Geneva pays tribute to Luigi Nono and Klaus Huber

Among the notable figures of the 20th century^e century, among the names that have been linked since the 1950s to the explorations of new musical languages, Luigi Nono has the appearance of a totem, a figure that is both tutelary and intimidating. Very quickly, while he joined the famous circle of the International Summer University for New Music, in Darmstadt, he displayed profiled orientations, which would take him far in his research. He is particularly interested in electronic tools, the spatialization of sounds, and the interaction with textures produced by traditional instruments. This quest never left him, so much so that we find traces of it even in his late pieces. Such as this “To Pierre. Dell’azzurro silenzio worryum” (1985), dedicated to Pierre Boulez on the occasion of his 60^e birthday.

Introspective turn

The work for bass flute, contrabass clarinet and electronics resurfaces in Geneva, opening a substantial tribute that the Contrechamps ensemble pays on December 5 to the Venetian composer, as well as to the Bernese Klaus Huber. Both would have been 100 years old in 2024 and their trajectories have points of tangency which justify placing them on the same poster. Because the Swiss, who died in 2017 in Perugia, also focused on creation on magnetic tapes, as illustrated by his “Erinnere dich an Golgatha…” (2010), for solo double bass, 18 instruments and electronics, present at the program.

Another emblematic piece from the universe of Luigi Nono can be found in this concert, “Sofferte onde serene” (1976), which consolidated the collaboration between the composer and his dedicatee, the pianist Maurizio Pollini, already present in 1972 in “ Like a light and light”. Marked by areas of silence, by floating sounds, by a spatialization of the piano – both recorded and played live – the work is considered a turning point which will lead Nono towards a creation with a strong introspective density.

Also note the presence on the poster of Heinz Holliger, friend and defender of the work of Klaus Huber. Initially scheduled to conduct the concert, the composer and oboist was replaced by Emilio Pomarico. We will nevertheless listen to his “Biaute … estrange” (small cycle written between 2001 and 2009), i.e. four transcriptions of Machaut for three violas (“Ballade IV and XXVI”). A language and aesthetic dating back to the 14th century^e century thus bounce back to us, in a reformulation which gives pride of place to harmonics.

Rocco Zacheo joined the editorial staff of the Tribune de Genève in 2013; he deals with classical music and opera and devotes himself, on an ad hoc basis, to literary news and disparate cultural events. Previously, he worked for nine years at the newspaper Le Temps and worked with RTS La Première.More info

Did you find an error? Please report it to us.

0 comments