Suzanne Ciani: a masterclass in modular synthesis

A pioneer of electronic music, Suzanne Ciani has made the Buchla 200 synthesiser her own

In this short film, she explains her relationship to the instrument, and how it became an expressive tool for her artistic and musical practice.

Filmed at Elevation 1049 festival in Gstaad on 2nd February.

[studentsmusic]

A great human being and artist. What i really like is her gentle, very reflecting and peaceful speaking - no showoff - combined with her unique skills on the instrument and a lot of musical headroom coming from classical music. A real inspiration for young musicians to find their own expression and go into what they feel for, not what others tell them.

[M_C]

The University of Chicago had a Buchla (a big one, don't know which number)back in the late 70s/early 80s. During school breaks, I'd lock myself into the lab and spend a week or two working out on the Buchla. Fortunately, they had a four-track reel-to-reel, so I could play with that too. I still have the tapes. What an experience! I didn't realize then how privileged I was.

[itimmy]

You can tell she loves what she does and is very passionate about it!

[SONICrider]

Iconic performer, iconic instrument, iconic musical approach.... superb venue (this video), hope to see Suzanna a third time live \0/

[Art-zssl]

Suzanne Ciani creates a fantastic bed of sound, sometimes soothing and asking to be in the background on it's own terms. For me, it's the type of music that allows contemplation.. invites ease, and turns you upward. She seems to understand the relationship of the musician and the listener better than most. The sum is more than it's parts here, and I can understand how busy self absorbed types can miss the beauty here. Too bad for them. Thank you very much Suzanne Ciani!

[josemarrero]

Mother Ciani preaching the gospel of the modular synth.

[FrancisMaxino]

Like WOW ! Why have I not heard of Suzanne Ciani before this ?! The first clip I heard of her in a studio brought a tear to my eye, so moving is her symbiotic relationship with electronic synthesis.

[patromo]

Wow. i received a sheet music book of her's over 30+ years ago from my piano teacher .. I never knew who she was (in the days before internet.) And had totally forgot about the book.
So grateful for stumbling across this.

[therarelement]

I could listen to her for hours and hours..i like people who love what they are talking about.

[patrykjaworski]

Great stuff, Suzanne Ciani speaks so well about electronic music and instruments... love that 5!

[TzadikTheManic]

Great lil documentary - Ciani is still something of an unsung pioneer. Thank you for sharing 👏👏👏

[jeremythornton]

She's mad! I love her and her music! I've always had a thing for electronic music but I've always found too often it all revolves around a 4 on the floor dance beat instead of other more interesting grooves. Suzanne make electronic music that has heart and soul.

[chrisb.]

I'm so glad she still does things like this. For a while I worried she might have abandoned the synthesizer because she was releasing albums where she was playing acoustic piano along with a classical ensemble backing her up. I really like her work with synthesizers and it's a joy to hear her talk about them and her history in electronic music. She has a very beautiful mind and peaceful spirit. Suzanne is an absolute joy to listen to and learn from. God Bless her!

[mixanalogcloud]

Music by an experienced, passionate and articulate musician like Suzanne is truly inspiring to listen and relate to. It makes so much sense that a Buchla modular is involved :)

[setphaser]

her performances are an incredible experience. nothing on youtube will help you understand just how good she is. partly because its quadraphonic but also becUse of her innate sense of experience and performance added to her musicality. you gotta see her!

[ctarsund]

If she were a teacher back in the highschool i used to go to.
( she'd make a great teacher )
I'd definitely would've wanted to take that class.

She has a way of explaining things that not only seems very interesting but also wants you to learn more.

Amazing.

[Ryanstuff]

I love that her brain is on another level.

[dugdowndeepdog]

What an incredible human being she is.

[willswitchcraft]

I was lucky enough to meet her, in her studio in NYC, in the mid 80's, as I had some custom sounds she was interested an

[mirandajeanned]

mesmerizing to watch her work. It's so amazing how much emotion can be conveyed in this seemingly cold, unforgiving format