(c) Photo of photo: Martin Reinhart
The female pioneers of electroacoustic music & Sounds Queer?
A lecture and workshop with Zosia Hołubowska from the Vienna based artists' collective Sounds Queer?
Building on the lecture on the history of electroacoustic music by Martin Reinhart, Zosia gave an introduction to the non-canonic
history of female pioneers of synth and characterised it as the ultimate feminist instrument.
One of the first artists she pointed out was German composer Johanna Beyer who immigrated to the US in 1923. Although her music did not receive greater attention either during her lifetime or in the decades following her death, its almost "prophetic" power made it one of the most experimental works composed in the 1930s. Her "Music of the Spheres (1938) is the first electroacoustic work composed by a woman.
Daphne Oram was introduced by Zosia as yet another female pioneer. Born in 1925 she was one of the first British composers to produce electronic sound, and was an early practitioner of musique concrète in the UK. She became famous as the co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which was central to the development of British electronic music. Oram also was the creator of the Oramics technique for creating electronic sounds using drawn sound. Besides being a musical innovator, she was the first woman to independently direct and set up a personal electronic music studio.
Zosia introduced the work of Pauline Oliveros, who was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. Oliveros authored books, formulated new music theories, and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of "deep listening" and "sonic awareness", drawing on metaphors from cybernetics.
Last but not least Zosia told the fascinating story of Wendy Carlos, who is best known for her electronic music and film scores. Carlos came to prominence with Switched-On Bach (1968), an album of music by Johann Sebastian Bach performed on a Moog synthesizer and the scores to two Stanley Kubrick films – A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980).
Three days after her lecture, Zosia held a syntheziser workshop with students from the Art & Science department. Due to the prevailing COVID guidelines, the presentation was held via zoom, while the workshop could take place in hybrid mode.
One of the first artists she pointed out was German composer Johanna Beyer who immigrated to the US in 1923. Although her music did not receive greater attention either during her lifetime or in the decades following her death, its almost "prophetic" power made it one of the most experimental works composed in the 1930s. Her "Music of the Spheres (1938) is the first electroacoustic work composed by a woman.
Daphne Oram was introduced by Zosia as yet another female pioneer. Born in 1925 she was one of the first British composers to produce electronic sound, and was an early practitioner of musique concrète in the UK. She became famous as the co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which was central to the development of British electronic music. Oram also was the creator of the Oramics technique for creating electronic sounds using drawn sound. Besides being a musical innovator, she was the first woman to independently direct and set up a personal electronic music studio.
Zosia introduced the work of Pauline Oliveros, who was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. Oliveros authored books, formulated new music theories, and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of "deep listening" and "sonic awareness", drawing on metaphors from cybernetics.
Last but not least Zosia told the fascinating story of Wendy Carlos, who is best known for her electronic music and film scores. Carlos came to prominence with Switched-On Bach (1968), an album of music by Johann Sebastian Bach performed on a Moog synthesizer and the scores to two Stanley Kubrick films – A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980).
Three days after her lecture, Zosia held a syntheziser workshop with students from the Art & Science department. Due to the prevailing COVID guidelines, the presentation was held via zoom, while the workshop could take place in hybrid mode.
Sounds Queer
The female pioneers of electroacoustic music & Sounds Queer?
January 10, 2022
Location
Hybrid and Art & Science Studio
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Team
- Martin Reinhart (Organizer)