Composing with Objects, Networks, and Time Scales: An Interview with Horacio Vaggione

9 Computer Music Journal, 24:3, pp. 9–22, Fall 2000 © 2000 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the context of electroacoustic and computer music, Horacio Vaggione (see Figure 1) has emerged as one of the most original composers working today. Characterized by an unrelenting flow of energy, the textures of his music often display dense streams of very small sound particles evolving at different densities and rates of speed. He has developed a unique approach to sound composition on multiple time scales. Born in Córdoba, Argentina in 1943, Mr. Vaggione has been involved in the field of electronic music from an early age. He was co-founder of the Experimental Music Center of the University of Córdoba, Argentina. In Spain, he was a member of the ALEA live electronic music group and worked at the Computer Music Project at the University of Madrid. Later he produced music at the Groupe de Musique Expérimentale de Bourges (GMEB), Institut National de l’Audiovisuel/Groupe de Recherches Musicales (INA-GRM), the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), the Institute of Sonology in The Hague, and the Technical University of Berlin. Currently Horacio Vaggione carries on multiple activities as a composer, teacher, and researcher. Since 1978 he has been living in France, where he is currently a professor of music at the Université de Paris VIII and director of the Centre de Recherche Informatique et Création Musicale (CICM) attached to the École Doctorale Esthétique, Sciences et Technologies des Arts of the University. In 1997–1998, I visited the Université de Paris VIII where I attended Mr. Vaggione’s graduate seminar in computer music. The following interview was started then and later continued via electronic mail. Career Path