The Electronic Century with Gabriel Prokofiev

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The Electronic Century with Gabriel Prokofiev: New Sonic Territories

New Sonic Territories

BBC Radio 3 - The Electronic Century with Gabriel Prokofiev, New Sonic Territories

Gabriel Prokofiev shares his love of electronically generated sound in classical music.

Gabriel Prokofiev explores the sounds made possible through synthesis, including the theremin and prototype synthesizers such as the ANS machine.

One hundred years since the earliest electronic instruments began to appear, composer Gabriel Prokofiev explores how the advent of electronically generated sound has influenced how we make and listen to music. Over three episodes, Gabriel charts a personal journey through the key works that influenced his own composing style, and the impact electronics have had on contemporary classical music. 

In this episode, Gabriel shares some of the earliest compositions made with electronically generated sound. Starting with the theremin, the first instrument to broaden the possibilities of the orchestra through electronics, Gabriel traces a line between the lesser heard electronic compositions of György Ligeti emerging from Stockhausen’s WDR studio in Cologne, to the madcap inventions of Raymond Scott and Wendy Carlos’ synthesized film scores.

We’ll feature music composed for early, lesser-known synthesizer prototypes such as the ANS machine from 1937, inspired by the Russian composer and synesthesiac Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, as well as Daphne Oram’s ‘Oramics Machine’ which also allowed her to draw shapes and turn them into sound. Gabriel re-evaluates the early electronic compositions that were sidelined into jingles, TV themes and film scores to hear how they still stand the test of time today. 

Produced by Alannah Chance
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Music: Classical: Experimental & New

Gabriel Prokofiev celebrates the connections between classical and electronic music.

Gabriel Prokofiev celebrates the connections between classical and electronic music over the last century.

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