ANS Synthesizer (1958)
Synthesizers
Synthesis as visual art. Evgeny Murzin built a machine where the score is the sound itself. No keys — just glass, black mastic, and a stylus. An instrument that allowed composers to literally draw what was impossible to play by hand.
Full text
While the West patched wires, Evgeny Murzin created a unique optical system named ANS. Its heart was five glass discs with 144 tracks. The score was a glass plate covered in black mastic: the musician scratched lines through it, allowing light to reach photocells. This allowed music to be literally drawn — wavy lines created glissandos, while broad strokes created noise textures.
The instrument's fate was dramatic: after the inventor's death, the world's only ANS was nearly scrapped. Composer Eduard Artemyev and engineers saved it by hiding it in a university basement.
Sources
- Smirnov, Andrey (2020). In Search of Lost Sound — Sound and Music
- Weibel, Brümmer & Kanach (eds.) (2020). From Xenakis's UPIC to Graphic Notation Today — Hatje Cantz / ZKM