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One of his generation’s extraordinary talents, Dan Tepfer has earned an international reputation as a pianist-composer of wide-ranging innovation, individuality, and drive—one “who refuses to set himself limits” (France’s Télérama). The New York City-based Tepfer has recorded and performed around the world with some of the leading lights in jazz and classical music, from Lee Konitz to Renée Fleming, and released 11 albums of his own in solo, duo, and trio formats.
Tepfer returns to Ravinia with a new 2.0 evolution of his latest project, Natural Machines, a multimedia experience driven by his free improvisation at the piano. In real time, his systems of algorithms transform the music into stunning animated visual art projected in the theater, and they also generate accompanying sheet music for a chamber ensemble of strings and winds.
Called “fascinating and ingenious” by Rolling Stone, Natural Machines explores a unique intersection of mechanical and natural processes, blurring the lines between improvisation and composition in ways never before possible. Natural Machines 2.0 goes beyond Tepfer’s lauded solo-piano album and recitals, making “a multimedia piece of contemporary art so [thoughtful and evocative] in its process and components … that it becomes a complete experience” (NextBop).
