ConcertGames

Ca. 2000 I download a stable free version of Macromedia's Flash programming environment and it became immediately evident to me for the first time music manuscript could be enhanced to include all aspects of color, size, motion, interactivity and embedded code for algorithmic results. These concepts had all been individually explored within the framework of traditional music manuscript by such visionary composers as Cage, Kagel, Feldman, Brown, and Lutoslawski; but now (and as the first recorded and published examples of) with the internet they could come to fruition and be performed, downloaded and disseminated directly from the internet. Etude's 1, 2, 4, and 5 (2000 - 2002) were studies exploring color, size, tempo, and choice. By Etude's 6 (Slot Machine) and Etude 7 (Space Text Adventure) it became obvious to me the end result of my work pointed to music, being a language, fell under the same description of 'language-game" defined by the Austrian Philosopher Wittgenstein in his 'Philosophical Investigations' in 1953. With that I headed out to the Game Developer's conference in San Francisco to learn about advanced tools and techniques used by major game developers where I was introduced to Intel Computer's Software Partner Program which was instrumental in guiding and encouraging my further work. Subsequently, I completed Etude 9 and Orpheus Down as full 3rd person 'walk thru' interactive games where the performer's actions directly influence the resulting music and accompaniment. My current work is directed toward MMO applications to live chamber and orchestral performance bringing a new vitality and capable of extending symphonic performance into the digital era.

In December of 2020 Adobe effected an 'end of life' for its Flash application no longer supporting playback within any of the commercially available browsers. The video below is a walk through of the early Etudes. Most of them including the later Etude 9 and Orpheus Down are available as Window executable full play versions. Please contact me to arrange for their performance.            

David Lieberman 2022