# Switched-on [insert composer]



## bigboy (May 26, 2017)

After an admittedly cursory examination I couldn't find any commentary/snarky jokes p) about 20th century synthesizer interpretations of classic pieces of the western art music canon.
I suppose the usual suspects in this field would be W. Carlos's Switched-on Bach, or some of Isao Tomita's work, e.g.,





I'll freely admit that I have a soft spot for this sort of thing, even when it goes horribly wrong- but I think that sometimes these interpretations really do reveal something novel about the piece. Perhaps to paraphrase Glenn Gould, the structures of some pieces are so robust that they can shine through even bad orchestration, synthetic or otherwise.

Has anyone else enjoyed these synthesizer interpretations, or if not enjoyed, come away with a deeper understanding, or love, of the original?


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

I like Wendy Carlos's work, there is wit and imagination in her readings. Tomita not so much, a lack of taste and too much overblown showboating which all too often leads to disaster: ie The Planets.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Wendy Carlos' work was noteworthy if only because of what a bear to program the Moog was. And it certainly didn't do the Bach any harm (although Bach may be uniquely unidiomatic to specific instruments). Tomita was a disaster through and through.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

This is what I wrote about Tomita's take on Mussorgsky's Pictures at an exhibition some years ago:

Listening to this one, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. The musicianship by Japan's electronics wizard avant la lettre Isao Tomita is clear, but the atmosphere is totally wrong in these renditions, especially the promenades (in one of them, one gets the impression of the spectator crawling slowly over the museum floor). The sci-fi effects created and the synthetic voices totally do not match the themes in most cases. An exception is the chicken ballet, which sounds quite appropriate.


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## bigboy (May 26, 2017)

Art Rock said:


> (in one of them, one gets the impression of the spectator crawling slowly over the museum floor)


I have to praise the turn of phrase- it gave me a good laugh, thanks!


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