Alvin Lucier
Encyclopedia
Alvin Lucier is an American composer
of experimental music
and sound installation
s that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University
, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union
, which included Robert Ashley
, David Behrman
, and Gordon Mumma
. Much of his work is influenced by science and explores the physical properties of sound itself: resonance of spaces, phase interference between closely tuned pitches, and the transmission of sound through physical media.
. He was educated in Nashua public and parochial schools and the Portsmouth Abbey School
, Yale University
and Brandeis University
. In 1958 and 1959, Lucier studied with Lukas Foss
and Aaron Copland
at the Tanglewood
Center. In 1960, Lucier left for Rome
on a Fulbright Fellowship, where he befriended American expatriate composer Frederic Rzewski
and witnessed performances by John Cage
, Merce Cunningham
, and David Tudor
that provided compelling alternatives to his classical training. He returned from Rome in 1962 to take up a position at Brandeis as director of the University Chamber Chorus, which presented classical vocal works alongside modern compositions and new commissions.
At a 1963 Chamber Chorus concert at New York's Town Hall, Lucier met Gordon Mumma
and Robert Ashley
, experimental composers who were also directors of the ONCE Festival, an annual multi-media event in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A year later, Mumma and Ashley invited the Chamber Chorus to the ONCE Festival; and, in 1966, Lucier reciprocated by inviting Mumma, Ashley, and mutual friend David Behrman
to Brandeis for a concert of works by the four composers. Based on the success of that concert, Lucier, Mumma, Ashley, and Behrman embarked on a tour of the United States and Europe under the name the Sonic Arts Group (at Ashley's suggestion, the name was later changed to the Sonic Arts Union
). More a musical collective than a proper quartet, the Sonic Arts Union presented works by each of its members, sharing equipment and assisting when necessary. Performing and touring together for a decade, the Sonic Arts Union became inactive in 1976.
In 1970, Lucier left Brandeis for Wesleyan University
. In 1972, Lucier became a musical director of the Viola Farber Dance Company, a position he held until 1979.
electrodes attached to the performer's scalp detect bursts of alpha waves
generated when the performer achieves a meditative, non-visual brain state. These alpha waves
are amplified and the resulting electrical signal is used to vibrate percussion instruments distributed around the performance space. Other important early pieces include Vespers (1968), in which performers use hand-held echolocation
devices to locate the approximate physical center of a room, to deepen their understanding of acoustical perception, and to reveal the elements of environmental space through non-visual means.
(1969), in which Lucier records himself narrating a text, and then plays the recording back into the room, re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Since all rooms have a characteristic resonance
(e.g., between a large hall and a small room), the effect is that certain frequencies are gradually emphasized as they resonate in the room, until eventually the words become unintelligible, replaced by the pure resonant harmonies and tones of the room itself. The recited text describes this process in action. It begins, "I am sitting in a room, different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice...", and concludes with, "I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have," referring to his own stuttering
.
" (1966), which employed a prototype vocoder
to isolate and manipulate elements of speech; Music On A Long Thin Wire
(1977), in which a piano wire is strung across a room and activated by an amplified oscillator and magnets on either end, producing changing overtones and sounds; Crossings (1982), in which tones play across a steadily rising sine wave producing interference beat
s; Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of Hyperbolas (1973–74), in which the interference tones between sine waves create "troughs" and "valleys" of sound and silence; and Clocker
(1978), which uses biofeedback and reverberation
.
Lucier's composition students include Nicolas Collins
, Arnold Dreyblatt
, Judy Dunaway
, Douglas Kahn
, Ron Kuivila
, Mladen Milicevic, Ed Osborn and Daniel James Wolf
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and sound installation
Sound installation
Sound installation is an intermedia and time based art form. It is an expansion of an art installation in the sense that it includes the sound element and therefore the time element...
s that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union
Sonic Arts Union
The Sonic Arts Union was a collective of experimental musicians that was active between 1966 and 1976. The founding members of the group were Robert Ashley, David Behrman, Alvin Lucier and Gordon Mumma, all of whom had worked together in the instrumental performances of the ONCE festivals...
, which included Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
, David Behrman
David Behrman
David Behrman is a US composer and the producer of Columbia Records' Music of Our Time series. He was also a founding member of the Sonic Arts Union. He toured with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and has worked with Ben Neill. He was a part of Robert Ashley's Music with Roots in the Aether...
, and Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma is an American composer. He cofounded Ann Arbor's Cooperative Studio for Electronic Music with Robert Ashley, was a musician with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and was a member of the Sonic Arts Union with Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and David Behrman...
. Much of his work is influenced by science and explores the physical properties of sound itself: resonance of spaces, phase interference between closely tuned pitches, and the transmission of sound through physical media.
