Morton Subotnick (born 1933) is one of the most well known composers of electronic music in the twentieth century. He was a pioneer in the use of the synthesizer to create complex, multi-layered compositions, and was one of the first avant garde electronic composers to stress the use of regular rhythms in his work.
"Silver Apples of the Moon" is probably his best known work. It was commissioned in 1967 by the Nonesuch record company, and was the first time a work of classical music had been commissioned specifically for recording on record. This represented a new philosophy in chamber music - that the home stereo actually constituted a performance medium itself, and not just a venue for reproducing performances realized elsewhere.
Here is a brief thirty second audio clip from the work:
Silver Apples of the Moon
The entire piece lasts approximately thirty minutes, corresponding to both sides of a vinyl LP, and was a bestseller at the time, something which would be unthinkable for an avant garde classical recording today.
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