l'Ordinateur individuel-SVM just published an article "Tod Machover: Créateur d'Hyperinstruments." The two-page spread describes the evolution of hypersintruments, from IRCAM days to Yo-yo Ma and Guitar Hero. It includes a time line. Nice! Download a pdf of the article.
Opera of the Future 