Mathews, Max V.

Biographical Note

Max V. Mathews, often cited as "the father of computer music," was born in Columbus, NE on November 13, 1926. After training as a radio technician in the Navy, he attended the California Institute of Technology, where he received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1950. He received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954.

Mathews joined the Bell Labs acoustical and behavioral research department in 1955. While there, he developed a computer program that allowed an IBM mainframe to compose and play a 17 second composition. Subsequent versions of this program, called Music, led to the development of popular computer music software such as CSouns and CMix, as well as MAX, a programming language for music named in his honor. Mathews was also the inventor of the Radio Baton, an electronic device for control of music in Midi format, and several electric violins. His collaborators included composers John Cage and Pierre Boulez. In the 1970s, he assisted Boulez in establishing the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique in Paris.

Mathews directed the acoustical and behavioral research center at Bell Labs from 1962 to 1985, at which time he accepted the position of Professor of Music (Research) at Stanford University. While at Stanford, he was affiliated with the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. Following his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 2005, he remained active in the electronic music field until his death on April 21, 2011.

From the guide to the Max V. Mathews papers, 1953-2011, (Department of Special Collections and University Archives)