Music and Music Technology
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Born in Lima, Peru, 1956, attended musical studies at the National Conservatory of Lima, the Rubin Academy - Tel Aviv University, and York University, UK, where he was awarded a DPhil (1991). Studied composition with Abel Ehrlich, John Paynter and Richard Orton. Obtained a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the Israel Institute of Technology (1980). He is Professor of Composition at Keele University, where he established the MA/MSc in Digital Music Technology and the Computer Music Laboratories. Previous roles include artistic director and principal conductor of the Keele Philharmonic Society (1990-1995), Director of Music (1998-2000), Music Technology programmes director (2001-4). Currently he is Director of Music Technology Research and Director of Postgraduate Studies. Became a director of the Composers’ Desktop Project (CDP) in 1988.
He is member of Latin-American Sonic Arts Network (RedASLA), the Peruvian Circle of Composers (CIRCOMPER) and Sonic Arts Network,
His main research activities focus on acoustic, electronic and time-based media composition, with particular interest in the establishment of aesthetic links between electronic and non-electronic sound and the integration of inter-cultural materials into coherent musical expression; sonic Arts theory and analysis; creative software development.
Selected Publications
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2011. Back to the Parlour. Sonic Ideas, vol. 3(2), 53-66.
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2011. Sonic Ideas - Mexican Center for Music and Sonic Arts (CMMAS).
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2011. Sonic Ideas - Mexican Center for Music and Sonic Arts (CMMAS).
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2010. ¿Te Acuerdad Hijo?.
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2009. A Que No Me Quemas (ensamble and digital audio, 2000, bars 395-407).
Full Publications List show
Journal Articles
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2011. Back to the Parlour. Sonic Ideas, vol. 3(2), 53-66.
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2008. Mimetic space – unravelled. Organised Sound, vol. 13(2), 111-122. doi>
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2008. Divine diversification or grey goo?. Sonic Ideas, vol. 1(1), 46-54.
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2007. Mimetic Space: a conceptual framework for the discussion, analysis and creation of mimetic discourse and structure. Electroacoustic Music Studies Network, .
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2005. Tslilim Umetsaltselim - Hirhurim al Musica VeCalcala. TAV+, vol. 5, 9-18.
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2003. Book Review: Andrew Horner and Lydia Ayers, Cooking with Csound part 1: Woodwind and Brass Recipes. Organised Sound, vol. 8(3), 335-336.
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2003. Clouds, Pyramids, and Diamonds: Applying Schrödinger's Equation to Granular Synthesis and Compositional Structure. Computer Music Journal, vol. 27(2), 47-69. doi>
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2003. Derivation of organic musical structure and materials from the solution of differential equations. Computer Music Journal, vol. 27(2), 47-69.
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2002. Application of mathematical models to the generation of organic musical structure and discourse in composition: research summary. Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference 2002, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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2001. "Presence II - a compilation of electroacoustic works". Diffusion, Sonic Arts Network. Also in Canadian Elecroacoustic Music Community Web Site, http:\\cec.concordia.ca.
Chapters
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2003. Derivation of organic musical structure and materials from the solution of differential equations. In Intercultural Music Vol. 5. Kwami RM (Ed.). MRI Press, Richmond, CA, USA.
Other
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2011. Sonic Ideas - Mexican Center for Music and Sonic Arts (CMMAS).
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2011. Sonic Ideas - Mexican Center for Music and Sonic Arts (CMMAS).
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2010. ¿Te Acuerdad Hijo?.
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2009. A Que No Me Quemas (ensamble and digital audio, 2000, bars 395-407).
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2009. Music score: A Que No Me Quemas.
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2008. Ets HaDa’at (The Tree of Knowledge).
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2007. ¿Te Acuerdas Hijo? (Do you Remember Son?, 2007, 16”38'). Computer-generated audiovisual composition (Finalist in the multimedia category at 34th Bourges International competition, 2007). Composition, performance, digital mediaPerformances include: University of Aveiro, Portugal (2007); MANTIS South-North Weekend Festival, UK (2007); Visual Music Marathon – Boston Cyberarts Festival 2007, USA; International Computer Music Conference, ICMC 2007, Copenhagen; CynetArt VM Festival, Dresden, Germany (2007). Visiones Sonoras Festival 2007, Mexico City/Morelia. See portfolio for full list of performances. Internet publications: Animation World Magazine. http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=search&sval=miller&article_no=3295&page=12.
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2007. ¡A Que No Me Quemas!.
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2006. ¿Te Acuerdas Hijo?.
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Alma Latina.
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And I Think to Myself ...
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And I Think to Myself ...
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Erwin's Playground.
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2004. Erwin's Playground (2001).
