Dan Tepfer From Bach to Natural Machines, algorithms as the shapers of music

Audiences often think of music as primarily a product of the heart, but pianist/composer/coder Dan Tepfer argues that algorithms—rules that are followed consistently—are just as important. Without constraints underlying creativity, whether they’re conscious or not, music tends to lack the deep structure that makes it timeless. In his newest project, Natural Machines, Tepfer has taken this idea to the limit, programming rules into his computer that enable it to respond in real time to the music he improvises on a Yamaha Disklavier player piano. The computer creates immediate structure around whatever he plays, which in turn guides him to improvise in certain ways. The result is an unprecedented melding of natural and mechanical processes.

The idea of music living at the intersection of the algorithmic and the spiritual is far from new. Pythagoras and his followers first codified the logic behind harmonic consonance. Renaissance composers such as Johannes Ockeghem created music that followed strict mathematical procedures. And Bach seemed to gain endless creative results from imposing constraints on himself. Tepfer, whose 2011 album Goldberg Variations / Variations is a conversation with Bach through improvisations, expands on this exploration of logic-driven structures and the creative unknown using 21st-century tools.

Tepfer’s talk will expand on his November 15 performance in Timashev Recital Hall and is part of a visiting artist residency supported by the Ohio State Office of Academic Affairs. 

About the Artist

Dan Tepfer 

Dan Tepfer, born in Paris to American parents and based in New York City, is “a pianist of extraordinary technique and fearless harmonic sensibility” (JazzTimes). He has performed worldwide with artists ranging from Lee Konitz to Renée Fleming and has released more than a dozen albums as a leader in solo, duo, and trio settings. The New York Times calls him a “deeply rational improviser drawn to the unknown,” and his concert works include Solar Spiral, Algorithmic Transform, and Three Poems of Virginie Sampeur (for Cécile McLorin Salvant). Tepfer gained international attention with Goldberg Variations / Variations (2011), combining Bach’s masterpiece with his own improvisations, and in 2019 released Natural Machines, a video album exploring algorithms and the rhythms of the heart, featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk. His honors include top prizes at Montreux and the American Piano Awards, and fellowships from major arts institutions. In 2025, he made his Carnegie Hall debut as a leader with Natural Machines 2.0 and The Knights orchestra. Learn more on the artist’s website.