Early life
Lucier was born in Nashua, New HampshireNashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
. He was educated in Nashua public and parochial schools and the Portsmouth Abbey School
Portsmouth Abbey School
Portsmouth Abbey School is a private, coeducational boarding and day school for grades 9 through 12, located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Founded by the Benedictine monks of Portsmouth Abbey in 1926 as Portsmouth Priory School, the school offered a classical education to boys...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
. In 1958 and 1959, Lucier studied with Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
and Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
at the Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
Center. In 1960, Lucier left for Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on a Fulbright Fellowship, where he befriended American expatriate composer Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Anthony Rzewski is an American composer and virtuoso pianist.- Biography :Rzewski began playing piano at age 5. He attended Phillips Academy, Harvard and Princeton, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Milton Babbitt...
and witnessed performances by John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, and David Tudor
David Tudor
David Eugene Tudor was an American pianist and composer of experimental music.- Biography :Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan Wolpe and became known as one of the leading performers of avant garde piano music. He gave the...
that provided compelling alternatives to his classical training. He returned from Rome in 1962 to take up a position at Brandeis as director of the University Chamber Chorus, which presented classical vocal works alongside modern compositions and new commissions.
At a 1963 Chamber Chorus concert at New York's Town Hall, Lucier met Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma is an American composer. He cofounded Ann Arbor's Cooperative Studio for Electronic Music with Robert Ashley, was a musician with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and was a member of the Sonic Arts Union with Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and David Behrman...
and Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
, experimental composers who were also directors of the ONCE Festival, an annual multi-media event in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A year later, Mumma and Ashley invited the Chamber Chorus to the ONCE Festival; and, in 1966, Lucier reciprocated by inviting Mumma, Ashley, and mutual friend David Behrman
David Behrman
David Behrman is a US composer and the producer of Columbia Records' Music of Our Time series. He was also a founding member of the Sonic Arts Union. He toured with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and has worked with Ben Neill. He was a part of Robert Ashley's Music with Roots in the Aether...
to Brandeis for a concert of works by the four composers. Based on the success of that concert, Lucier, Mumma, Ashley, and Behrman embarked on a tour of the United States and Europe under the name the Sonic Arts Group (at Ashley's suggestion, the name was later changed to the Sonic Arts Union
Sonic Arts Union
The Sonic Arts Union was a collective of experimental musicians that was active between 1966 and 1976. The founding members of the group were Robert Ashley, David Behrman, Alvin Lucier and Gordon Mumma, all of whom had worked together in the instrumental performances of the ONCE festivals...
). More a musical collective than a proper quartet, the Sonic Arts Union presented works by each of its members, sharing equipment and assisting when necessary. Performing and touring together for a decade, the Sonic Arts Union became inactive in 1976.
In 1970, Lucier left Brandeis for Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
. In 1972, Lucier became a musical director of the Viola Farber Dance Company, a position he held until 1979.
Works
Though Lucier had composed chamber and orchestral works since 1952, the composer and his critics count his 1965 composition Music for Solo Performer as the proper beginning of his compositional career. In that piece, EEGEEG
EEG commonly refers to electroencephalography, a measurement of the electrical activity of the brain.EEG may also refer to:* Emperor Entertainment Group, a Hong Kong-based entertainment company...
electrodes attached to the performer's scalp detect bursts of alpha waves
Alpha Waves
Alpha Waves is an early 3D game that combines labyrinthine exploration with platform gameplay. By most definitions of the genre it could be considered to be the first 3D platform game, released in 1990, 6 years before the genre's seminal classic Super Mario 64...
generated when the performer achieves a meditative, non-visual brain state. These alpha waves
Alpha Waves
Alpha Waves is an early 3D game that combines labyrinthine exploration with platform gameplay. By most definitions of the genre it could be considered to be the first 3D platform game, released in 1990, 6 years before the genre's seminal classic Super Mario 64...
are amplified and the resulting electrical signal is used to vibrate percussion instruments distributed around the performance space. Other important early pieces include Vespers (1968), in which performers use hand-held echolocation
Acoustic location
Acoustic location is the science of using sound to determine the distance and direction of something. Location can be done actively or passively, and can take place in gases , liquids , and in solids .* Active acoustic location involves the creation of sound in order to produce an echo, which is...
devices to locate the approximate physical center of a room, to deepen their understanding of acoustical perception, and to reveal the elements of environmental space through non-visual means.
I Am Sitting in a Room
One of Lucier's most important and best-known works is I Am Sitting in a RoomI Am Sitting in a Room
I am sitting in a room is one of composer Alvin Lucier's best known works, featuring Lucier recording himself narrating a text, and then playing the recording back into the room, re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Since all rooms...
