Study Day, Understanding Nono; Understanding the World : Purcell Room London 4.5.2008 (CR)


This was a fascinating day of lectures and discussions, which formed part of the Luigi Nono: Fragments of Venice retrospective being held at the South Bank Centre. At the start of the day, I wasn’t sure who it was aimed towards; initially, when considering educational events, particularly in the realm of contemporary music, I imagine access for all events, perhaps involving some practical involvement from the audience which would in some way help them to better understand the strange (and quite possibly also frightening beast) that is new music. But not so here; the theme was very much intellectual discourse, and there was no dumbing down to be witnessed throughout the event. This was an event for enquiring minds to delve deeper into the compositional output of Luigi Nono, with particular reference to his major work Prometeo which is receiving its UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall on 9^th May.

A fascinating range of speakers were ably handled by Chairman Christopher Cooke, who asked pertinent and probing questions throughout the day. An introduction and summary were given by the South Bank Centre’s Head of Music, Marshall Marcus, and topics covered during the course of the day allowed the audience to experience different perspectives on Nono’s music. The full score of Prometeo was also made available for curious audience members to inspect; this was an extremely welcome opportunity.

For me, two people made the day a particularly enlightening experience. Nuria Schoenberg Nono, daughter of Schoenberg and widow of Nono, gave a fascinating glimpse into the life of the composer, with personal memories illustrated with an array of wonderful archive photographs. She put Nono’s life and work into the context of other leading names of the time, including Stockhausen, Adorno and Maderna. She talked with Stefan Letwin about Nono’s political radicalism and the thought processes surrounding some of his works. Her comments were informative and instructive, but the most pertinent was her insistence that the music of Nono, Schoenberg, Webern and others was composed (like most other music) for its emotional value, and that any analytical input should add understanding of the construction of the music but not detract from, or even obliterate, the emotion. Fair warning, when one considers that these composers are nowadays often associated primarily with the compositional methods they employed, rather than with the message their music conveys.

Similarly fascinating was André Richard, an electronics performer, conductor and composer who worked closely with Nono on a number of his works, including Prometeo. He has also been working for many years to plan Prometeo’s first UK performance, and has responsibility for balancing the electronic sounds with the live performers in the concert. His main contribution to the day was to explain his role, and the role of the electronics, which are a hugely important part of Nono’s conception of the work as a whole. Nono composed Prometeo using the physical performance space as an instrument in itself, which means that each venue brings its own dimension to the piece. Richard explained this in terms of the practical considerations, and also touched on Nono’s revision process through the various performances the work has already had in the quarter century since its premiere. He also added some personal memories of working with Nono, all of which helped us to further understand the music.

Enno Senft gave an interesting perspective about performing Prometeo, as he played double bass at the work’s premiere in Venice, and will be performing again with the London Sinfonietta in the UK premiere. His recollections were refreshingly honest, as he described the experience of balancing high up on the specially constructed ark in the St Lorenzo Church. He explained that Prometeo poses particular challenges of concentration and understanding for the performers involved, and spoke passionately about his involvement in the project.

In addition to his conversations with Nuria Schoenberg Nono, Stefan Letwin gave an introduction into some of Nono’s other compositions, including Fabbrica Illuminata, and gave a wonderful lecture-recital performance of sofferte onde serene, explaining the importance of Venice in Nono’s work and showing elements of that influence in his music.

The South Bank Centre’s Head of Literature and Spoken Word Rachel Holmes gave a somewhat controversial insight into the use of text in Prometeo, which provoked a passionate and thoroughly interesting discussion from the audience. The debate centred on to what extent a listener should have knowledge of the texts before hearing the work live. The text comes from a range of sources and carries with it its own weight of cultural history. Nono’s fragmented presentation of the text in the score is particularly fascinating, with some words used purely to inform the performers of a particular thought, rather than presented to the audience in any vocalised way.

In summary, this was a fascinating and intellectually stimulating day, which gave insight into ways of listening to Nono’s music and what to expect from Prometeo. By the end, I was enormously excited at the prospect of having the opportunity to experience Prometeo later in the week and keen to find out more about Nono and his music. Look out for more events such as this by the very capable South Bank Centre team.

Carla Rees


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