“An algorithm is just a modern term for creating form.”
There’s a fresh perspective, especially from someone based in tech-drenched SF, where we almost always associate algorithms with technology platforms. Even if we’re talking about music, it’s assumed that algorithms are for electronic music. But William Susman remarks that “composers have been using algorithms for centuries and with names such as isorhythm, hocketing, fugue, canon, sonata, etc.” Likewise, algorithms allowed him to write Quiet Rhythms, a suite of piano music that would sit comfortably on the shelf alongside repetitive, minimal music by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and the like. French pianist Nicolas Horvath is the first to perform all 88 pieces from the suite, and the first 22 of Quiet Rhythms Book I are out now on Collection 1001 Notes.
