Lejaren Hiller
Encyclopedia
Lejaren Arthur Hiller was an American
composer
. In 1957 he collaborated on the first significant computer music composition, Illiac Suite
, with Leonard Issacson
. It was his fourth string quartet. In 1958 he founded the Experimental Music Studio at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. His notable pupils included composers James Fulkerson
, Larry Lake
, Ilza Nogueira
, David Rosenboom
, Bernadette Speach
and James Tenney
.
He was originally trained as a chemist, and worked as a research chemist for DuPont
in Waynesboro, Virginia from 1947 to 1952. He developed the first reliable process for dyeing Orlon and coauthored a popular textbook.
He played piano
, oboe
, clarinet
, and saxophone
as a child. He also studied composition with Roger Sessions
and Milton Babbitt
while earning his chemistry degree at Princeton University
. His father, Lejaren Hiller, Sr.
, was a well-known art photographer who specialized in historical tableaux.
He wrote an article on the Illiac Suite for Scientific American
which garnered a lot of attention from the press, generating a storm of controversy. The musical establishment was so hostile to this interloper scientist that both Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians refused to include him until shortly before his death.
A majority of Hiller's works after 1957 do not involve computers at all, but might include stochastic music, indeterminacy
, serialism
, Brahmsian traditionalism, jazz
, performance art
, folksong and counterpoint
mixed together. He also collaborated with John Cage
for HPSCHD
. In 1968, he joined the faculty at University at Buffalo
as Slee Professor of Composition, where he established the school's first computer music facility and codirected with Lukas Foss the celebrated Center for the Creative and Performing Arts. His illness forced him to retire in 1989. He died from Alzheimer's disease
in 1994.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
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...
. In 1957 he collaborated on the first significant computer music composition, Illiac Suite
Illiac Suite
It is generally agreed upon that the Illiac Suite is the first piece of music composed by an electronic computer. The piece, programmed by the computer and performed from notation, in the form of a string quartet, was the result of a collaboration by Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Issacson in 1956...
, with Leonard Issacson
Leonard Issacson
Leonard Issacson was a chemist and composer.He collaborated with Lejaren Hiller on the computer-programmed acoustic composition, Illiac Suite . At the time, both composers were Professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign....
. It was his fourth string quartet. In 1958 he founded the Experimental Music Studio at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. His notable pupils included composers James Fulkerson
James Fulkerson
James Fulkerson is an American composer, now living in the Netherlands, of mostly stage, orchestral, chamber, vocal, piano, electroacoustic, and multimedia works...
, Larry Lake
Larry Lake (musician)
Larry Ellsworth Lake is a Canadian composer, trumpeter, freelance writer on music, radio broadcaster, and record producer of American birth. As a composer he is primarily known for his electronic music. His musical compositions are characterized by their integration of acoustic instruments with...
, Ilza Nogueira
Ilza Nogueira
Ilza Nogueira is a Brazilian composer, music educator and musicologist.-Biography:Ilza Nogueira was born in Salvador, Bahia. She studied composition under Ernst Widmer in 1969 at the School of Music and Performing Arts at the Federal University of Bahia...
, David Rosenboom
David Rosenboom
David Rosenboom is an American composer and a pioneer in the use of neurofeedback, cross-cultural collaborations and compositional algorithms...
, Bernadette Speach
Bernadette Speach
Bernadette Speach is an American avant-garde composer.-Biography: was a nun at St Joseph of Corondelet from 1966 to 1977, teaching music in parochial schools during that time. She studied with Nicholas Roussakis at Columbia University and with Franco Donatoni at Siena in 1976. After 1977 she left...
and James Tenney
James Tenney
James Tenney was an American composer and influential music theorist.-Biography:Tenney was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and grew up in Arizona and Colorado. He attended the University of Denver, the Juilliard School of Music, Bennington College and the University of Illinois...
.
He was originally trained as a chemist, and worked as a research chemist for DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
in Waynesboro, Virginia from 1947 to 1952. He developed the first reliable process for dyeing Orlon and coauthored a popular textbook.
He played piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, and saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
as a child. He also studied composition with Roger Sessions
Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
and Milton Babbitt
Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
while earning his chemistry degree at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. His father, Lejaren Hiller, Sr.
Lejaren Hiller, Sr.
Lejaren Hiller, Sr./Lejaren à Hiller/John Hiller , was an accomplished American illustrator and photographer. Born John Hiller, he changed his name to Lejaren à Hiller when he moved from Milwaukee to New York City....
, was a well-known art photographer who specialized in historical tableaux.
He wrote an article on the Illiac Suite for Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
which garnered a lot of attention from the press, generating a storm of controversy. The musical establishment was so hostile to this interloper scientist that both Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians is a biographical dictionary of musicians.The first edition of Baker's, under the title A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, was published in 1900 by Theodore Baker; it has since gone through nine editions.The 5th edition of 1958, 8th edition of 1992,...
and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians refused to include him until shortly before his death.
A majority of Hiller's works after 1957 do not involve computers at all, but might include stochastic music, indeterminacy
Indeterminacy in music
Indeterminacy in music, which began early in the twentieth century in the music of Charles Ives, and was continued in the 1930s by Henry Cowell and carried on by his student, the experimental music composer John Cage beginning in 1951 , came to refer to the movement which grew up around Cage...
, serialism
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
, Brahmsian traditionalism, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
, folksong and counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
mixed together. He also collaborated with 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...
for HPSCHD
HPSCHD
HPSCHD is a composition for harpsichord and computer-generated sounds by American avant-garde composers John Cage and Lejaren Hiller...
. In 1968, he joined the faculty at University at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
as Slee Professor of Composition, where he established the school's first computer music facility and codirected with Lukas Foss the celebrated Center for the Creative and Performing Arts. His illness forced him to retire in 1989. He died from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in 1994.
External links
- Lejaren Hiller (1924-1994) © 1994 by Peter Gena.
- Lejaren A. Hiller: Computer Music Pioneer exhibition at Buffalo University (2004)