Those Places where Engineers and Musicians Converge
During the 20th century, the development of sound recording and information technologies revolutionized the musical practices of many creators. Fascinated by the unprecedented sonic possibilities of these new tools, musicians became technicians, engineers, and even programmers in order to realize their musical goals. The need for up-to-date equipment (rare and very expensive at first), as well as the technical knowledge to use and develop it, gave rise to research and creative centres where engineers and composers gathered. The present article examines the early institutions that were so important to the discipline, focusing on two key figures in the development of musical technology, Pierre Schaeffer (grm, France) and Max Mathews (Bell Labs, United States), often referred to as the fathers of electroacoustic and computer music. Mathews’ primary collaborators are also discussed: Jean-Claude Risset, and John Chowning of Stanford University. Sections of the article describe the history of the very first studios, which were founded by state broadcasters, as well as others that sprang up at North American universities during the 1950s. The survey concludes with French institutions that appeared in the 1960s and 1970s. These groundbreaking institutions cultivated important research and creative activities that sparked the development of technological tools for musical creation.