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If Stones Could Have a Brief Word...
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Los Dados Eternos.
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Sin Los Cuatro.
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Targilim Beivrit Shimushit.
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Targilim Beivrit Shimushit.
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2003. Targilim Beivrit Shimushit (Drills in Practical Hebrew, 2003, 23'42”): Composition for voice and digital audio. Commissioned by Eti Ben-Zaken (voice professional) for the Dan Pagis project. Composition, performances, digital media“... a ‘Wonderful' World”: Rajmil Fischman solo CD (Electronic Music Foundation - EMF CD 063, 2007). Performances include:University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel (2003); Metula Poetry Festival, Metula, Israel (2003);Electronic Studio of the Israeli Contemporary Players, Tel-Aviv, Israel(2003, 2 performances); Ha-chan Theatre, Jerusalem, Israel (2003); Sound Circus SAN Conference, Phoenix Arts Centre, Leicester (2004); International Computer Music Conference, ICMC 2004, Florida, digital jukebox playback.
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A Short Tale.
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2003. A Short Tale (2002).
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Alma Latina.
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And I Think to Myself ...
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Erwin's Playground.
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Erwin's Playground.
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If Stones Could have a Brief Word ...
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If Stones Could Have a Brief Word ...
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If Stones Could Have a Brief Word ...
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Sin Los Cuatro.
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Targilim Beivrit Shimushit.
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Targilim Beivrit Shimushit.
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Targilim Beivrit Shimushit.
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Targilim Beivrit Shimushit.
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Targilim Beivrit Shimushit.
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2003. Targilim Beivrit Shimushit.
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2002. And I Think to Myself ... Composition for digital audio (2001-2, 21'26”). Composition, performances, digital media“... a ‘Wonderful' World”: Rajmil Fischman solo CD (Electronic Music Foundation - EMF CD 063, 2007). Performances include: Broadcast, National Radio of Israel(2002); Off Limits Festival, Dortmund, Germany, 2003; Sonorities Festival, Belfast (2005); International Electroacoustic Music Festival Spring in Havana 2004; 1st Festival of Electronic and Electroacoustic Music and Music Technology, Lima, Peru (2004); Sound Electric'05, NUI Maynooth, Ireland(2005). See portfolio for full list of performances.
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2002. Application of dynamic mathematical models to electroacoustic composition:a) 'Clouds, Pyramids and Diamonds: Applying Schrödinger's Equation to Granular Synthesis and Compositional Structure' (Computer Music Journal, Vol27, Issue2, 2003); b)Erwin's Playground. Composition for digital audio, (2001, 9'12”. Finalist at 29th Bourges International Competition 2002 and IV International Contemporary Music Contest, 'Citta di Udine' 2002) and related performances and digital media; c) Music software: AL and ERWIN (C++, Direct X, Windows)Distributed under the GNU general public licence Composers' Desktop Project Ltd. Downloadable from http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/mu/staff/rajmilfischmanalsoftware01.htm Number of registered downloads on 25/10/07: 4174. Reviewed in Electronic Musician, November 2003. Review is also available at http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_game_chance. d) Application of mathematical models to the generation of organic musical structure and discourse incomposition: research summary (Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference 2002, Gothenburg, Sweden). Portfolio produced with the support of AHRB. Journal article, composition, software, digital media, performances and conference contribution“... a ‘Wonderful' World”: Rajmil Fischman solo CD (Electronic Music Foundation - EMF CD 063, 2007). Computer Music Journal DVD, vol. 27. Performances including: Broadcast in Kol Hamusica, National Radio of Israel(2002); International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), New Orleans (2006); ÉuCuE– Series XXIII, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada (2004); Sonoimágenes 2005, Buenos Aires; VI International Festival of Electroacoustic Music: AI-MAAKO 2006, Santiago. See portfolio for full list of performances.
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2002. A Short Tale (Cuéntame un Cuento).
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2002. AL and ERWIN.
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And I Think to Myself.
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And I Think to Myself ...
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El Picaflor y el Huaco.
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Erwin's Playground.
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Erwin's Playground.
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Erwin's Playground.
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Kol HaTorr.
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No Me Quedo ... (plantado en este verso).
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Nostalgias Imperiales.
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2002. Suite à ‘et ainsi de suite’… v2.
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2001. Alma Latina (1996-7).
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Alma Latina (Soul of a Latin).
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Alma Latina (Soul of a Latin).
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2001. And I Think to Myself ….
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Beikvot Havolcano (Ramblings on a Volcano).
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2001. Erwin’s Playground.
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If Stones Could Have a Brief Word ...
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Koi Hatorr.
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No Me Quedo ... (Plantado en Este Verso).
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2000. No Me Quedo … (plantado en este verso).
