INSTRUMENTS P A T FOR NEW MUSIC T E S O N SOUND, TECHNOLOGY, AND MODERNISM | I N S T R U M E N T S F O R N E W M U S I C THOMAS PATTESON Luminos is the open access monograph publishing program from UC Press. Luminos provides a framework for preserv- ing and reinvigorating monograph publishing for the future and increases the reach and visibility of important scholarly work. Titles published in the UC Press Luminos model are published with the same high standards for selection, peer review, production, and marketing as those in our traditional program. www.luminosoa.org The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribu- tion to this book provided by the AMS 75 PAYS Endowment of the American Musicological Society, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The publisher also gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution to this book provided by the Curtis Institute of Music, which is committed to supporting its faculty in pursuit of scholarship. Instruments for New Music Instruments for New Music Sound, Technology, and Modernism Thomas Patteson UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS University of California Press, one of the most distin- guished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activi- ties are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institu- tions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2016 by Thomas Patteson This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY- NC-SA license. To view a copy of the license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses. Every effort has been made to identify the rightful copy- right holders of material not specifically commissioned for use in this publication and to secure permission, where applicable, for reuse of all such material. Credit, if and as available, has been provided for all borrowed material either on-page, on the copyright page, or in an acknowledgement section of the book. Errors or omis- sions in credit citations or failure to obtain permission if required by copyright law have been either unavoidable or unintentional. The author and publisher welcome any information that would allow them to correct future reprints. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Patteson, Thomas. Instruments for new music : sound, technology, and modernism / Thomas Patteson. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-28802-7 (pbk : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-520-96312-2 (ebook) 1. Musical instruments. 2. Music and technology— History. 3. Electronic musical instruments— History. 4. Music—Philosophy and aesthetics. I. Title. ML460.P347 2016 784.1909'04—dc23 2015028397 Manufactured in the United States of America 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 2002) (Permanence of Paper). For Audrey and Felix Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Listening to Instruments 1 2 “The Joy of Precision”: Mechanical Instruments and the Aesthetics of Automation 18 3 “The Alchemy of Tone”: Jörg Mager and Electric Music 52 4 “Sonic Handwriting”: Media Instruments and Musical Inscription 82 5 “A New, Perfect Musical Instrument”: The Trautonium and Electric Music in the 1930s 114 6 The Expanding Instrumentarium 152 Notes 169 Bibliography 209 Index 229