Luigi Russolo
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| Luigi Russolo | |
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 Luigi Russolo ca. 1916
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Luigi Russolo |
| Born | 30 April 1883 |
| Died | February 4, 1947 (aged 63) |
| Genre(s) | Experimental music |
| Occupation(s) | "Machine music" pioneer Futurist painter Custom instrument builder |
| Voice type(s) | Bass |
| Years active | 1901-1947 |
Luigi Russolo (April 30, 1885 - February 4, 1947) was an Italian Futurist painter and composer, and the author of the manifesto The Art of Noises (1913).
He is often regarded as one of the first experimental musicians and composers.
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[edit] Biography
Russolo was born at Portogruaro, in the Veneto region, the son of an organist in the local cathedral and director of the Schola Cantorum of Latisana. His brothers (most notably Antonio) were also musicians.
Russolo moved to Milan in 1901, frequenting the Brera Academy, and took part to the restoration of Leonardo's Last Supper in Santa Maria delle Grazie. In his first works Russolo applied the divisionist techniques to a fantastic-symbolic view of subject related to the city or the industrial society.
An adherent of the Futurism movement, he worked closely with futurist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.
On 11 March 1913 he published his noise music treatise The Art of Noises (L'arte dei rumori). He is one of the first theorist of electronic music. Russolo invented and built instruments including intonarumori ("intoners" or "noise machines"), to create "noises" for performance. Unfortunately, none of his original intonarumori survived World War II. Luigi's brother Antonio Russolo also composed futurist music.
In 1941-1942 Russolo started again to paint, with a new style that he defined "classic modernist".
He died at Cerro di Laveno (province of Varese) in 1947.
To honor the memory of the futurist composer, The Russolo-Pratella Foundation of Varese, Italy holds an annual international composition competition for electro-acoustic music. The Luigi Russolo Prize in Electro-Acoustic Music is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of electro-acoustic music.
[edit] See also
- Musica Futurista
- Experimental music
- custom-made instruments
- list of custom-made instrument builders
- Noise music
- Futurism
[edit] Further Reading & Audio Clips
[edit] Further Reading
[edit] Audio
- [1] mp3 audio files of the music of Luigi Russolo on UbuWeb
- Three audio clips by Luigi Russolo: Serenata, Corale and Risveglio di una città. (Thereminvox.com)
- Modern recordings of noise intoners and a fragment of Luigi Russolo's key Futurist composition The Awakening of a City can be heard on the audio CD Musica Futurista: The Art of Noises.
- UbuWeb Dada for Now, 1985, UK featuring Russolo's Veglio di una citta.
[edit] External links
- Intonarumori: history, working and photographs of Russolo's Intonarumori (noise makers) at thereminvox.com
- Media Art Net | Russolo, Luigi: Intonarumori (at at medienkunstnetz.de)
- Luigi Russolo and the Italian Futurists
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Luigi Russolo
- "Art of Noise" at zakros.com
- JahSonic.com: Luigi Russolo
- Bob Osborn's Futurism: Luigi Russolo
- Prof. Russolo & His Noise Intoners
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources (ideally, using inline citations). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Russolo, Luigi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Electronic music pioneer and Futurist painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1885-04-30 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Portogruaro, |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1947-02-04 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Cerro di Laveno |
