Musica Elettronica Viva
Encyclopedia
Musica Elettronica Viva (MEV) is a live acoustic/electronic improvisational group formed in Rome
, Italy
, in 1966. Over the years, its members have included Alvin Curran
, Richard Teitelbaum
, Frederic Rzewski
, Allan Bryant, Carol Plantamura
, Ivan Vandor, Steve Lacy
, and Jon Phetteplace.
They were early experimenters with the use of synthesizers to transform sounds: a 1967 concert in Berlin
included a performance of John Cage
's Solo for Voice 2 with Plantamura's voice transformed through a Moog synthesizer
. At the end of the sixties, they took part in the group Lo Zoo, founded by artist Michelangelo Pistoletto
. They also used such "non-musical" objects as amplified panes of glass and olive oil
cans, and their performances achieved notoriety in Italy for their ability to generate riots. They are active as a group to this day in addition to their individual work as composers - most recent MEV performance by Alvin Curran
, Richard Teitelbaum
, and Frederic Rzewski
at the Tanglewood Festival in 2007.
Both of the above re-released in 2001 on the CD, "Spacecraft/Unified Patchwork Theory" (Alga Marghen, Plana-M 15NMN.038).
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...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in 1966. Over the years, its members have included Alvin Curran
Alvin Curran
Composer Alvin Curran , is the co-founder, with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, of Musica Elettronica Viva, and a former student of Elliott Carter. Curran's music often makes use of electronics and environmental found sounds....
, Richard Teitelbaum
Richard Teitelbaum
Richard Teitelbaum is an American composer, keyboardist, and improvisor. Born in New York, he is a former student of Allen Forte, Mel Powell, and Luigi Nono. He is best known for his live electronic music and synthesizer performance. For example, he brought the first moog synthesizer to Europe...
, 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...
, Allan Bryant, Carol Plantamura
Carol Plantamura
Carol Plantamura is an American soprano specializing in 17th and 20th century music.She graduated from Occidental College and was an original member of the Rockefeller Foundation-funded Creative Associates at SUNY Buffalo, under the direction of Lukas Foss...
, Ivan Vandor, Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
, and Jon Phetteplace.
They were early experimenters with the use of synthesizers to transform sounds: a 1967 concert in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
included a performance of 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...
's Solo for Voice 2 with Plantamura's voice transformed through a Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
. At the end of the sixties, they took part in the group Lo Zoo, founded by artist Michelangelo Pistoletto
Michelangelo Pistoletto
Michelangelo Pistoletto is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera...
. They also used such "non-musical" objects as amplified panes of glass and olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
cans, and their performances achieved notoriety in Italy for their ability to generate riots. They are active as a group to this day in addition to their individual work as composers - most recent MEV performance by Alvin Curran
Alvin Curran
Composer Alvin Curran , is the co-founder, with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, of Musica Elettronica Viva, and a former student of Elliott Carter. Curran's music often makes use of electronics and environmental found sounds....
, Richard Teitelbaum
Richard Teitelbaum
Richard Teitelbaum is an American composer, keyboardist, and improvisor. Born in New York, he is a former student of Allen Forte, Mel Powell, and Luigi Nono. He is best known for his live electronic music and synthesizer performance. For example, he brought the first moog synthesizer to Europe...
, and 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...
at the Tanglewood Festival in 2007.
Discography
- Spacecraft, recorded in Cologne in 1967 by Bryant, Curran, Rzewski, Teitelbaum and Vandor
- Unified Patchwork Theory, recorded in Zurich in 1990 by Curran, Rzewski, Teitelbaum, Steve Lacy, and Garrett ListGarrett ListGarrett List is an American trombonist, vocalist and composer.In 1950, he moved with his family to Southern California. At the age of 18, he already was busy teaching, playing and composing music . In 1965 he left California and settled in New York, where he attended the famous Juilliard School of...
Both of the above re-released in 2001 on the CD, "Spacecraft/Unified Patchwork Theory" (Alga Marghen, Plana-M 15NMN.038).
- Friday, recorded in London in 1969 by Curran, Rzewski, Teitelbaum, Franco Cataldi and Gunther Carius, reissued 2008 (ALGA 073CD)
- The Sound Pool, recorded 1969, reissued 1998 (Spalax CD14969)
- MEV 40, recorded 1967-2007, a 4-CD set of previously unpublished performances issued by New World RecordsNew World RecordsNew World Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in American music. The label was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to produce a 100 disc anthology covering 200 years of American music....
in 2008 (CD80675) - Apogee, a double CD (Matchless Recordings, MRCD61, 2005) shared with another of the electronic improvisational ensembles that emerged during the 1960s: AMMAMM (group)AMM are an important British free improvisation group, founded in London, England in 1965.AMM have never been well known to the general public, but have been incredibly influential on the field of improvised music...
. The first CD is a studio recording in a joint session in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on April 30, 2004 featuring MEV's Curran, Teitelbaum and Rzewski with the three members of AMMAMM (group)AMM are an important British free improvisation group, founded in London, England in 1965.AMM have never been well known to the general public, but have been incredibly influential on the field of improvised music...
. This is the first occasion that the two ensembles have performed together, but not the first time they have shared a split release - each outfit filled a side of the LP Live Electronic Music Improvised, released on a US label (Mainstream) in 1968. The second CD consists of the performances that each group gave at a festival held in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on May 1, 2004.
External links
- Perfect Sound Forever: MEV
- Musica Elettronica Viva site
- Alvin Curran's web site — includes numerous MEV photos and several essays about the group
- Friday, LP, 1969 — Friday Recording, out of print