Proving Moog's Academic Theory Was Sound; As Its Creator Comes to Scotland for the Triptych Festival, Leon Mcdermott Takes a Look at the Illustrious History of the Ground-Breaking Moog Synthesiser

Summary

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In the most iconic scene from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Malcolm McDowall's droogs terrorise an old couple as a synthesised version of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony roars in the background. Along with the rest of the soundtrack, this demented version of Beethoven was arranged and played by Walter (now Wendy) Carlos, and was commissioned by Kubrick in the wake of the success of Switched-On Bach, in which Carlos took the German composer's work and re-arranged it to be played entirely on Moog synthesisers.

An unexpected hit in 1968 - it was launched as a piece of avant- garde experimentation, but went on to sell over a million copies - Switched-On Bach introduced a new word to the lexicon: synthesiser. A huge, cabinet-sized box of tricks with a fascia of sockets sprouting connecting wires, it was developed by young Cornell University graduate Robert Moog. Intended as a tool for academic theorists and experimental composers, it sounded, on its debut in 1964, like the future.

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Proving Moog's Academic Theory Was Sound; As Its Creator Comes to Scotland for the Triptych Festival, Leon Mcdermott Takes a Look at the Illustrious History of the Ground-Breaking Moog Synthesiser

Switched-On Bach made the Moog the must-have instrument for any self-respecting and adventurous rock star. The Beatles used one on Abbey Road's Because; Tange...

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