Alvin Curran (born 1938 in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American composer, performer, improviser, sound artist, writer, and teacher, based in Rome since 1965. A former student of Elliott Carter, he is the co-founder, with
Frederic Rzewski and
Richard Teitelbaum, of
Musica Elettronica Viva, a group with variable geometry dedicated to electronic and acoustic improvisation, which built one of the first bridges between the experimental avant-gardes on both sides of the Atlantic. Using mainly electronics and environmental found sounds, but also piano, Curran has established himself as one of the most original voices of the American avant-garde.
