When he coined the term "Music of the Future" back in 1860, Wagner was primarily concerned with defending his musical innovations over what he saw as the florid and artificial conventions of the time. But his compositional process was essentially no different that any other 19th century composer, deferring technological innovation to his massive operatic productions.
But, what if technology could influence the compositional process itself? What if there was a computer program that allowed a composer to realize fully formed musical ideas the moment they popped into his/her head? What if they could then manipulate those pieces in the moment of live performance?
This is not science fiction: this is the current reality of composers and musicians all over the world, thanks to a pair of remarkable computer programs: Ableton Live and Max MSP. The two companies co-sponsored last weekend's MMiX Festival of Interactive Music Technology at Theaterlab on 14th Street, which featured workshops, sound installations and live performances by a range of artists who use these programs in their music.
I went on Saturday, and walked right in on Todd Reynolds and Luke DuBois' demo of Max For Live: a new patch that allows Max to interface with Ableton, giving performers/programmers the best of both worlds. Showing off features like the "Buffer Shuffler" and "Loop Shifter," Todd was like a kid in a candy store, his enthusiasm infectious even if what he was talking about went completely over my heard. No matter: the results speak for themselves. (See here for my post about one of his Ableton performances at Issue last year.)
After an interval that allowed festivalgoers to interact with the sound installations or mingle in the bar, Patrick Grant and Kathleen Supove performed live in the space, accompanied by projections and electronic effects. Best of the lot was Supove's performance of Jacob TV's "Body of Your Dreams," which remixed an infomercial about an electronic gadget with miraculous toning powers while Supove played a piano that was alternately spiky and tender. If only Wagner had tools like these…(More pics below.)
Patrick Grant
Kathleen Supové