Antonio Russolo
Template:Infobox musical artist Antonio Russolo (1877–1943<ref name=":0" />) was an Italian Futurist composer and the brother of the more famous Futurist painter, composer and theorist Luigi Russolo. He is noted for composing pieces made with the intonarumori and, together with his brother, introduced The Art of Noises.
BiographyEdit
Russolo was the son of Domenico Russolo who was a clockmaker as well as a piano and organ tuner. The family moved to Latisana when Domenico became the director of the town's Philharmonic School and the Schola Cantorum.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> Antonio learned music early through his father, who successfully prepared him and another brother, Giovanni, to pass the entrance exam at the Milan Conservatory.<ref name=":0" /> He completed a degree in piano and organ.
The Art of NoisesEdit
Russolo helped his brother Luigi construct noise-intoning intonarumori instruments in line with the noise music manifesto that Luigi released called The Art of Noises.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> This Futurist musical concept, which was introduced by F.T. Marinetti,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> sought to avoid imitating the sound of everyday life by stylizing sonic materials so that it loses its original sense; acquiring a new aural sphere in the process.<ref name=":1" /> It opposed the philosophy behind the Late Romanticism, which favored the reproduction of reality.<ref name=":1" />
Several compositions by Russolo that included the intonarumori are considered hybrid. These were pieces based on traditional instrumentation and modified to include the noise music machines.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A record made by Russolo in 1921 is the only surviving sound recording that features the original intonarumori. It includes the pieces, Corale and Serenata, which combined conventional orchestral music set against the famous noise machines.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This music was released in 1924 on a 78 rpm record.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In these pieces, Russolo used the intonarumori as underlay. The sounds made are described as tunes disrupted by growls and low-pitched electrical interference.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the same year, Russolo's compositions were conducted during a concert organized by F.T. Marinetti at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The program included four of Russolo's work along with two compositions of Nuccio Fiorda.<ref name=":1" /> The use of the noise intoners were acclaimed by critics such as Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Diaghilev, Leonide Massine, and Piet Mondrian.<ref name=":1" />
RecordingsEdit
- [1] Corale, Serenata by Antonio Russolo and Luigi Russolo (1924) were published on cassette in 1988 in the Audio By Visual Artists edition of Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine #21 and are archived on the internet at Ubuweb
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
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