Michael Gerzon - Beyond Psychoacoustics - Brossura

Robert Charles Alexander

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0956016006 ISBN 13: 9780956016003

Casa editrice: Dora Media Productions, 2008

Riassunto

Michael Gerzon, the audio and mathematical genius who dedicated his life to the furtherance of his two passions. Best known for inventing Ambisonics and the Soundfield Microphone, he was also a prolific sound engineer, whose archive is now stored for the nation in The British Library National Sound Archive. Having studied at Oxford University, his post-graduate work at The Mathematical Institute was primary concerned with axiomatic quantum theory. His other inventions include DVD-Audio, Lossless Data Compression algorithms and numerous software-based audio engineering tools which today are the mainstay of modern digital music production techniques. He also wrote enormous amounts of poetry and owned one of the largest and most valuable rare vinyl record collections ever amassed. Dead at the age of just 50 in 1996 from complications due to Asthma, his obituaries included the prediction that 30 years from now people will marvel how we, in our time, were blessed to have been in his company, for many of his inventions may not be fully understood or utilised for decades yet. This biography is the result of five years of painstaking, detailed research undertaken by author Robert Charles Alexander, who has travelled the world interviewing friends, family and colleagues of Michael Gerzon, piecing together the definitive study of a man who can truly be called a 'genius'

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Recensione:

The German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer said: ...a genius is a person in whom intellect predominates over will much more than for the average person, making them relatively aloof from earthly cares and concerns; they are so fixed on their art, that they neglect the business of life. Michael Gerzon was one of those lucky few who were able to change the world. Our concept of normality was anathema to Michael; his genius was a burden that he never quite learned to control, much less take for granted. The relative lack of competence of the artist and the thinker, for practical pursuits, was no mere stereotype: it is cause and effect: normality is a state of mind, and, moreover, body, which he was never privileged to attain. Pained throughout his life with a series of debilitating medical illnesses, an inevitable yet stifled self-criticism borne out of a tortured childhood often manifested itself in emotional shyness and withdrawal. Like so many geniuses that had gone before him, his brilliance was granted for just a short while; and inevitably he paid for it with a very high price. Dead at the age of just fifty, Michael Gerzons light burned half as long, but twice as bright. I had my first book published the biography of Alan Dower Blumlein. The name Michael Gerzon had kept cropping up during my research. Here was somebody, it seemed, who had followed in the footsteps of Blumlein, and then taken audio engineering to yet new heights. In August 1999, I vowed to look more closely into the Michael Gerzon story... like Blumlein, perhaps there was another book that needed to be written? Michael Gerzon was a fragile, yet complex personality with many facets to his character, some of which surprised those who knew and loved him well. He had a deep seated capacity for friendship and his generosity with his time and talent was legendary. He was a gentleman from the old school , quiet and courteous, yet he could be painfully shy, often withdrawn, sullen and even moody. Despite this, he had a driving passion for the improvement of our appreciation for sound, and this in turn led him to continually strive to achieve a higher fidelity in everything he did. It seems however, there is always some form of anguish accompanying the soul of such genius. In spite of his crippling illnesses, which often rendered him bed-ridden and unable to work for months at a time, Michael never complained. Instead, he learned to express his torment, torture and inner self only through his poetry. These private works of prose could vary in content from tender, subtle and loving, to plain forthright, violent and even vulgar! He was often untidy, absent minded, dirty, unwashed and even lazy (especially where everyday minor activities were concerned), but these were just by-products of his resolve to work for days at a time, quite literally forgetting to eat or sleep. Michael thought nothing of talking for eight hours or more on the telephone if a subject interested him, yet he could barely remember an appointment the next day even if it was made for him, and rarely attended family reunions, or even pay every day utility bills. Having been privileged to explore his life through the process of writing this book, I now understand why his memory is held in such high regard by all those who knew him so much better than I did. The world, it seems, is destined to be illuminated from the light of such men; and then, just when that light burns at its brightest, the genius is taken away. Michael Gerzon was one such man. This is his story. --Dora Media Productions

L'autore:

Robert Charles Alexander is a Consultant Audio Engineer having worked in the Professional Audio Industry since 1983. Born in Hampstead, London England in June 1964, he was educated at the renowned Rudolph Steiner education system where he trained in classical music reading, composition and arrangement. Following graduation from College in London at the age of 21, he was instrumental in the organisation of a major fund raising project for the 1985 Live Aid appeal. In 1989, he travelled to the United States of America working in Los Angeles, before moving on to Australia where he worked as a Product Specialist, MI Division for Yamaha Music. While in Sydney, he first studied and then began lecturing at the SAE Institute, subsequently becoming Principal Lecturer, Course Co-ordinator and Pro School Director. In 1996, following his return to England, he was appointed Executive Editor of Audio Media, then the world s leading professional audio technology magazine, launching the US version of the publication in late 1997. During his time with Audio Media he travelled extensively throughout the world writing key articles on the industry, gaining a reputation for keen, concise written work underlined by detailed research. Since early 1999, he has become a full time consultant to the Professional Audio Industry. In 2004, he was appointed Marketing Director (Education & Professional Content Division) of Waves Audio Ltd. Often lecturing at Universities and Colleges around Britain; he was a member of the Music Producers Guild, an associate member of the Institute of Broadcast Sound and a member of the Audio Engineering Society. He is also a qualified barrister with a degree in law from the University of Lincoln. His first book, The Inventor of Stereo The Life & Works of Alan Dower Blumlein , was published in August 1999, to world acclaim. It has since been dramatised in a documentary for television and a radio programme for BBC Radio 4. His second book, The Misner Factor The Official History of SAE Institute , was published in July 2003. His third book, Why We Climb The Harsh Reality of Modern Mountaineering , co-written with world-renowned American mountaineer Dan Mazur, documents his attempt to climb Mount Everest in the spring of 2004, and was published in October 2006. Michael Gerzon Beyond Psychoacoustics is his fourth book.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Dora Media Productions
• Data di pubblicazione: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0956016006
• ISBN 13: 9780956016003
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 564