The Future of Music/The Future of Leonardo

THEFUTURE OF MUSIC/THE FUTURE OF LEONARDO Since its inception in 1967,Leonardo has often published articles dealing with sound and music. In 1987,a specialissue titled ‘VisualArt, Sound, Music and Technology”was published. In that issue, under my guidance, we launched a newjournal section: “Sound,Music, Science and Technology”.Since then, we have continued to receive a great many new manuscripts dealing with the sonic arts. Some of these have been interdisciplinary in focus and of interest to Leonardo’sprimary audience in the visual arts, but some have focused more on the relationships between technology, science, experimental aesthetics and music. Leonardo’sdistinctiveeditorial approach, along with its international and interdisciplinary format, seemed to attract authors from a variety of musical areas. We decided to found ajournal, an ‘offspring’of Leonardo,that would focus primarily on music and the sonic arts. Because we did not feel that a printjournal could completely dojustice to musical authors, we also decided to begin a Leonardo compact disc (CD) series,which frequently would serve as an audio companion to thejournal. This issue marks the founding of the LeonardoMusicJournal (LMJ and CD. portant ways in which technology, science and radical new aesthetics are influencing current and future musical directions. Certainly the most prevalent of these new technologies is the computer, and its influence on the music of the latter half of this century and the future is pervasive. But LMJwill not limit itself to ‘computer music’, nor will we establish any overlyrestrictive definitions of technology itself . Instead, we will seek to be inclusiverather than exclusive,to publish articles dealing with a wide range of musical ideas, styles,technologies and aesthetics.To some extent this first issue represents these goals,including articles by Bart Hop kins on new instrument building, I Wayan Sadra on experimental music in Indonesia and Sara Garden Armstrong on kinetic sound sculpture-as well as more theoretical, historical and technological pieces by Charles Ames, Nicolas Collins, Martin Bartlett and others. We will seek a truly international and interdisciplinary group of authors. As in Leonardo,the focus of LMJwill be on artists describing their own work. In this first issue, articles by K. Atchley,Larry Austin (with coauthors Xavier Serra and Charles Boone) and Ed Osborn, and notes by other composers included on the CD comprise a CD Companion section. We are particularly interested in writings that explore the relationships of the sound arts to the sciences and technology, as well as those that present global, interdisciplinaryand experimental issuesin the musics of the present and future. LMJwill seek to erode artificialboundaries between the visual and sonic arts and provide a forum for artistswhose work spans disciplines,styles and technologies. Our goalswith LMJare to and represent, as well aswe can, some of the imLARRYPOLANSKY GuestEditor, memberof the LeonardoMusicJournalEditorialBoard 01991ISAST PergammPressplc. PrintedinGreatBriin 0961-1215/91$3.00+0.00 LEONARD0 MUSICJOURNAL, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 1,1991 1 ...