A French composer of Polish descent born April 29, 1960 in Warsaw.
A composer-performer, Kasper T. Toeplitz taught himself the electric bass as well as music more generally from 1984 onwards. Noticed for his first works, including the opera J’irai vers le nord, j’irai vers la nuit polaire (1989) and the orchestral piece Lhow (1990), he won various bursaries and state commissions, as well as the Villa Médicis Hors Les Murs Prize (1993). Composing for Sleaze Art, his orchestra of electric guitars, he incorporates a computer, both as a compositional medium and as a veritable instrument. His investigations resulted in the creation of the BassComputer, a hybrid instrument between a bass guitar and a computer, as well as in the foundation, with Eryck Abecassis and Wilfried Wendling, of Kernel, an ensemble of computers for live performances. At the crossover of two worlds, inspired notably by Giacinto Scelsi, Iannis Xenakis, and by rock groups, Toeplitz is particularly interested in sound oscillations and vibrations, in destructured sounds and in microtonality. His works, termed ‘noise music’, are written for small groups (NoiseVille for 5 guitars, 1995) and for large orchestra (Ruine for soprano and orchestra, 1998) and they sometimes include video images, lighting design and choreography (Capture for three female dancers and real-time video, 2002). Other works are Unfinished Metal Waves for tam-tam and computer (2005); Dust Reconstruction for small ensemble including BassComputer and electronic sounds (2007); Inoculate ? for wind trio, live electronics, dance and ‘data-noise’ (2011).
