mozartakaoka




hardware:   Apple MacBook M4 Air, Behringer System 35 modular synth, Apple iPhone
software:   Apple Logic Pro X, Max/MSP, RTcmix, paulstretch, Akira Takaoka's "Eternal Mozart" iOS app

Originally I wanted to include more of the "Eternal Mozart" output in this piece, but with the stretch factor that I liked it would have been a verrrry long composition. I was hoping to catch some more of the harmonic movement of the generator, but if I scaled back the stretch factor the pacing of the music seemed wrong to me; a bit too rushed, like breathing fast after an aerobic exercise. I wanted something semi-ambient -- not long-ambient -- like much of my recent output. I enjoy the 3+ hour static/ambient channels on YouTube, but my own preference is for a more structured musical experience.

One consequence of this desire of mine in mozartakaoka is the entrance of the synthesizer notes in the middle. I felt that there should be some kind of shift in the music at that point, but I didn't want it to hit the listener over the head. I also thought of those notes as being an echo of Akira's love of Bach's music. How so? I used my Behringer Moog Model 35 synthesizer clone to make the sounds, very similar to the hardware that Wendy Carlos used to create "Switched-On Bach". And I used a suitably Carlos-like timbre.

Akira has been such a good friend! I wish I was able to do more for him. Perhaps this piece will help.

Piece website:

Brad Garton
October, 2026