(1969), in which Lucier records himself narrating a text, and then plays the recording back into the room, re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Since all rooms have a characteristic resonance
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies...
(e.g., between a large hall and a small room), the effect is that certain frequencies are gradually emphasized as they resonate in the room, until eventually the words become unintelligible, replaced by the pure resonant harmonies and tones of the room itself. The recited text describes this process in action. It begins, "I am sitting in a room, different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice...", and concludes with, "I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have," referring to his own stuttering
Stuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...
.
Other key pieces
Other key pieces include "North American Time CapsuleNorth American Time Capsule
North American Time Capsule is a 1967 composition by American experimental composer Alvin Lucier. The piece was composed at the invitation of Sylvania Applied Research Laboratories, which offered Lucier the use of a prototype vocoder. The vocal content of the piece was provided by the Brandeis...
" (1966), which employed a prototype vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
to isolate and manipulate elements of speech; Music On A Long Thin Wire
Music On A Long Thin Wire
Music On A Long Thin Wire is a musical piece by Alvin Lucier conceived in 1977.In his own words : "Music on a Long Thin Wire is constructed as follows: the wire is extended across a large room, clamped to tables at both ends. The ends of the wire are connected to the loudspeaker terminals of a...
(1977), in which a piano wire is strung across a room and activated by an amplified oscillator and magnets on either end, producing changing overtones and sounds; Crossings (1982), in which tones play across a steadily rising sine wave producing interference beat
Beat (acoustics)
In acoustics, a beat is an interference between two sounds of slightly different frequencies, perceived as periodic variations in volume whose rate is the difference between the two frequencies....
s; Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of Hyperbolas (1973–74), in which the interference tones between sine waves create "troughs" and "valleys" of sound and silence; and Clocker
Clocker
Clocker, for clock, galvanic skin response sensor and digital delay system, is a minimalist electronic music piece by Alvin Lucier conceived in 1978, though Lucier felt there did not exist an appropriate digital delay system till 1988: "With this new equipment, the sounds of the delayed clock now...
(1978), which uses biofeedback and reverberation
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
.
Lucier's composition students include Nicolas Collins
Nicolas Collins
Nicolas Collins is a composer of mostly electronic music and former student of Alvin Lucier. He received a B.A. and M.A...
, Arnold Dreyblatt
Arnold Dreyblatt
Arnold Dreyblatt is an American composer and visual artist. He studied music with Pauline Oliveros, La Monte Young, Alvin Lucier and media art with Steina and Woody Vasulka. He has been based in Berlin, Germany since 1984...
, Judy Dunaway
Judy Dunaway
Judy Dunaway is an avant-garde composer, free improvisor, conceptual sound artist and creator of sound installations who is primarily known for her sound works for latex balloons...
, Douglas Kahn
Douglas Kahn
Douglas Kahn is Professor of Media and Innovation at the , at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He was the Founding Director of Technocultural Studies and is Professor Emeritus in Science and Technology Studies at the University of California, Davis. Kahn is known primarily for his...
, Ron Kuivila
Ron Kuivila
Ron Kuivila is an American sound artist from Boston, MA. He is primarily known for his sound installations, which often utilize computers.-Biography:...
, Mladen Milicevic, Ed Osborn and Daniel James Wolf
Daniel James Wolf
Daniel James Wolf is an American composer.- Studies :Wolf studied composition with Gordon Mumma, Alvin Lucier, and La Monte Young, as well as musical tunings with Erv Wilson and Douglas Leedy and ethnomusicology . Important contacts with Lou Harrison, John Cage, Walter Zimmermann...
.
Discography
- Silver Streetcar for the Orchestra, Nick Hennies, on 'Psalms' Roeba, CD #8, 2010
- Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of Hyperbolas, Nick Hennies, Quiet DesignQuiet DesignQuiet Design is an independent music and sound art label based in Austin,TX and founded in 2007. Owned and curated by composers Mike Vernusky and Cory Allen, Quiet Design has released work by over 30 artists from 10 countries...
CD Alas011, 2010 - Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of Hyperbolas, 1-12, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
CD 1015, 2004 - Navigations for Strings, Small Waves, Mode Records, CD 124, 2003
- Still Lives, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
CD 5012, 2001 - Theme, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
CD 5011, 1999 - Panorama, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
CD 1012, 1997 - Fragments for Strings, Arditti String Quartet, Disques Montaigne, 1996
- Clocker, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
CD 1019, 1994 - Music On A Long Thin WireMusic On A Long Thin WireMusic On A Long Thin Wire is a musical piece by Alvin Lucier conceived in 1977.In his own words : "Music on a Long Thin Wire is constructed as follows: the wire is extended across a large room, clamped to tables at both ends. The ends of the wire are connected to the loudspeaker terminals of a...
, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
LP/CD 1011, 1980/92 - Self Portrait, on Upper Air Observation, Barbara Held, flute, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
CD 3031, 1992 - Nothing is Real/Hyper Beatles 2, Eastworld, 1991
- Crossings, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
CD 1018, 1990 - I am sitting in a roomI Am Sitting in a RoomI am sitting in a room is one of composer Alvin Lucier's best known works, featuring Lucier recording himself narrating a text, and then playing the recording back into the room, re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Since all rooms...
, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
LP/CD 1013, 1981/90 - Music for Alpha Waves, Assorted Percussion, and Automated Coded Relays, on "Imaginary Landscapes," Elektra/Nonesuch 79235-2, 1989
- Sferics, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
LP 1017, 1988 - Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of Hyperbolas, 5-8, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
LP 1016, 1985 - Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of Hyperbolas, 1-4, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
LP 1015, 1983 - Music for Solo Performer, Lovely Music, Ltd.Lovely MusicLovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices, Inc...
LP 1014, 1982 - Bird and Person Dyning/The Duke of York, Cramps, 1975
- Vespers, on "Electronic Sound," Mainstream MS-5010, 1971
- North American Time CapsuleNorth American Time CapsuleNorth American Time Capsule is a 1967 composition by American experimental composer Alvin Lucier. The piece was composed at the invitation of Sylvania Applied Research Laboratories, which offered Lucier the use of a prototype vocoder. The vocal content of the piece was provided by the Brandeis...
, on "Music of Our Time" series, CBS Odyssey Records, 1967 - I am sitting in a roomI Am Sitting in a RoomI am sitting in a room is one of composer Alvin Lucier's best known works, featuring Lucier recording himself narrating a text, and then playing the recording back into the room, re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Since all rooms...
, SOURCE Record, 1966 - OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic MusicOHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic MusicOHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music is a compilation of early electronic music and excerpts from the period of 1948 to 1980. Many included works are essentially experiments with sound, using a variety of non-traditional instruments including homemade circuits, tape ribbon and early...
, 2000. 3-CD compilation featuring an excerpt from Music On A Long Thin WireMusic On A Long Thin WireMusic On A Long Thin Wire is a musical piece by Alvin Lucier conceived in 1977.In his own words : "Music on a Long Thin Wire is constructed as follows: the wire is extended across a large room, clamped to tables at both ends. The ends of the wire are connected to the loudspeaker terminals of a...
.
Films
- 1976 - Music With Roots in the Aether: Opera for Television. Tape 3: Alvin Lucier. Produced and directed by Robert AshleyRobert AshleyRobert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
. New York, New York: Lovely Music.
External links
- Alvin Lucier's website (Wesleyan University)
- Lovely Music Artist: Alvin Lucier
- CDeMUSIC: Alvin Lucier
- Volume: Bed of Sound: Alvin Lucier
- Alvin Lucier in conversation with Thomas Moore
- Sitting in a Room with Alvin Lucier Alvin Lucier in conversation with Frank J. OteriFrank J. OteriFrank J. Oteri born May 12, 1964 is a composer based in New York City.Oteri's musical works have been performed in venues from Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall to the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art...
, NewMusicBoxNewMusicBoxNewMusicBox is an e-zine launched by the American Music Center on May 1, 1999. The magazine includes interviews and articles concerning American Contemporary Music, composers, improvisers, and musicians....
Published: April 1, 2005 - I am sitting in a room (1969) by Alvin Lucier real-time realization by Christopher Burns (2000)
Listening
- http://www.ubu.com/sound/lucier.html UBUWeb - includes original 1969 recording of "I Am Sitting In A Room"
- Music for Piano with One or More Snare Drums (1990) by Alvin Lucier, performed by Hildegard Kleeb
- Island (1998) performed by The Other Minds Ensemble at the Other Minds Music Festival in 1999 at Cowell Theater in San Francisco.
- Nothing Is Real (Strawberry Fields Forever) (1990) performed by Margaret Leng TanMargaret Leng TanMargaret Leng Tan is a classical music artist known for her work as a professional toy pianist, performing in major cities around the world on her 51 cm-high toy pianos...
at the Other Minds Music Festival in 1999 at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco. - Sferics excerpt at Architectural Association radio program curated by Charles Stankievech.
- I Am Sitting in a Room Recreation, from Internet Archive
- Queen of the South Video performance at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Eyestone/McCabe/DeKam
Movies
- Music with Roots in the Aether (1975) from UbuWebUbuWebUbuWeb is a large web-based educational resource for avant-garde material available on the internet, founded in 1996 by poet Kenneth Goldsmith. It offers visual, concrete and sound poetry, expanding to include film and sound art mp3 archives.-Philosophy:...