contemporary music – History of culture

Corporazione delle Nuove Musiche: Gian Francesco Malipiero

Posted on March 6, 2024March 6, 2024 by historyofculture

as soon as I had resigned my post of “teacher” a prestigious international publisher (Edition Universal Wien) came knocking at my door and signed me for all the works that I would write from 1924 to 1930 […]. To be associated with a publisher who was both able and attentive and held the keys of international music meant not to rot and not having to succumb to our [Italian] musical environment. In fact, between 1924 and 1932 I lived intensely in the world of Music without ever concerning myself with these “machinations” that destroy the serenity and corrupt the musician”.

The New Album of The Week: stay on the top of the search engine’s page

Posted on February 12, 2024March 14, 2024 by historyofculture

Dearest friends! In July 2021, we started with “The New Album of the Week,” putting on the top of the Facebook page the newly chosen album. The goal of this project is to bring attention to new, remarkable audio CDs by performers of classical and contemporary academic music on our website and social networks. Almost a year later, the project expanded and enriched with many interesting novelties of academic music, jazz, and avant-garde performed by the outstanding musicians of the world.

We were happy to see as a result an increased number of visitors, listeners and followers of musicians and labels on their social networks and official websites. We are deeply grateful to our information partners for their fruitful cooperation, and we will continue to delight our subscribers with new recordings of performances!

Alban Berg: a genius, a child, a hero and a victim of the times

Posted on February 9, 2024February 9, 2024 by historyofculture

One of the most prominent representatives of expressionism in music, Berg expressed in his work the characteristic thoughts, feelings, and images of expressionist artists: dissatisfaction with social life, feelings of powerlessness, and loneliness. The hero of his works is a small man driven to despair by the hostile environment of bourgeois society. The breeding ground for such artistic representations of the world was generously given to the composer by life itself.

The prophetic music under the eyes of the camp guards

Posted on January 15, 2024February 4, 2024 by historyofculture

On January 15, 1941, in the chilled hall of a prisoner of war camp in German-controlled Silesia, a huge crowd of prisoners and Nazi guards gathered to listen to the musicians performing. Stalag was buried under the snow. There were 30,000 of prisoners (mostly French, but there were also Polish and Belgians). Four musicians played…

Schnittke’s Universe

Posted on November 24, 2023April 9, 2024 by historyofculture

For almost thirty years I repeatedly saw one and the same dream: I would arrive in Vienna at long last. I would feel really happy, for I was returning to my serene childhood.

La Biennale di Venezia Musica 2023

Posted on October 24, 2023October 24, 2023 by Marco Mazzoleni

Fare una Biennale Musica più all’avanguardia di questa credo sia difficile, se non impossibile. Musica che si auto riproduce da sola, strutturata su algoritmi, su clonazioni. Musica realizzata con l’intelligenza artificiale. È una musica che tende ad oggettivarsi, a divenire collettiva. Addirittura si produrrà musica dalla interazione di cellule conservate di un musicista scomparso. Il…

Toglimi l’amore, dammi la tua felicità

Posted on October 13, 2023October 13, 2023 by historyofculture

Cosa c’è di più antitetico, di più estremo, di questi versi di Stefan George. Di più tragicamente romantico che chiedere di togliere l’amore per avere la felicità. L’amore è dolore. E’ l’epilogo ultimo di un romanticismo alla sua massima estensione. Anche musicale. Oltre il quale si doveva esprimere altro: “io sento l’aria di un’altra sfera…”….

FAR L’AMORE DA BERGAMO IN GIÙ

Posted on September 30, 2023September 30, 2023 by historyofculture

A Bergamo è nato ieri sera un nuovo genere musicale. Il “musical operistico”. E funziona, eccome. Questa opera nella fantasia è finita nella realtà tra chiamate alla ribalta senza fine, e pubblico entusiasta che balla e canta. Un successo plateale ed oltre ogni aspettativa. Probabilmente anche di audience televisiva. E ben fa il buon Francesco…

ITALIA AVANGUARDIA D’EUROPA

Posted on September 28, 2023September 28, 2023 by historyofculture

La situazione del teatro del Maggio Maggio Musicale Fiorentino va presa seriamente. Il mondo dell’intrattenimento musicale lirico e concertistico sta attraversando un momento critico, in tutta Europa. Forse nel mondo. Abbiamo modelli virtuosi che ne risentono meno. Come il Festival di Salisburgo, eccellenza assoluta nel mondo, in Italia la Biennale di Venezia, ed il Festival…

Incredible Arnold

Posted on September 13, 2023September 18, 2023 by historyofculture

Arnold Schoenberg developed a new concept of music writing, dodecaphony, and became the creator of a new music language for the 20th century. On 13 September 1874, Arnold Schoenberg was born in the Vienna Ghetto. His mother was a piano teacher, but learnt the basics of music and learnt to play the violin on his…