RoboRecital
Music of J. Brendan Adamson
Tuesday, November 30th, 8:00 PM
Paul Hall, The Juilliard School

Juilliard Journal Article
Look, Ma—No Hands!
By MARI KIMURA
Published: November, 2004

This article appeared in the November 2004 issue of the Juilliard Journal. The online edition of this article is accessible at the Juilliard Journal website.

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TEXT ONLY:

The Juilliard Journal
November 2004
Look, Ma—No Hands!
By MARI KIMURA

A remarkable recital in Paul Hall this month will include organ, piano, and guitar music—but not a single human performer. Titled "RoboRecital" and presented by composition student J. Brendan Adamson, it will feature three robot performers: GuitarBot, a self-playing guitar; an automated pipe organ; and a Yamaha Disklavier, a modern player piano.

[GuitarBot photo caption: LEMUR's self-playing GuitarBot extends performance capabilities beyond that of a human guitarist.]

Before anybody frets, take note: Haydn, C.P.E. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Cherubini are among the many composers who used "robots" of their time, including mechanical or automated, self-playing organs. The idea of composers bypassing performers is not new. Throughout history, composers have been intrigued by the idea that their music might pass directly to the listener, without being limited by the human hand or the interpretations of the performer. More recently, in the 1920s and '30s, Conlon Nancarrow elevated the idea of the machine as a superhuman performer, writing works for player pianos. Percy Grainger, in his 1938 essay "Free Music," wrote: "Machines (if properly constructed and properly written for) are capable of niceties of emotional expression impossible to a human performer."

An undergraduate composition major studying with Christopher Rouse, Brendan is also studying at Juilliard's Music Technology Center, directed by Edward Bilous. This concert is the outgrowth of his independent study in computer music performance, which he has been pursuing with me with special permission to enroll in my graduate course.

Brendan's interest is in acoustic instruments, electronically controlled. He explains that "while it may seem more practical to bypass the performer by relying on sampling or synthesis of sounds purely in the electronic medium, the automation approach retains the richness of the source acoustic instrument and offers the visual interest of a live instrumental performance."

At the concert, Brendan will present his own works written for automated organ, Yamaha Disklavier, and GuitarBot, a mechanical robot created in 2002 by LEMUR (League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots). He will also present J. S. Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080, Contrapuncti Nos. 2 and 3, performed by GuitarBot, and Mozart's Allegro und Andante (Fantasia in F Minor, K.608) written for self-playing organ. Although several practical editions for human performer have been made, Mozart's piece will be heard in its original form for self-playing organ on Brendan's concert.

Another work to be presented on this RoboRecital, Brendan's Two Studies for Player Piano (2002), was featured at this year's Music at the Anthology Festival, produced by Philip Glass. Brendan writes in the program note: "The Disklavier is valued for its ability to record and reproduce a live pianist's performance, but its ability to exceed the capabilities of a human performer have made it compelling to composers."

Also featured will be Brendan's Three Studies for Automated Organ (2004), written for the newly renovated and refurbished pipe organ in Paul Hall. Although it is an acoustic instrument, every function available to an organist at the console can be controlled by computer. Brendan writes, "Automating these functions not only overcomes problems of performer ability but more importantly allows for new sound possibilities that could not be reproduced by a live organist."

I am also currently collaborating with LEMUR and using GuitarBot to perform GuitarBotana, my recent work for violin, GuitarBot, and interactive computer. We have been performing together at several international music festivals this year, and were featured on CNN Headline News. GuitarBot was created through the leadership of musician and engineer Eric Singer, LEMUR's founder, with a philosophy to build robotic instruments that play themselves. GuitarBot is a stringed instrument that is designed to extend—not simply duplicate—the capabilities of a human musician. It can pick and slide extremely rapidly and responds to musical commands from a composed score or generated in real time. For further information on LEMUR, please visit their Web site at www.lemurbots.org.

Are the machines replacing humans? Why is this concert being held at Juilliard, the pinnacle of performing arts studies? I believe this concert is happening exactly where it should: where we are continuing our musical tradition. Long before the last century, composers including Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven were versatile musicians who performed, improvised, and utilized the latest musical technology available in their time. In his use of technology on his RoboRecital, Brendan is merely following tradition.

Mari Kimura (D.M.A. '93, violin) has been a faculty member in music technology since 1998.

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