Franco Evangelisti
Encyclopedia
Franco Evangelisti was an Italian composer
specifically interested in the scientific theories behind sound.
, Evangelisti abandoned engineering studies in order to dedicate himself to musical composition. In 1948 he became a student of Daniel Paris in Rome and Harald Genzmer
at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
, where he pursued a course in advanced composition. From 1952 to 1960 he took part in the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neuen Musik
, where he had the opportunity of meeting Werner Meyer-Eppler
of the University of Bonn
, thanks to which he began to be interested in electronic music
. At the invitation of Herbert Eimert
, in 1956 he worked in the electronic studio of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk
in Cologne
.
In 1957, the orchestral conductor Hermann Scherchen
invited him to work in the Studio of Experimental Electroacoustics of UNESCO
in Gravesano
, where he became involved with biophysics
and explored the possibility of directly translating brain impulses into sonic vibrations.
In 1958, together with Karlheinz Stockhausen
and Luigi Nono
, he inaugurated the Experimental Studio of the Polish Radio in Warsaw
, where in the following year he was invited to hold some seminars on electronic music. In 1959 he was brought by the promoters, to the International Week of New Music in Palermo
. The following year, together with other musicians such as Francisco Pennisi and Aldo Clementi
, he founded the Nuova Consonanza association and, later, the improvisation
group of the same name.
In the early 1960s he famously attacked the lesser followers of the Darmstadt School
of composers, of which he was generally reckoned to be a member, accusing them of being merely dodecaphonic police. He moved to Berlin for two years (1966–68), hosted by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
and the Ford Foundation
. On returning to Rome, he held a course in experimental electronic composition at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia. In 1972 the obtained an assignment of leading the course in electronic music at the Alfredo Casella Conservatory in Aquila
. In 1974 he was appointed professor of electronic music at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, a post which he held until his death. In those years he gave concerts with the Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza
, in Italy as well as in foreign countries, and continued with conferences and seminars on the “new music”. Compositional activity became less therefore, in order to leave space mostly for research and for theoretical development. At the end of 1979, after nearly twenty years’ work, he finished his book Dal silenzio a un nuovo mondo sonoro (From Silence to a New Sonorous World). He died in Rome on 28 January 1980.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
specifically interested in the scientific theories behind sound.
Biography
Born in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Evangelisti abandoned engineering studies in order to dedicate himself to musical composition. In 1948 he became a student of Daniel Paris in Rome and Harald Genzmer
Harald Genzmer
Harald Genzmer was a German composer of contemporary classical music.-Biography:Born in Blumenthal, near Bremen, Germany, he studied composition with Paul Hindemith at the Berlin Hochschule für Music beginning in 1928.From 1938 he taught at the Volksmusikschule Berlin-Neukölln...
at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
The Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music.-History:The Hochschule was initially founded as a municipal institution in 1946 under the direction of Gustav...
, where he pursued a course in advanced composition. From 1952 to 1960 he took part in the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neuen Musik
Darmstadt New Music Summer School
Initiated in 1946 by Wolfgang Steinecke, the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, Darmstadt , held annually until 1970 and subsequently every two years, encompass both the teaching of composition and interpretation and include premières of new works...
, where he had the opportunity of meeting Werner Meyer-Eppler
Werner Meyer-Eppler
Werner Meyer-Eppler , was a German physicist, experimental acoustician, phoneticist, and information theorist....
of the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
, thanks to which he began to be interested in electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. At the invitation of Herbert Eimert
Herbert Eimert
Herbert Eimert was a German music theorist, musicologist, journalist, music critic, editor, radio producer, and composer.-Life:...
, in 1956 he worked in the electronic studio of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD...
in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
In 1957, the orchestral conductor Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens...
invited him to work in the Studio of Experimental Electroacoustics of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in Gravesano
Gravesano
Gravesano is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Gravesano is first mentioned in 1254 as de Gravaxana....
, where he became involved with biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
and explored the possibility of directly translating brain impulses into sonic vibrations.
In 1958, together with Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
and Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...
, he inaugurated the Experimental Studio of the Polish Radio in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, where in the following year he was invited to hold some seminars on electronic music. In 1959 he was brought by the promoters, to the International Week of New Music in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. The following year, together with other musicians such as Francisco Pennisi and Aldo Clementi
Aldo Clementi
-Life:Aldo Clementi was born in Catania, Italy. He studied the piano, graduating in 1946. His studies in composition began in 1941, and his teachers included Alfredo Sangiorgi and Goffredo Petrassi. After receiving his diploma in 1954, he attended the Darmstadt summer courses from 1955 to 1962...
, he founded the Nuova Consonanza association and, later, the improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
group of the same name.
In the early 1960s he famously attacked the lesser followers of the Darmstadt School
Darmstadt School
Darmstadt School refers to a loose group of compositional styles created by composers who attended the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music from the early 1950s to the early 1960s.-History:...
of composers, of which he was generally reckoned to be a member, accusing them of being merely dodecaphonic police. He moved to Berlin for two years (1966–68), hosted by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....
and the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
. On returning to Rome, he held a course in experimental electronic composition at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia. In 1972 the obtained an assignment of leading the course in electronic music at the Alfredo Casella Conservatory in Aquila
L'Aquila
L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...
. In 1974 he was appointed professor of electronic music at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, a post which he held until his death. In those years he gave concerts with the Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza
Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza
Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza was an Avant-garde Free improvisation group considered the first experimental composers collective.-History:The collective was formed by Italian composer Franco Evangelisti in Rome in 1964...
, in Italy as well as in foreign countries, and continued with conferences and seminars on the “new music”. Compositional activity became less therefore, in order to leave space mostly for research and for theoretical development. At the end of 1979, after nearly twenty years’ work, he finished his book Dal silenzio a un nuovo mondo sonoro (From Silence to a New Sonorous World). He died in Rome on 28 January 1980.
Compositions (selective list)
- Quattro fattoriale (4!), little pieces for violin and piano (1954–55)
- Ordini, for 16 instruments (1955)
- Incontri di fasce sonore, electronic composition (1956–57)
- Random or Not Random, for orchestra (1956–62)
- Proporzioni, structures for solo flute (1958)
- Aleatorio, for string quartet (1959)
- Spazio a cinque, for voices, 5 percussionists, and electronics (1959–61)
- Campi integrati no. 2, game for 9 instruments (1959–79)
- Condensazioni, for orchestra (1960–62)
- Die Schachtel (The Box), pantomime, for mimes, projections, and chamber orchestra, on a text by Franco Nonnis (1962–63)