9 November 1995
Concert Hall
School of Music and Dance
San Jose State University
San Jose, California, USA

Stanford, California, USA
E-mail: Fernando Lopez-Lezcano -- nando@ccrma.Stanford.edu

Computer Music Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3, Fall 1996, pp. 80 - 81.

The San Jose State University (SJSU) School of Music and Dance presented an electroacoustic music concert on 9 November 1995 as part of American Music Week. Always on the lookout for computer music, and alerted by the usual electronic mail announcements, we jumped into the car and headed south from Palo Alto in search of sonic adventure.

The concert opened with Joshua Freid's Howard Johnson Affirmative, a piece for electronic sounds on tape. While the questions and proposals about using gradually changing loops of human utterances posed by the composer were interesting, the musical realization of the idea was too obvious, or simple, for us.

Next was Heads over Heels, an interactive composition for MIDI keyboard and computer by Richard Festinger (San Francisco State University). This piece was chock-full of intricate rhythmic interplay between the live keyboard performer and the MIDI computer-controlled electronic part. The expressive qualities of the performer, who was mainly triggering sampled piano sounds, and the flexibility permitted by this setup, in which the performer does not have to blindly follow a tape part, resulted in a fluid and appealing musical discourse. Indeed, the electronic part was conceived as an extension of the sonic capabilities of the piano, but even given that plan, we would have enjoyed a bit more exploration of the timbral possibilities.

Phoenix and the Harlequin, for electronic sounds on tape by Allen Strange (SJSU), was a fascinating trip through exciting rhythmic textures and a rich palette of sounds. The music was composed in Harry Partch's just intonation system of 43 notes to the octave. The characters alluded to in the title represent nine short mimes, conversations, and dances, constantly fighting for the spotlight. Sounds were created with FM synthesis, but not obviously so, and the piece was dedicated to John Chowning, who made this technique a reality. There were a couple of technical glitches with a speaker, but these did not detract from the beauty of the piece.

Cross-Town Traffic, a collaborative composition and performance by Brian Belet (SJSU) and William Walker (Apple Computer, Inc.), was composed for two simultaneously controlled Yamaha Disklaviers in a data feedback process, using Mr. Walker's real-time algorithmic composition program, ImprovisationBuilder. The music produced by ImprovisationBuilder, a system that was listening to and controlling both Disklaviers, was very interactive and dense. One aspect of the piece that contributed to its success was that interactions between the live performers and the computer algorithm were not overly obvious; rather, a true symbiosis occurred.

Antonio Barata's (CalPoly State University, San Luis Obispo) Triptych, a new composition for live performer and MIDI synthesizers, was a work in three movements, where the timbral palette comprised digitally processed instrumental and environmental sounds.

The final piece, No Exit, for saxophone and electronic sounds, was a collaborative work by composer Dan Wyman and saxophonist William Trimble (SJSU). The electronic part, prerecorded on tape, was a minimalist tapestry over which the solo sax webbed intricate patterns. The choruses that Mr. Trimble played that night were outstanding.

All in all, this concert was a very satisfying experience. Having attended a couple of these recent SJSU events, we have found that a hearty camaraderie is developing, both because of the shared interest in electroacoustic music and because of the informal, post-concert gatherings over pizza and beer. We look forward to the next concert and encourage everyone who is able to attend.