Dan Tepfer: From Bach to Natural Machines - Algorithms as the Shapers of Music

Dan Tepfer is coming to the Wexner Center for the Arts on Tuesday, November 17, for a talk titled From Bach to Natural Machines: algorithms as the shapers of music. It's happening in the Film/Video Theater, and the whole thing is built around the idea of algorithms as the things that shape music, tracing a line from Bach through to Tepfer's own work, Natural Machines.

That project is the core of what he'll be talking about. In Natural Machines, Tepfer programs a Steinway Spirio player piano to respond in real time to the music he improvises at the keyboard, while a custom computer program turns the performance into animated visual art. It's a conversation between the pianist and the machine, with the visuals running alongside. Rolling Stone called it "fascinating and ingenious," and NextBop described it as "more than a solo piano album... a multimedia piece of contemporary art."

Tepfer himself is a pianist with a lot of ground behind him. Born in Paris to American parents and based in New York, he's known for a combination of high technique and a fearless harmonic sensibility. He first gained international attention with Goldberg Variations / Variations in 2011, and released Natural Machines in 2019, which later landed him a spot on NPR's Tiny Desk. He's picked up top prizes at the Montreux and American Piano Awards, and made his Carnegie Hall debut as a leader in 2025 with Natural Machines 2.0 and The Knights orchestra.

The talk starts at 4 PM on Tuesday, November 17, at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus. Tickets are $35 for members, $45 for the general public, $42 for adults 55 and over, and $15 for students.