Peter Zinovieff
Encyclopedia
Peter Zinovieff is a British inventor of Russian
ethnicity, most notable for his EMS
company, which made the famous VCS3 synthesizer
in the late 1960s. The synthesizer was used by many early progressive rock
bands such as Pink Floyd
and White Noise
, Krautrock
groups like Kraftwerk
as well as more pop-oriented artists, including David Bowie
.
Zinovieff was born on 26 January 1933; his parents, Leo Zinovieff and Sofka, née Princess Sofka Dolgorouky
, were both Russian aristocrats, who met in London after their families had emigrated to escape the Russian Revolution and soon divorced. After World War II
he and his brother Ian lived with his father and grandfather in Sussex, and he attended Guildford Royal Grammar School
, Gordonstoun School, and Oxford University, where he earned a doctorate in geology
.
In 1966-67, Zinovieff, Delia Derbyshire
and Brian Hodgson
ran Unit Delta Plus, an organisation to create and promote electronic music which was based in the studio Zinovieff had built in a shed at his house in Putney
.
EMS grew out of MUSYS, a synthesiser system which Zinovieff developed with the help of David Cockerell and Peter Grogno which used two DEC PDP-8 minicomputers and a piano keyboard. In 1969, Zinovieff sought financing through an ad in The Times
but received only one response, £50 on the mistaken premise it was the price of a synthesiser. Instead he formed EMS with Cockerell and Tristram Cary
.
Jon Lord of Deep Purple
described Zinovieff as "a mad professor type": "I was ushered into his workshop and he was in there talking to a computer, trying to get it to answer back". Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco, in their history of the synthesizer revolution, see him rather as aristocratically averse to "trade".
Zinovieff also wrote the libretto for Harrison Birtwistle
's opera
The Mask of Orpheus
.
In 1960, Zinovieff married Victoria Heber-Percy; in 1978, he married Rose Verney. He has seven children and is now retired.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
ethnicity, most notable for his EMS
Electronic Music Studios (London) Ltd
Electronic Music Studios Ltd. is a synthesizer company formed in 1969 by Dr. Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell....
company, which made the famous VCS3 synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
in the late 1960s. The synthesizer was used by many early progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
bands such as Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
and White Noise
White Noise (band)
White Noise is an experimental electronic music band formed in London, England, in 1968 by American-born David Vorhaus, a classical bass player with a background in both physics and electronic engineering...
, Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
groups like Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
as well as more pop-oriented artists, including David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
.
Zinovieff was born on 26 January 1933; his parents, Leo Zinovieff and Sofka, née Princess Sofka Dolgorouky
Sofka Skipwith
Sofka Skipwith was a Russian émigrée to England who became a well known Communist after working for Laurence Olivier and being interned by the Nazis in France in World War II...
, were both Russian aristocrats, who met in London after their families had emigrated to escape the Russian Revolution and soon divorced. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he and his brother Ian lived with his father and grandfather in Sussex, and he attended Guildford Royal Grammar School
Royal Grammar School, Guildford
The Royal Grammar School is a selective English independent day school for boys in Guildford, Surrey. The school dates its founding to the death of Robert Beckingham in 1509 who left provision in his will to 'make a free scole at the Towne of Guldford'; in 1512 a governing body was set up to form...
, Gordonstoun School, and Oxford University, where he earned a doctorate in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
.
In 1966-67, Zinovieff, Delia Derbyshire
Delia Derbyshire
Delia Ann Derbyshire was an English musician and composer of electronic music and musique concrète. She is best known for her electronic realisation of Ron Grainer's theme music to the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and for her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.-Early...
and Brian Hodgson
Brian Hodgson
Brian Hodgson is a British television composer and sound technician. Born in Liverpool in 1938, Hodgson joined the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1962 where he became the original sound effects creator for the science fiction programme Doctor Who...
ran Unit Delta Plus, an organisation to create and promote electronic music which was based in the studio Zinovieff had built in a shed at his house in Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
.
EMS grew out of MUSYS, a synthesiser system which Zinovieff developed with the help of David Cockerell and Peter Grogno which used two DEC PDP-8 minicomputers and a piano keyboard. In 1969, Zinovieff sought financing through an ad in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
but received only one response, £50 on the mistaken premise it was the price of a synthesiser. Instead he formed EMS with Cockerell and Tristram Cary
Tristram Cary
Tristram Ogilvie Cary, OAM was a pioneering English-Australian composer.-Early life:Cary was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and Westminster School in London. He was the son of a pianist and the novelist, Joyce Cary, author of Mister Johnson...
.
Jon Lord of Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
described Zinovieff as "a mad professor type": "I was ushered into his workshop and he was in there talking to a computer, trying to get it to answer back". Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco, in their history of the synthesizer revolution, see him rather as aristocratically averse to "trade".
Zinovieff also wrote the libretto for Harrison Birtwistle
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
The Mask of Orpheus
The Mask of Orpheus
The Mask of Orpheus is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle and a libretto by Peter Zinovieff. It was premiered in London at the English National Opera on May 21, 1986 to great critical acclaim. A recorded version conducted by Andrew Davis and Martyn Brabbins has also received good reviews...
.
In 1960, Zinovieff married Victoria Heber-Percy; in 1978, he married Rose Verney. He has seven children and is now retired.
Further reading
- Trevor Pinch, Frank Trocco. Analog Days. Harvard University Press, 2004. ISBN 0674016173. Chapter 14.
- Sofka SkipwithSofka SkipwithSofka Skipwith was a Russian émigrée to England who became a well known Communist after working for Laurence Olivier and being interned by the Nazis in France in World War II...
. Sofka, the Autobiography of a Princess. London: Hart-Davis, 1968. OCLC 504549593. Autobiography by his mother. - Sofka Zinovieff. Red Princess: A Revolutionary Life. London: Granta, 2007. ISBN 9781862079199. Biography of his mother by his daughter.
External links
- Dr. Peter Zinovieff, 7 Deadly Synths - Lecture for the Red Bull Music Academy, London 2010
- Matthew Bate, What the Future Sounded Like - Three-part Australian video about EMS & personnel
- Graham Hinton, The EMS Story, 2002
- Peter Zinovieff at IMDb