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Possibilities of the Interval: Heidegger and the Reimagining of the Interval in Luigi Nono’s A Carlo Scarpa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 March 2023
Abstract
From 1976, the works of the Venetian composer Luigi Nono (1924–90) are marked by a noticeable change in both his philosophical and his political outlook. What results is a decade (1980–9) of compositions that feature poetry in librettos, live electronics, the spatialization of sound and a prominent use of microtonal pitches. Together these create completely novel soundscapes that are noticeably different from his previous output. This article will examine a particular influence – the philosophy of Martin Heidegger – in the creation of the 1984 piece for large ensemble A Carlo Scarpa. The purpose of this is not only to allow for an insight into the music and structure of A Carlo Scarpa, but also to illuminate how philosophical and political ideas can be represented within the craft of composition, and the new paths of thinking that guided Nono’s artistic output during the 1980s.
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- © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal Musical Association
Footnotes
I wish to thank Dr Chris Tonkin for encouraging me to explore the labyrinth that is the philosophical and theological foundation of Western art music. I also wish to thank the Fondazione Archivio Luigi Nono ONLUS in Venice for their encouragement and readily available support, and family and friends (especially Mr Drew Woolley) for invaluable editing advice. All music examples are © 1985, Casa Ricordi, Milan. All translations are my own unless otherwise stated.
References
1 See Impett, Jonathan, Routledge Handbook to Luigi Nono and Musical Thought (New York: Routledge, 2019), 64–5Google Scholar.
2 Luigi Nono, ‘Intervista di Hansjörg Pauli’, Scritti e colloqui, ed. Angela De Benedictis and Veniero Rizzardi, 2 vols. (Milan: Ricordi, 2001), ii: Colloqui, 23–33 (p. 31).
3 Nono, Luigi, ‘Interview with Renato Garavaglia’, Nostalgia for the Future: Luigi Nono’s Selected Writings and Interviews, trans. O’Donnell, John, ed. De Benedictis, Angela and Rizzardi, Veniero (Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2018), 247–62CrossRefGoogle Scholar (p. 258).
4 Luigi Nono, …‥ sofferte onde serene …’, Scritti e colloqui, i: Scritti, 482.
5 Ibid., 482.
6 Mila, Massimo, ‘Nono senza politica con Pollini al piano’, Nulla di oscuro tra noi: Lettere 1952–1988, ed. De Benedictis, Angela and Rizzardi, Veniero (Milan: Il Saggiatore, 2010) 303–5Google Scholar (p. 303).
7 These are Quando stanno morendo. Diario polacco n. 2 (‘When they are dying. Polish diary no. 2’), a reference to the martial law in place at the time in Poland, where the piece was to be premiered; ¿Donde estas hermano? (‘Where are you, brother?’), subtitled ‘per los desaparecidos en Argentina’ (‘for the disappeared in Argentina’), a clear reference to the suppression of the socialist movement in Argentina; and 1º Caminantes …‥ Ayacucho (‘1º Walkers …‥ Ayacucho’), in which Nono refers to the ongoing historical struggle of the people of Ayacucho, Peru.
8 The ensemble consists of four flutes, three clarinets and three bassoons in the wind section; three trumpets, four French horns and four trombones in the brass section; a harp, a celesta and pitched bells as the instruments that play throughout the piece at concert pitch; seven triangles that are undefined in characteristic; two timpani tuned to C and E♭; and finally, a string section consisting of eight violins, eight violas, eight cellos and eight contrabasses, three of which must be able to play a low C′.
9 Luigi Nono, ‘Toward Prometeo: Journal Fragments’, Nostalgia for the Future, 235–46 (p. 237).
10 Luigi Nono, ‘Other Possibilities for Listening’, Nostalgia for the Future, 370–84 (p. 372).
11 Nono, ‘Toward Prometeo: Journal Fragments’, 237.
12 Nono, ‘Other Possibilities for Listening’, 377.
13 Luigi Nono, full score, A Carlo Scarpa, architetto, ai suoi infiniti possibili (Milan: Ricordi, 1985), i.
14 Nono, ‘Toward Prometeo: Journal Fragments’, 242.
15 Luigi Nono, ‘Error as a Necessity’, Nostalgia for the Future, 367–9 (p. 369); emphases original.
16 Nono, ‘Other Possibilities for Listening’, 381; emphasis original.
17 Ibid., 371.
18 Matteo Mandarini, foreword to Massimo Cacciari, ‘Confrontation with Heidegger’, trans. Timothy S. Murphy, Genre, 43/3–4 (September 2010), 353–68 (p. 354).
19 This is also a clear reference to the thinking of Giordano Bruno, which had a profound impact on Nono’s work.
20 Luigi Nono, ‘Autobiography Recounted by Enzo Restagno’, Nostalgia for the Future, 27–122 (p. 120).
21 Massimo Cacciari, ‘Confrontation with Heidegger’, 360.
22 Ibid., 358; emphases original.
23 Ibid., 361; emphases original.
24 Ibid., 361.
25 Ibid., 364.
26 Ibid., 365.
27 Ibid., 362; emphases original.
28 Luigi Nono, ‘… nessun inizio – nessuna fine … Estratti da colloqui con Luigi Nono. Di Klau Kropfinger’, Scritti e colloqui, ii: Colloqui, 451–62 (p. 456).
29 Nono, ‘Other Possibilities for Listening’, 376.
30 Nono, ‘Interview with Renato Garavaglia’, 258.
31 This is a work of particular importance to Cacciari in regard to the link between technology and philosophy; see Cacciari, ‘Confrontation with Heidegger’, 361.
32 Martin Heidegger, ‘The Question Concerning Technology’, The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, trans. William Lovitt (New York: Harper Perennial, 1982), 3–35 (p. 4).
33 Ibid., 6.
34 Cacciari, ‘Confrontations with Heidegger’, 361.
35 Heidegger, ‘The Question Concerning Technology’, 21.
36 Cacciari, ‘Confrontations with Heidegger’, 364.
37 Ibid., 359; emphases original.
38 Ibid., 360; emphasis original.
39 Heidegger, ‘The Question Concerning Technology’, 8.
40 Ibid., 9.
41 Ibid., 14.
42 Ibid., 10.
43 Ibid., 11.
44 Ibid., 11.
45 Ibid., 12.
46 Ibid., 12.
47 Ibid., 13.
48 Cacciari, ‘Confrontations with Heidegger’, 361.
49 Massimo Cacciari, sleeve notes to LP Das atmende Klarsein (Italia Fonitcetra ITL 70100, 1984), 3.
50 Nono, A Carlo Scarpa, 3.
51 Ibid., 9.
52 Heidegger, Martin, ‘The Thing’, Poetry, Language, Thought , trans. Hofstadter, Albert (New York: Harper Collins, 1975), 161–84 (p. 164).Google Scholar
53 Ibid., 166.
54 Ibid., 172.
55 Ibid., 164.
56 Cacciari, ‘Confrontations with Heidegger’, 360; emphases original.
57 Heidegger, ‘The Thing’, 167.
58 Nono, ‘Error as a Necessity’, 367.
59 Nono, ‘Toward Prometeo: Journal Fragments’, 246.
60 Cacciari, ‘Confrontations with Heidegger’, 360.
61 Ibid., 361.
62 Ibid., 362.