CAP UCLA ends 2023 with a bang as Tepfer experiments with the junction between the spiritual and the algorithmic.
By John Lavitt
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 12/28/23 – In the year’s final performance at The Nimoy in Los Angeles, Dan Tepfer, accompanied by his computer, allowed his piano to explore new realms. Watching the performance, you behold a twenty-first-century dance where the spiritual meets the algorithmic as technology embraces the soul. There is a sense that we are stepping into the future together with the performer.
Once again, the Center for the Art of Performance UCLA (CAP UCLA) showed why the organization is vital to the evolution of culture in the City of Angels. Willing to take chances on new artistic ventures while highlighting cross-cultural platforms, CAP UCLA breathes life into the city’s cultural offerings. Indeed, Tepfer’s performance was a perfect example of this living breath.
As technological advancement changes the landscape of expression, Tepfer chooses to explore the possibilities of modern music. Featured in an NPR documentary seen by over 1.5 million viewers, the performer discovers the juncture where music combines the spiritual with the algorithmic. By programming a Yamaha Disklavier to respond in real time to his piano playing, the multimedia computer accompanies and highlights the vision of the human musician.
Expressing this innovation in visual terminology, a second computer program transforms the music played by Tepfer and the computer accompaniment into visual art projected onto a screen. Ingenious in conception and execution, the Natural Machines performance offers a thrilling look at the future when musical innovation is expressed in visual terminology.
Beyond playing and recording with many of the leading visionaries in jazz and classical music, Tepfer explores a new way to collaborate by embracing the possibilities of technology. By allowing the algorithmic accompaniment to be visualized, the audience gains access to his archeology of the future. In a cosmic reversal, the artist digs not into the past but into the future. The show is like the archeology of what will come as human and artificial intelligence complement each other.
Renowned for his work, the musician’s honors include first prizes at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition and the 2007 American Pianists Association Jazz Piano Competition. He has also won BNP-Paribas Foundation fellowships in 2018, 2021 and 2024. Indeed, it is not surprising that Tepfer is the archeologist of the future.
A Generation Z couple came to the show to understand how such innovative work might affect their future. Their response needs to be included in this review because it shows a connection that is desperately needed in modern cultural offerings. Anything that engages young people with live performances in Los Angeles is a triumph.
Max Repass, a recent NYU graduate, was truly inspired. He smiles and says, “Dan Tepfer’s Natural Machines charts a technological path for the reification of classical music while allowing room for spiritual improvisation in a magical combination of the past and future.”
Standing by his side, Kimia Saifyan, an SMC student about to enter the transfer portal, felt her background as a classical pianist gave her a deep insight into Tepfer’s work. She experienced that uncanny sense of being amazed and overwhelmed simultaneously. The show proved to be an unexpected revelation for her.
“Dan Tepfer succeeded in pushing the boundaries of conventional piano performances, offering an unforgettable journey into the marriage of classical music and computer science. Upon experiencing such a show, I truly wonder what is next. Although the possibilities are intriguing, they are scary as well.” she explains.
Indeed, such an unforgettable journey will not soon be forgotten. It is exciting to imagine what Tepfer will accomplish with his next project. With a multimedia display, a computerized accompaniment by his side, and the dance of algorithms in his head, the future is bright for this cutting-edge performer.
