This is a recording of Robert Erickson’s 1974 composition “Summer Music,” which is scored for violin and tape, and is performed here by Daniel Kobialka on violin. The work represents a masterful merging of electronic sounds with a haunting violin melody in which each element complements each other without ever sounding forced or overly manipulated. Robert Erickson, was a noted author and educator, whose students included Morton Subotnick, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, and Paul Dresher. He was one of the first composers to incorporate taped music into his works, was a co-founder of the San Francisco Tape Center as well as the Music Department at the University of California in San Diego. Erickson was the recipient of numerous awards in composition, including fellowships from the Ford and the Guggenheim Memorial Foundations. Despite suffering from a painful wasting muscle disease that left him bedridden for almost fifteen years before his death, Erickson continued to compose up until 1990.

Thanks to Alan Rich for making this historic recording available.

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