The Siemens Studio For Electronic Music

elektro80

I guess this studio sponsored by Siemens is now long forgotten. WHich is sad, because it really was an important studio back then.

The 'Siemens Synthesiser' or
Siemens Studio For Electronic Music (1959-1969)

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

The editing room of the Siemens Electronic Music Studio c1962

The Siemens Synthesiser or 'Siemens Studio For Electronic Music' was a German development similar to the RCA Synthesiser originally to compose live electronic music for Siemens's own promotional documentary films. The studio was a modular composition and synthesis system that generated musical sequences and synthesised and recorded the results. The Siemens Synthesiser was developed by Helmut Klein and W.Schaaf at Siemens Halske in Munich, Germany up to 1959 for the Studio Für Elektronische Musik in Munich. The Siemens system linked and controlled the studio using a similar system to the RCA Synthesiser, a set of four punch paper vary-speed rolls controlling the timbre, envelope, pitch and volume of a bank of (to a maximum in the later model) 20 oscillators, a white noise generator, a Hohnerola (a hybrid electronically amplified reed instrument marketed by Hohner-similar to the'Multimonika') and an impulse generator. The synthesiser had a tonal range of seven octaves.

Additional input devices were also developed for the Siemens Synthesiser, a drawn sound technique (photoelectrically generated sounds) allowed the scanning of photographic slides using Siemens's specially designed 'Bildabtaster' technology. The German painter Günter Maas used this device to translate several of his paintings into musical compositions. Later models also had a Siemens Vocoder built in as a sound controller uniquely for its time, allowing the musician to give the sound vocal envelope characteristics.

The development of the Siemens synthesiser continued after the Munich studio had relocated to Ulm and came to an end when the studio was dissolved in 1969. The Siemens system was used by many European experimental composers throughout the 50's and 60's including Mauricio Kagel, Bengt Hambreus, Milko Kelemen and the director of the Munich Studio Für Elektronische Musik, Josef Anton Riedl.

http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/siemens/
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/siemens/siemens3.html
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/siemens/siemens2.html

seraph

peripatitis · Joined: Dec 16, 2005 Posts: 36 Location: Hague

Since you mention analogue studios of that era there is also the
Utrecht modular studio , which is still running in the sonology department
in the Hague .
I could provide some photo's if anyone is interested.

elektro80 · Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:36 pm Post subject:

seraph · Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 3:41 am Post subject:

peripatitis · Joined: Dec 16, 2005 Posts: 36 Location: Hague

Well it seems that seraph beat me to it .
The picture shows the basic 'core' of the studio , i don't know when it was taken.
Since the studio is still active , it is mainted by the technical department of the conservatory.
A few things that are not visible are the studer tape recorders (4 of them)
an ,the mixer a mac and i think the midi to cv converters.
Most of the modules where designed by the technitians in the concervatory so some of them like the vossim generators , the tendncy masks and a few others i think are unique to this system.

I'll try to find some more recent pictures.