Morton Subotnick Featured as Composer-in-Residence at June In Buffalo Festival

This month Morton Subotnick's multimedia works The Other Piano and Until Spring Revisited see performances at the June In Buffalo festival on Monday, June 2. The Other Piano, scored for piano and live electronics, will be performed by Steven Gosling while Until Spring Revisited, for laptop computer will be performed at the hands of the composer himself. The beginnings of Until Spring Revisited date back to the development of what is now known as the Buchla Synthesizer at the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the early 1960s. The work refers to Subotnick's original Until Spring, composed in 1976, that, like his epic Silver Apples of the Moon, was intended as a sound art piece well suited for both the private home environment and the public forum. Until Spring Revisited contains some samples of the original and provides an opportunity for the composer to fully realize his vision for that piece without any constrictions of technological capabilities. The composer elaborates:

The limitations of the analog synthesizer were such that I couldn't go beyond Until Spring. Specifically, in order to create a work of substantial length and complexity, I had to resort to non real-time tape recorder techniques. I could produce a recording, but a complete live performance was not possible. In addition, in live performances I was using lights and images (often with my close friend, Tony Martin). These too had limitations especially in the domain of coordinating with the music. Now, with today's affordable computing power, I can continue where I left off and, perhaps, complete what I had hoped to accomplish back in 1962.

Presented by the University at Buffalo Department of Music and The Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music, June In Buffalo, a festival and conference dedicated to composers, will take place from June 2-7, at the University at Buffalo in New York. As Composer-in-Residence, Subotnick will also give lectures and lead a series of master classes. The June In Buffalo festival also features workshops, professional presentations, participant forums and open rehearsals.

For more on the life and work of Morton Subotnick, visit www.schott-music.com and www.mortonsubotnick.com.

To learn more on June In Buffalo, click here.

Morton Subotnick
Until Spring Revisited (2007/08)
for computer controlled electronics
50'

The Other Piano (2007)
for piano and live electronics
45'