I was very sad to read on the Csound mailing list that Max Mathews passed away this morning. It is hard to imagine how computer music today would be without his pioneering work in creating the first computer music software and work with composers and others. His contributions are truly immeasurable.
Beyond the work he contributed, he was a truly inspiring with his joy and passion for computer music. I don’t believe I have ever met Max Mathews in person, though I was at a number of events where he was featured in some way or another (a fond memory is from last year’s Bohlen-Pierce Symposium, seeing Max on the big screen performing and giving talks over Skype…). I always got the impression that he was a person of great character, passion, and joy…
From the people I’ve known who have known him personally, Max seems like someone who truly gave a lot of himself to others. I will always have nothing but kind words to say about him, and if that is any barometer by which to measure a man’s life, then I would say he was as successful a human being in life as one could be. I will certainly miss his presence in this world, and hope only to be able to learn from his great work and life and maybe be a better person for it.