Paul Lansky
A funny thing happened to Paul Lansky on the way to the computer. Originally
expecting to be caught up in the search for "new sounds", he instead became
much more interested in human sounds and the noise of the world around
us. Since the early 70's he has thus been using the computer as a kind
of aural microscope on this world-noise. His Six Fantasies on a Poem by
Thomas Campion, widely regarded as a landmark work in computer music, takes
us on a journey to the inner world of poetry and speech. Idle Chatter and
its sister pieces, Just_more_idle_chatter and Notjustmoreidlechatter ,
make music from the incoherent babble of synthesized speech. As if, Values
of Time, Stroll, and Talkshow, all involve live performers in a kind of
musical reality play. recent works have make use of ambient noises such
as those of shopping malls and highways, and he continues his explorations
in search of the implicit music in the way people speak. His music has
been widely heard and performed in the United States, Europe and Australia,
and has been used extensively by dance troupes, including the well-known
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane and Company. In 1989, Idle Chatter was used as
the opener for the Zurich International Jazz Festival. Lansky was born
in New York City and flirted wit a career as a French Horn player (Dorian
Quintet 1966-67) before turning to composition. He is on the faculty at
Princeton University.