RFG Inventions for Cello and Computer

Pioneer of synthesizer technology, Peter Zinovieff and cellist Lucy Railton present the first work of their new collaboration, »RFG« for cello and computer.

»RFG« is a 40-minute piece for cello and computer combining a live instrumental part and an assemblage of pre-recorded, manipulated material forming an “orchestral” counterpart. Designed for performance with multiple spatially configured loudspeakers, »RFG« articulates a bold and luminous meshing of voices, a visceral encounter between one of the pioneers of computer-based music and one of today's leading instrumentalists.

Zinovieff, co-founder of London’s influential EMS Synthesizer company and owner of one of the world's first home computers, created and orchestrated a "soft" version of Railton's vast instrumental vocabulary using custom computer software. It was modelled from a large series of cello improvisations inspired by various objects – an Egyptian figure, pots and ancient computer panels – as well as stories his grandfather told about pre-revolutionary Russia. Railton added a solo cello to the manipulated results, before these quasi-improvisations were assembled into the work’s filigree matrix during the final co-production with members of the ZKM in Karlsruhe.

»RFG« was recorded at ZKM | Karlsruhe during rehearsals for a concert on March 22, 2017, and mixed in September of that year in the blue Cube of the ZKM | Karlsruhe by the Hertz-Lab.