Carlos was born as "Walter Carlos" in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and began musical education at age six with piano lessons. Following undergraduate studies of music and physics at Brown University accompanied by early explorations of electronic music, Carlos earned a master's degree in composition at Columbia University, studying there with Vladimir Ussachevsky, a pioneer in electronic music (other teachers included Otto Luening and Jack Beeson). Remaining in New York after graduation, Carlos met Robert Moog and was one of his earliest customers, providing feedback for his further development of the Moog synthesizer. Around 1966, Carlos met Rachel Elkind who produced Switched-On Bach and other early albums. With the proceeds of Switched-On Bach, the two renovated a New York brownstone, which they shared as a home and business premises, installing a studio for live and electronic recording on the bottom floor. Carlos took the unusual step of enclosing the entire studio in a Faraday cage, shielding the equipment from radio and television interference.[1]
The artist's first recordings were released under Walter Carlos. Carlos underwent sex reassignment surgery in 1972[2][3] and was billed as 'Walter' on the album By Request (1975). The first release credited to her as 'Wendy' was Switched-On Brandenburgs (1979). Carlos's first public appearance after her gender transition was in an interview in the May 1979 issue of Playboy magazine, a decision she regrets because of the unwelcome publicity it brought to her personal life, notably in Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, where her surgery was described in anatomical detail. On her official site, her transition is discussed in an essay stating that she values her privacy on the subject.[4]
In 1998, Carlos sued the songwriter/artist Momus for $22 million[5] for his satirical song "Walter Carlos" (which appeared on the album The Little Red Songbook), which suggested that if Wendy could go back in time she could marry Walter. The case was settled out of court, with Momus agreeing to remove it from the CD and owing $30,000 in legal fees[6].
Carlos is also an accomplished[7] solar eclipse photographer.[8]
Wendy Carlos (born November 14, 1939) is an American composer and electronic musician. Carlos' fame originated in the late 1960s with recordings made on the Moog synthesizer, which was a relatively new and unknown instrument at the time; most notable were L.P.'s of synthesized Bach, and the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's controversial film A Clockwork Orange. Several years before this, two original Carlos compositions using classical (pre-Moog) electronic techniques had been issued on LP (Variations for Flute and Tape and Dialogues for Piano and Two Loudspeakers). Although the first Carlos Moog albums were interpretations of the works of classical composers, she later resumed releasing original compositions.
Label: CBS
Catalog#: 77290
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP
Country: UK
Released: 1972
Genre: Electronic
Style: Modern Classical, Experimental, Ambient
Credits: Producer - Rachel Elkind
Notes: From Rachel Elkind's sleeve notes: Sonic Seasonings is "an aural tapestry, created by the imagination and expertise of Walter Carlos, from impressionistic and expressionistic experiences of Nature. It contains natural sounds, recorded in Quad as realistically as possible and subtly mixed with electronic and instrumental sounds in an effort to create four evolving, undulating cycles, evocative of the moods of earth's seasons. We have manipulated these sounds - electronically orchestrated them, so to speak - into an amalgam of the natural and synthetic".ex cond with min ringwear on cover 2 records and gatefold
A Spring (22:09)
B Summer (21:31)
C Fall (20:56)
D Winter (20:31)
Vocals - Rachel Elkind
