Création mondiale (previously Alla Breve)
by Anne Montaron

From March 8th to 14th, on the radio waves the world premiere for 12 musicians Diva Machina by composer Birke Bertelsmeier recorded at the Maison de la Radio last December.

Excerpt from the composer’s note of intent: Long before our modern age, ideas about machines and artificial life were explored in Greek myths. Many of the mobile machines and automatons described in the mythical traditions of Greece and Rome differed significantly from things animated by magic or the divine, and were thinkable long before technology made such challenges possible. The gods have invented machines to change time, robots to protect a country (Talos), machines to punish someone (throne of Hera) or tools to bring disease to the people (Pandora, Artemis). Many of the ideas in these myths are even more current and grounded in finding solutions to today’s problems.