Far from being simply a musician and bandleader, however, Scott was also
heavily involved in music technology. As far back as the 1940s, Raymond
Scott had a home recording studio, where he would cut and splice reels of his
band’s rehearsal sessions to find the best parts of the music. In 1946, Scott
started his own company, Manhattan Research, Inc., which he announced
would “design and manufacture electronic music devices and systems.” Dr.
Robert Moog worked for Scott for a short time before starting his own com-
pany up and claimed he was a huge influence on his own direction in music.
At Manhattan Research, Inc., Scott invented the the Electronium, which was
one of the first synthesizers ever created; the Karloff, an early sampler capa-
ble of recreating sounds ranging from sizzling steaks to jungle drums; and the
Videola, which fused together a keyboard and a TV screen to aid in compos-
ing music for films and other moving images.Raymond Scott continued to write and record music during this period,
releasing records of electronic ambient music well before Philip Glass and
Terry Riley, and in 1971, he was hired as director of Motown’s electronic
music and research department — and was kept there for many years just in
case the future of music really was “electronic.” He continued to compose
and invent electronic instruments until his death in 1994.Leonard Bernstein, 1918–1990....................................................................
Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, and pianist who
wrote music that can only be described as exuberant. Just about every single
piece of music he wrote was incredibly uplifting, irresistibly happy, and full of
energy — much as Bernstein himself physically appeared when taking the
reins as conductor, both at the New York Philharmonic and elsewhere. His
success as a composer for both Broadway and the orchestra helped forge a
new relationship between classical and popular music. His guiding principle
was that music could and should play a vital role in the lives of all people,
not just academics. In 1967, he wrote, “Life without music is unthinkable,
music without life is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total
embrace.”Bernstein’s limitless energy and virtuosity were legend in New York in the
1940s, where he seemed to be everywhere at once. In 1944, he collaborated
with his friend, the dancer and choreographer Jerome Robbins, on a new
ballet entitled Fancy Free. The acclaim that greeted Fancy Freeconvinced
Robbins and Bernstein that the ballet contained the seeds of a full-fledged
Broadway musical. With their friends Betty Comden and Adolph Green, they
quickly created On the Town(1944), which became their first Broadway hit.
At the same time, he began building a conventional conducting career, with
the advice and counsel of such mentors as Koussevitzky, Artur Rodzinski,Chapter 20: Ten Composers You Should Know About 261