Political Embrace

A third reason for embracing technology is political. Technology can free the composer/performer from almost all dependence on the performing ensembles and associated cultural institutions. This can be helpful for the composer whose aesthetics are at a variance with the cultural powers that be. It can also be helpful to the composer who explicitly attacks the power structure of the society or societies in which she or he works. In this instance the author cites his own computer music works, most of which require performers and many of which are explicitly political. Consequently, numerous problems have been encountered in attempts to obtain performances and recordings of these works. Included in this group are pieces not originally intended as political works, such as Xuan Men (Dark Gate) for violinist.⁴

As a result, in the past, and once again, I am pushed to consider composing pieces that rely on technological means as much as possible and therefore attempt to bypass most of the political barriers to their presentation.

Aesthetic Imperatives

A fourth reason is the straight-forward case of aesthetic imperatives. These composers feel drawn to the new tools primarily because the sounds produced are the sounds for which they have searched. Of the many composers I could cite in this regard, I suggest Edgard Varese and Barry Truax to name just two. Varese, of course, died before much of the technology now taken for granted became available, but the argument can be made that he wanted exactly the kinds of sounds that computer music could have provided him. Without them, he did what he could with the resources at his disposal. In the case of Truax, his best work seems to come forward so gracefully from the conception, the materials, and the technique that it is difficult to distinguish between these various aspects. His piece Riverrun can be given as an example.

Need

Another reason that some composers embrace new technologies is a simple pragmatism. They need it. This need may result from the use of extremely complex calculations as part of a compositional algorithm or it might arise from the desire to create some kind of live electronic music or real-time interactive computer music. An example in this regard is the work of Clarence Barlow and the use of complex systems for both compositional algorithms and for performance.