Concert Review: Tod Machover’s “Brain, Body + Breath” at the MIT Museum
Brain, Body + Breath courtesy of the MIT Museum
by Laila Brustin ‘25
What do we know about the mind? How come humans are the only creatures to consciously create music? In what ways does music affect our bodies?
Brain, Body + Breath celebrated Tod Machover’s compositions and the MIT Media Lab team as well as the opening of the newly renovated MIT Museum. The evening included three pieces presented in public for the very first time. These compositions explored how music impacts the mind and body. The audience engaged with their own brains, breathing, and bodies while learning about various music-technology concepts.
Tod Machover, a professor, conductor, and composer, has been a leader and innovator at the MIT Media Lab since 1985. Having worked on projects such as Meteorite, the creation of hyperinstruments, and the Toy Symphony, Machover’s work builds an intersection between technology, science, and classical music. Of particular interest have been his operas through MIT’s Opera of the Future group. Death and the Powers, which first premiered in 2010, is perhaps the most ambitious of these theatrical works. With a composition described by Machover as having “ jagged rhythms and soaring lyricism, and of spicy harmonies and enveloping texture,” as well as extensive use of technology created by members of the MIT Media Lab, the work is remarkably one-of-a-kind.
Along this ambitious and original route, “Vocagammified” opened with a meditative and abstract energy. The ten minute long piece grew out of extensive neuroscience research conducted by MIT researchers Li-Huei Tsai and Ed Boyden on the gamma frequency-drone of 40Hz (equivalent to the lowest E on a piano). They theorize that playing 40Hz out loud can have therapeutic effects such as stimulating the brain in order to prevent Alzheimer's disease. With this knowledge, Machover composed “Vocagammified,” sculpting harmonies and melodies around 40Hz with the intention of cleansing our own minds.
The endeavor certainly brings the audience into a different state. The drone of 40Hz was beautifully constructed with an ensemble of strings, electronics, and the soprano voice of Machover’s long-time friend Karol Bennett. While at times it could be difficult to hear this frequency above the other instruments, the composition itself was lovely. The music’s intensity came in waves, especially embellished and amplified by Bennett’s voice. The quieter moments of 40 Hz were grounding, leaving a complete feeling once the music phased out.
The second piece “Breathing Together” was just as innovative in design and theory. Influenced by how humans breathe, the ways our breath impacts the body, and now the dangers of breathing in the COVID-19 pandemic, “Breathing Together” both orients the orchestra and invites the audience to focus on their breath. Flute soloist Jessica Shand was featured in this piece by guiding the orchestra with her music and performing using three different flutes. It was impressive to see her change instruments throughout the piece, setting the tone with her notes. The composition was beautiful because of the ways in which the musicians were disjointed, yet could become a single unit with just one breath. The different patterns of breathing culminated in a final section inspired by Kundalini Yoga’s “breath of fire.” With great concentration and control, Shand presented the audience with this fast-paced breathing style. The composition had a major physical impact on the players and on audience members who participated in the exercise.
The final composition of the evening was “Brain Opera 2.0,” a revised version of Machover’s 1996 Brain Opera. The original project was based on Marvin Minsky’s Society of the Mind. In Brain Opera, listeners were invited to explore how our minds change when we listen to or create music. Audience members had the opportunity to engage with instruments and interact with live performances using the internet for the first time.
“Brain Opera 2.0” takes fundamental pieces of the original project while also adding new elements. The piece began thunderously, incorporating original recordings of Bennett’s soprano voice while also reading aloud interview quotes between Machover and Minsky. Graphics by David Small and Yin Yin Wong were designed specifically for this event. The visuals were whirring, giving images that felt as big as the idea of music and the mind. The newest feature was perhaps the most light-hearted element of the piece. A “musical brain” designed by MIT Lab PhD student Manaswi Mishra improvisationally interacted with the orchestra using its massive database of sounds. A section was dedicated solely to its abilities as each musician took a turn riffing with it. This re-imagined Brain Opera was creative, intelligent, sweet, and left the audience wondering why it is that we create and are drawn to music.
Personally, I left the evening in awe of the wealth of knowledge there is and discovery to be had between music and technology. MIT’s Media Lab allows artists and innovators to come together to continue this exploration. Tod Machover’s commitment to this field has allowed it to flourish and create a greater community. From this, we can all look more deeply into how and why music affects us and the ways in which we can expand our knowledge using it.
