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Alvin Lucier's Music for Solo Performer: Experimental music beyond sonification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2014

Volker Straebel  and
Wilm Thoben
Volker Straebel*
Affiliation:
Technische Universität Berlin, Fachgebiet Audiokommunikation, Einsteinufer 17c, Sekr. E-N 8, 10578 Berlin, Germany
Wilm Thoben*
Affiliation:
Technische Universität Berlin, Fachgebiet Audiokommunikation, Einsteinufer 17c, Sekr. E-N 8, 10578 Berlin, Germany UCLA Design ∣ Media Arts, Broad Art Center, 240 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
*
E-mails: volker.straebel@tu-berlin.de; me@wilmthoben.com
E-mails: volker.straebel@tu-berlin.de; me@wilmthoben.com
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Abstract

Alvin Lucier's Music for Solo Performer (1965), often referred to as the ‘brain wave piece’, has become a key work of experimental music. Its setup, in which the brain waves of a solo performer are made to excite percussion instruments, has given the work a central place in the discourse on artistic sonification. However, only a small number of the authors making reference to the work seem to have studied the score, and even fewer have given thought to the score's implications for performance practice and aesthetic reflection. This paper pays detailed attention to these yet overlooked aspects, drawing on accounts of early performances as well as the authors’ participation in a 2012 performance led by the composer. We also trace the history of live-electronic equipment used for Music for Solo Performer and discuss the work's reception in sonification research.

Type
Articles
Information
Organised Sound , Volume 19 , Special Issue 1: Sonification , April 2014 , pp. 17 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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