Pianist blends nanotechnology with music

Schlosser, based at the U of A's Augustana Faculty in Camrose, is premiering a series of 'nanosonatas' written specifically for him by American composer Frederic Rzewski. The work, entitled Nanosonatas, Volume 1, was commissioned by Schlosser through the U of A's Humanities, Fine Arts and Social Sciences Research grant program.

The composition reflects Rzewski's interest in biomolecular nanomachines. He essentially compresses the form of 20- to 40-minute, 19th-century sonatas into seven three-minute segments which challenge music-lovers in exciting new ways, Schlosser said.

"You are left having to refocus your expectations of what music is. It challenges the notion of art as always pretty," he said. "The melody becomes pin-pointed, and listeners are going to have to remember states of being, moments of sound."

Each tiny piece in the 21-minute work stores a wealth of musical ideas. It is challenging to perform, he admits. Not surprisingly, "every note counts."

The nano-notes are inspired by a friendship Rzewski struck up with a physicist who also happened to be an amateur pianist. Rzewski, who will visit Augustana Campus in February, set out to compose a reflective piece after his physicist friend showed him a video of a rotating nanomotor - a device that is 300 to 500 times smaller than the width of a hair.

"In terms of sound, the music of the first nanosonata imitates the changing pace of the nanomotor," Schlosser said. He describes the entire collection of nanosonatas as avant-garde with a touch of the abstract.

The blending of technology and music bridges the chasm between art and science, Schlosser said. "It also shows on a human level that technology has to have its expression in the arts as well."

Source: University of Alberta

Analog's twilight: Slowly, digital trumps physical
(AP) -- Sometimes, in the decades after he came home from World War II, it seemed as if the movie camera was surgically attached to Christoffel Teeuwissen's hand.
Joost relaunching TV site as online shows abound
(AP) -- Forget about the boob tube. Places to watch TV on the Internet are proliferating, from NBC Universal and News Corp.'s Hulu to Joost - a site that plans to relaunch Tuesday to make it a more interactive experience.
EU tells music lovers to turn down MP3 players
(AP) -- The European Union told music lovers Monday to turn down the volume of MP3 players, saying they risk permanent hearing loss from listening too long at maximum levels.
Sony seeks to harmonize music, electronics
(AP) -- Now that Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG have broken off their troubled relationship, known as Sony BMG, the Japanese company hopes to harmonize its consumer electronics and its music, a duo that was badly out of sync.
California Scientists Demonstrate How to Use Advanced Fiber-Optic Backbone for Research
(PhysOrg.com) -- How can super-fast networking among research institutions in California help scientists make new discoveries? Researchers, campus administrators and networking infrastructure officials converged on the University of California, San Diego in September to find out.
A safety net for social networking
Someone out there, some stranger, might know things about your teenager that even you don't know. What music they like. Who they're crushing on. Who they're fighting with.
'60s generation is heading for conventional old age
Britain's post-war baby boomers, associated throughout their lives with social change, are failing to break new ground in their approach to growing old.
Low-cost fix may put end to lines on screen
Q. I have a 3-year-old Apple iMac G5 desktop computer. In August, the screen started displaying a series of small, randomly distributed vertical lines. By late September, the number of lines had increased to 33.

Pianist blends nanotechnology with music

Related stories:

News discussion: