In Search of a Concrete Music

Few books have described with such precision the evolution of thoughts and concepts behind the invention of a new music as A La Recherche d'une Musique Concrete. In this book Schaeffer has unveiled the major philosophical problems of music of the second half of the twentieth century. An excellent translation by Dack and North. -Daniel Teruggi, Head of Institut National Audiovisuel, Groupe de Recherches Musicales, ParisA fascinating glimpse into the mind of Pierre Schaeffer, the creator of the very first kind of electroacoustic music, the Concrete music, here in a stellar translation. In this diary combined with musical considerations, Schaeffer gives the necessary keys and invites the reader to follow, step by step, how Concrete music became a major trend of the twentieth century. -Marc Battier, Professor of Musicology, University Paris-Sorbonne Pierre Schaeffer's writings are fundamental to our understanding of twentieth-century music in general and all the sound arts that use technology. This book reveals a truly experimental journey with its detours and frustrations-yet with determination, dazzling imagination and insight, Schaeffer pieces together a coherent and radical theory of music made through sound as perceived. Christine North and John Dack's translation brilliantly captures Schaeffer's painstaking reinvention of the vocabulary of music. -Simon Emmerson, Professor of Music, Technology, and Innovation, De Montfort University