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1999. El Picaflor y el Huaco.
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1998. Kol HaTorr.
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1997. Beikvot Havolcano (Ramblings on a Volcano).
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1996. Alma Latina.
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1996. If Stones Could Have a Brief Word ... full text>
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1994. Sin Los Cuatro.
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1991. Los Dados Eternos.
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1987. Nostalgias Imperiales.
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1984. Milim shel Giora.
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A Wonderful World, Solo CD.
AL ... gorithmic Compositional Environment, developed by Rajmil Fischman is a multiple document interface (MDI) application, with frame windows that present views of different documents and/or several views of the same document. It is designed for the creation and manipulation of sonic events and their organization into a structured musical work. In order to aid user familiarity with the software and a reasonably short learning curve, care was taken to develop an interface within an accepted general standard for windows applications; including a menu bar, a tool bar, common window components and typical mouse ‘drag and drop’ operations.
Also, key shortcuts are implemented for most commands. Another important consideration in the design of AL was the desire to provide a reasonably open system, with the option for development of third party plug-ins; thus avoiding the constraints imposed by a single type of musical process. Currently, AL is distributed as free software, in conjunction with ERWIN, a plug-in that applies the solutions of Schröedinger’s equation for an atomic potential with radial symmetry (a well-known equation from Quantum Mechanics) to the creation of granular clouds. Hopefully, future developments by the author and others will implement a variety of compositional approaches in addition to ERWIN.
Please note that AL comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details see the GNU General Public License.(Adobe Acrobat Format). This is free software and you are welcome to redistribute it under the conditions detailed in the GNU General Public License. For more details, you can write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA. The GNU website is here.
Read the review in Electronic Musician 1 Nov 2003
The author acknowledges the support of:
The Arts and Humanities Research Board, which made possible the creation of these programs.
and
The Composers’ Desktop Project, for the technical advice and support provided during the development of the software.
Minimum Requirements
Processor Pentium (Pentium III onwards recommended)
Operating System Windows 98/ME/XP (AL was initially developed on Windows 2000 but the latest version has not been tested in this environment)
Screen Resolution Although AL can run on lower resolutions, a minimum of 1024x 768 pixels or higher is recommended. The software will run on a smaller resolution but some graphics components may not fit in the screen.
Microsoft DirectX 8 TM The AL and ERWIN installation disk should install DirectX 8TM, if required.
Soundcard DirectX TM compatible (recommended).
NOTE Rehearse and playback functions are optimised to work with DirectX TM. There may be delays and crackles when using soundcards which are not DirectX TM compatible.
Installation Instructions
1. Download the programme. This should create a compressed, self-extracting file (ALandERWIN103.EXE) in your computer.
2. Double click on ALandERWIN103.EXE. This will extract all the files needed for installation, including a README file
3. Double click on the extracted Setup.EXE file.
4. If you have not installed Direct X TM or have version lower than 8, SETUP.EXE will also install DirectX TM version 8 and may reboot your computer. If after rebooting the dialog for AL's installation does not reappear, double click on SETUP.EXE again.
5. Finally, the SETUP.EXE program may have to load the install shield and reboot your computer again. If this happens and the dialog for AL's installation does not reappear, double click on SETUP.EXE one more time.
6. After AL is installed, a shortcut on the desktop and an item on the programs menu should appear (Algorithmic Composition Environment).
If you experience problems downloading large files and you still want to obtain a copy of AL and ERWIN, you can get it on a CD for the price of postage and packaging (5 pounds) from the Composers’ Desktop Project.
Updates History
17.7.03 Version 1.03 released
AL and ERWIN version 1.03 has the same functionality as version 1.02. However, the latter had a bug which could produce clicks when using certain kinds of audio sources, particularly in the case of pitched material. This has been corrected in version 1.03
Al Software Download
There are two versions available: One for users who already have DirectX ver 8.1 (or above) already installed on their systems and one for users who have a version of DirectX previous to version 8.1
In order to check what version of DirectX you have installed run the command dxdiag (start button, then run)
PLEASE NOTE:
If you have already installed AL and ERWIN version 1.02 and it is running properly, you should already have DirectX version 8.1 installed.
If you already have DirectX ver 8.1or above then download this file Al&Erwin103.exe (8.9Mb)
If you do not have DirectX ver 8.1or above then download this file: AL&Erwin103+DirectX8.exe (33.4Mb includes full DirectX installation)
Please address any feedback regarding AL to: r.a.fischman@mus.keele.ac.uk. If you experience problems downloading large files and you still want to obtain a copy of AL and ERWIN, you can get it on a CD for the price of postage and packaging (5 pounds) from the Composers’ Desktop Project.

