“Tod Machover, a musical visionary at the M.I.T. Media Lab who has written a series of urban symphonies that attempt to capture the spirit of cities around the world, is taking on his first American city: Detroit, which he will portray in a new work called ‘Symphony in D,’ ” writes Michael Cooper in Wednesday’s (11/19) New York Times. “The symphony, which will be based in part from sounds submitted electronically by Detroiters, will be given its premiere next November by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra—part of an effort to help the city, which is emerging from bankruptcy, rebuild itself through the arts. The aural landscape of Detroit, with its Motor City and Motown roots, promises to be distinct from some of the other cities portrayed in Mr. Machover’s previous collaborative symphonies, which include Toronto; Edinburgh; Perth, Australia; and, currently, Lucerne, Switzerland.… Leonard Slatkin, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s music director, said, … ‘The concept of utilizing the sounds of our city, both those found and those submitted by others and then incorporating them into an orchestral work is quite amazing.’ ” Read Symphony magazine’s coverage of Machover’s collaborative symphony with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra here.
Posted November 19, 2014
Photo of Tod Machover by Katherine Taylor for the New York Times
