Seminar in the ARIA Research Seminars 2018-2019 series (all lectures Conservatoire at the bottom)
Researcher: Marco Fusi
Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi regarded the process of improvising music as a means of removing the consciousness of the composer from the process of creating music; he believed that while improvising in deep meditation, he could become a channel for higher forces which would enable the creation of works that were otherwise impossible through ordinary composition. His extemporaneous sonic actions were recorded on a magnetic tape and the transcription of the scores delegated to a third person; today’s performers are faced with written scores that are a mere blueprint of the sonic phenomenon produced by the improvising composer.
In order to approach the rendition of Scelsi’s opus, performers are forced to question the basic concepts of their practice, such as their relationship with the written score, the function and limitations of their musical instrument and the purposes of a public performance. The stereotypical role of the performer as a faithful reproducer of the composer’s score cannot apply here; the players are invited into a dialogue with all of the composer’s artefacts, audio recordings and the original instruments available to gain an exhaustive understanding of the creative process and to draw their own performance practice from this information.
While the seminar will introduce the process of building a possible performance practice for Scelsi's works, the following concert will present the world premiere of the rediscovered Divertimento No. 1 for violin and piano alongside other works by Scelsi, Wim Henderickx and Daniela Fantechi.
Contributions by:
- Alessandra Carlotta Pellegrini (Scientific Director, Fondazione Isabella Scelsi, Roma)
- Anna D’Errico (Pianist)
- Wim Henderickx (Composer, Composition Professor, Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen)
- Daniela Fantechi (Composer, PhD candidate, Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen)
- Esajas Järnegard (Composer, PhD candidate, University of Gothenburg)
Programme
- 14:00 Marco Fusi, Giacinto Scelsi’s compositional process and the creative role of the performer
- 15:00 Alessandra Carlotta Pellegrini, The Scelsi Foundation and its resources for researchers and for performers; the Archives, the tapes and original instruments
- 15:30 Marco Fusi, Anna D’Errico, The rediscovery of Divertimento N.1 – interpretative issues and perspectives
- 16:00 Break
- 16:30 Anna D’Errico, Daniela Fantechi, Inside the resonance: Giacinto Scelsi at the piano
- 17:00 Wim Henderickx, East and West, a composer’s approach
- 17:30 Esaias Järnegard, Liminal practice
In the evening, at 20:00, Scelsi will be performed live during a concert called 'Rediscovering Scelsi'. It's a free concert with a world première by one of Scelsi's works!
Practical
Thursday 17th of January
14:00- 17:30
Muziekstudio deSingel
Free after reservation via: https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/research-groups/aria/activities/research-seminars/giacinto-scelsi/
OTHER LECTURES IN THE SERIES
- Meerstemmig (Nico Couck): Monday the 26th of November 2018, Conservatoire
- Within the Limits (Daniela Fantechi): Tuesday the 18th of December 2018, 14h, Room 57, Conservatoire
- Giacinto Scelsi, a composer's path towards improvisation (Marco Fusi): Thursday the 17th of January 2019
- Methods in artistic research (Adilia Yip): Thursday the 7th of February 2019
© Fondazione Isabella Scelsi