In a paper entitled “Computer Composition and Works of Music: Variation on a Theme of
Ingarden” (1988), Peter Simons explores some ontological problems that ensue from the use
of certain forms of composition software, where the final outcome (the score) is the product
of random processes within the computer. Such a method of composition raises, among
others, the following questions: What kind of work (if any) has been created? Is it a work of
music in the first place? Who is the composer/author?…
Read moreIn a paper entitled “Computer Composition and Works of Music: Variation on a Theme of
Ingarden” (1988), Peter Simons explores some ontological problems that ensue from the use
of certain forms of composition software, where the final outcome (the score) is the product
of random processes within the computer. Such a method of composition raises, among
others, the following questions: What kind of work (if any) has been created? Is it a work of
music in the first place? Who is the composer/author? Is it the software programmer, the user,
the one who selects a particular score for public performance, the computer? What is the
relationship of distinct products of the same programme? Are they instances of the same
work? In this paper, I shall re-examine these questions.
