In this seminar, I will start by delving into one of the deepest motivations that led me into computer music more than 40 years ago, as well as its consequences on my work: the digital synthesis of sound. Formely mentioned by K. Stockhausen in the 1950s with the well-known formula “composing sound, rather than composing with sounds”, and after the pionieering and wonderful works of Jean-Claude Risset and John Chowning, whose aesthetic beauty strongly motivated me, digital computer-generated synthesis became mature in the early 1980s.
I will also present some aspects of the compositional and technological environment that was developed to realise my first fully electronic piece, Lance dei Crepuscoli (Lances of the Twilights). The essential contribution of Carlo Laurenzi will be highlighted and taken as a powerful model of cooperation between two artists working toward a common goal.