Michael Gerzon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Michael Anthony Gerzon | |
| Born | December 4, 1945 Birmingham, UK |
|---|---|
| Died | May 6, 1996 (aged 50) |
| Residence | United Kingdom |
| Citizenship | British |
| Fields | Sound recording and reproduction |
| Institutions | Independent consultant |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Known for | Ambisonics Soundfield microphone Noise-shaped dither Trifield Meridian Lossless Packing |
| Influences | Alan Blumlein |
| Notable awards | AES Fellowship (1978) AES Gold Medal (1991) |
Michael Anthony Gerzon (b. 4 Dec 1945, d. 6 May 1996) is probably best known for his work on Ambisonics and for his work on digital audio. He also made a large number of recordings, many in the field of free improvisation in which he had a particular interest.
After studying mathematics at Oxford University, Gerzon joined Oxford's Mathematical Institute working on axiomatic quantum theory, until his work in audio took him into working as a consultant. At university he already had a keen interest in both the theory and practice of recording, which he shared with a few fellow students including Peter Craven (the two were later the co-inventors of the soundfield microphone, and collaborated on many other projects). Over the next few years, this interest led to the invention of Ambisonics, which can be seen as a theoretical and practical completion of the work done by Alan Blumlein in the field of stereophonic sound. Although Ambisonics was not a commercial success, its theory underpinned much of his later work in audio. He was also active in the development of digital sound techniques, such as noise-shaped dither and Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP, the lossless compression used in DVD-Audio disks). The Audio Engineering Society recognised Gerzon's work in audio by awarding him a fellowship in 1978 and the AES Gold Medal in 1991.
Gerzon died in 1996 from complications resulting from a severe asthma attack.
Contents |
[edit] Tape archive
The British Library Sound Archive contains Gerzon's collection of tapes, which he kept from his student days. The collection consists of 400 hours of recordings. A direct link to the collection is not possible; a search for the Collection title "Michael Gerzon tapes" will find them all by track. (An advanced search for Call Number "C236" with varying suffix numbers is a useful alternative that finds by tape.) Readers with a British Library card can book to hear tapes by appointment.
[edit] See also
- Ambisonics
- Nimbus Records
- On a Friday, who he recorded
- The Snake Decides
- Soundfield microphone
- Trifield
[edit] External links
[edit] Obituaries
- Richard Elen of Meridian Audio Ltd.
- Waves Audio Ltd (a company for whom Gerzon consulted).
- John Borwick in Gramophone.
- Barry Fox in The Guardian.
[edit] Recorded tribute
[edit] Early work
- Gerzon's Early Work, a website by Stephen Thornton.
[edit] Papers
- Gerzon Archive - a number of Gerzon's less mathematical papers in downloadable form.
- Stephen Thornton's website includes a list of publications and unpublished reports.
- The Waves obituary has a comprehensive list of Gerzon's papers at the end.
