Concepts:
real-time and non-real-time synthesis
analysis and resynthesis of recorded sounds
vocal synthesis
harmonic and inharmonic sounds
noisy and discrete (not noisy) sounds
algorithmic composition

Important centers (see Grove article):
Bell Laboratories starting 1957
Stanford, center established 1974
IRCAM, Paris, France, started 1975

Music on reserve:
Charles Dodge, Speech Songs (1972; 7:01)
Iannis Xenakis, Mycenae-Alpha (1978; 9:37)
Michael McNabb, DreamSong (1978; 9:32)
Jonathan Harvey, Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco (1979; 9:00)
Jean-Baptiste Barriere: Chréode 1 (1983; 9:26)
Trevor Wishart, Vox, no. 5 (1986; 6:02)

Reading:

F. Richard Moore, "Dreams of computer music: then and now"