Orpheus Sounds

On today's episode, part two of two, we continue our conversation with Laura Andriani on performing Paganini in a new way. Centuries after Paganini died, our fascination with his presence and impact endures. Precise measurements and musical intuition meet the speculative nature of artistic practice, research in the arts and sciences, and their connections to science fiction - approaching the boundaries of human knowledge and our fascination with the unknown.
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REFERENCES
Laura Andriani: https://orpheusinstituut.be/nl/orpheus-research-centre/onderzoekers/laura-andriani

Il Canone, Paganini's violin: https://www.museidigenova.it/it/guarneri-del-gesu-violino-di-paganini

Life on Mars? 

https://futurism.com/space/nasa-biological-explanations-rover-mars

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-says-mars-rover-discovered-potential-biosignature-last-year/

 Orpheus Sounds is a series of snapshots of Orpheus Instituut, a research center where we explore the making and understanding of music.
https://orpheusinstituut.be 
Made with the support of Wederik de Baecker, Pieter Blomme and Kayo Quintens.

On today's episode, part one of two, we are speaking with violinist Laura Andriani about her work with the nineteenth century composer and virtuoso Paganini and her relationship with the physicality of playing. Performing some of the most difficult repertoire ever written for her instrument, Laura tells us about rediscovering the history of her instrumental technique and the importance of letting go.
References:
Laura Andriani: https://orpheusinstituut.be/nl/orpheus-research-centre/onderzoekers/laura-andriani

Il Canone, Paganini's violin: https://www.museidigenova.it/it/guarneri-del-gesu-violino-di-paganini

Crossroads (1986): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090888/

Orpheus Sounds is a series of snapshots of Orpheus Instituut, a research center where we explore the making and understanding of music.
https://orpheusinstituut.be 
Made with the support of Wederik de Baecker, Pieter Blomme and Kayo Quintens.

Today we are speaking with John Chowning and Juan Parra Cancino. Without John Chowning's work on FM Synthesis in the 1970s, music as we know it today would sound very different. Starting with the most well-known (and apparently very heavy) result of his research, the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, our conversation moves through why the sound of the 80s was defined by "the first button you press" and an explanation of sound synthesis based on Magno's talent for whistling. 
Speaking with John Chowning is Juan Parra Cancino, our colleague at Orpheus Instituut. Juan is a musician, composer and performer specialising in live electronic music and vintage materialities. 
John Chowning is a composer and researcher, and taught computer-sound synthesis and composition at Stanford University's Department of Music. In 1974, with John Grey, James (Andy) Moorer, Loren Rush and Leland Smith, he founded the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), which remains one of the leading centers for computer music and related research. In 2019, he initiated with an international team, a long-term project to recreate, by computer modeling, the acoustics of the Chauvet Cave in France. 
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Find out more about Juan's and Johns work:
Juan Parra Cancino https://orpheusinstituut.be/en/orpheus-research-centre/researchers/juan-parra-cancino
www.juanparrac.com
https://www.instagram.com/jotaparra/?hl=en

John Chowning https://ccrma.stanford.edu/people/john-chowning

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You can get in touch with us via [email protected]
Orpheus Sounds is a series of snapshots of Orpheus Instituut, a research center where we explore the making and understanding of music.
https://orpheusinstituut.be 
Made with the support of Wederik de Baecker, Pieter Blomme and Kayo Quintens.

On today's special episode, our host Magno Caliman presents Sound Arguments, an innovative laboratory-atelier for creative artists and researchers dealing with sound. Magno is one of the coordinators of the series, and registrations are open for the 2026 edition.
Sound Arguments is hosted by Orpheus' research cluster Music, Thought and Technology (https://orpheusinstituut.be/en/projects/music-thought-and-technology) and the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts at the University of Leiden (https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/humanities/academy-of-creative-and-performing-arts).
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References
Open call for Sound Arguments 2026 - https://orpheusinstituut.be/en/news-and-events/sound-arguments-2026
Sound Arguments Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sound_arguments/
Contact - [email protected]
World largest tape loop - https://youtu.be/rZptsl2Yq_4?si=pO7q3WPtZpOykrMk
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Ton Koopman shaped the sound and the intellectual position of the movement to discover how the musicians of the past might have performed the music of their time. Orpheus Instituut is very grateful for the acquisition of the Ton Koopman collection, now integrated into the work of the Resounding Libraries research cluster:  https://orpheusinstituut.be/en/projects/resounding-libraries

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References:
Charles Burney - A general history of music, from the earliest ages to the present period
https://www.loc.gov/item/36034066/
John Hawkins - A general history of the science and practice of music
https://www.loc.gov/item/03027652/
Dieterich Buxtehude https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieterich_Buxtehude
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You can get in touch with us via [email protected] 
Orpheus Sounds is a series of snapshots of Orpheus Instituut, a research center where we explore the making and understanding of music.
https://orpheusinstituut.be 
Made with the support of Wederik de Baecker, Pieter Blomme and Kayo Quintens.