Nono: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura

On this CD:

1. La Lontananza nostalgica utopica futura, for violin, 8 magnetic tapes & 8-10 music stands
Composed by Luigi Nono
Performed by Melise Mellinger

Nono: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura, Music, Luigi Nono, Melise Mellinger, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Electronic & Computer, Music for Tape/Electronics and Live Performer(s)

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moribund fragments to the last century

the last of late Nono

The original and best recording of Lontanaza

La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura (Nostalgia for a Far Away Future Utopia) for Vi

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Luigi Nono: Como una ola de fuerza y luz, for Soprano, Piano, Orchestra & Magnetic Tape (1971-72) / ...sofferte onde serene... For Piano & Magnetic Tape (1976) / Contrapunto dialettico alla mente, for Magnetic Tape (1968) - Maurizio Pollini / Claudio Abbado

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Luigi Nono: Complete Works for Solo Tape

Io, Frammento Da Prometeo/Das Atmende Klarsein

ASIN: B0000D7Z64
Release Date: 2003-11-11

Tracks:

La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura
'Hay Que Caminar' Sonando

Customer Reviews:

moribund fragments to the last century.......2006-01-12

These two works are like fragments from Nono's late creativity. This beginning more or less with the piano piece with Magnetic tape dedicated to Maurizio Pollini, :sofferte onde serene:, serene waves endured.
A lifelong inhabitant of Venice, Nono on the island Giudecca where he had lived had the timbres the fragments of water,of lapping gentle violent miniature waves always as part of his consciousness.:sofferte onde serene: has this tympani like thuds, soft gentle as accompaniment to the live paino, pre-recorded materials as here this CD of the pianist or performer. This gives a kind of signature, and Nono was fond of dedications in his work(Carlo Scarpa, Andrei Takovski, Edmund Jabes, Pierre Boulez,Emilio Vedova,not to mention lost revolutionaries,activists thinkers,intellectuals) Nono's sensibility inhabits also a very private space as a creator/recluse despite his extroverted political affinities,and this late work certainly reflects a turn inward, as the end of modernity the paradigm lived worked upon, yet a renewal of it.
The antiphonal approach here in these two works is further a way of isolating the tones,as humans are isolated, where a Wall is placed around their existence, the drawn bow, in the highest positions on the violins,col legno at times, with part of the wood of the bow drawn with the hair; pencil-thin harmonics as well, tortured timbre, like fingernails being dragged on the chalkboard, an image that rings with resonance today with the mindless atrocities which continue around the globe.A plucked string, a normally drawn bow becomes, within this context, a means of escape to what the mind already knows. Nono a lifelong Marxist saw the end of the old ways or the process of creating art within the activist paradigm, although he himself never went in the direction as say Cornelius Cardew in England,editing a Marxist newspaper,holding worker meeting,organizing demonstrations.He still envisioned a music with the component of innovation without dilution of its content for the cash box.
Although he did desire to travel to the USA for concerts with much of this late music on this disk, where his Visa was turned down by Washington.
If you can refer to the beautiful as seen through the convoluted maze of the 20th Century,then these works are summoned as the last form of beauty possible,at least within the genre of music Nono had been working. He always detested the freedom of performance through graphic notation and had early diatribic essays against the Cage purposeless purpose. Even here the gifted Gidon Kremer is kept on a short leash, not allowed to travel too far away from the materials given. And he comes to be simply a mimetic form of himself with the pre-recorded materials as the earlier Pollini. No ego or hypocrisy is allowed to reveal itself in the performer's role, merely following a loose but pre-determined plan.If you have ever experienced this music live it is deeply disturbing, unless you merely esacpe to the realm of the aesthetic, then these two works are quite interesting to contemplate. All these late works have this performative freedom, or the representation of it,as the interesting array of silences in the string quartet, "Fragmente,Stille fuer Diotema" where as another reviewer said they come to accrete the tension as the piece progresses. Here as well, although here the silences are not as pronounced,nor as a functional component yet Nono allows the performer to find his/her own way through rests of indeterminate length. The Tuba and Live Electronics work :Post-Praeludium per Donau:(also written within this period after the Danube another water representation) allows the perfomer to choose paths ad libitum, to find their own way. I don't think we can comsider these works as having a constant factor for success, some may still call it "masterpiece", I don't think Nono thought of these works as such, more as fragments, offerings, as a pilgrim bringing a gift to the final destination of their travels.

the last of late Nono.......2004-01-26

This disc is a reissue in DG's 20/201 Echo series, with recordings of Nono's last two finished works from December of 1990, first released in 1992. Nono died in May 1990, and "La lontananza" had been written for and with Gidon Kremer in 1988 and 1989. Nono taped Kremer playing a variety of pre-arranged sounds on violin, and then electronically altered them -- the final piece results from Kremer playing solo, responding to taped sequences. As 8 tapes are triggered, Kremer walks among 8 music stands and plays the scores in whatever order he chooses. The taped altered material does not provide the basis for a clearly enunciated duet, and the result, as you might imagine, is quite indeterminate -- Cage-like, if it wasn't for Nono's powerful sensibility. Interestingly, Sofia Gubaidulina operates the tapes -- this did not lead to a sideline in studio engineering work as far as I know. This is not among Nono's best works, in my opinion, but then I don't much care for Cage either -- perhaps if you do you'll find it more compelling than I. Irvine Arditti subsequently recorded "La lontananza," which probably makes it the only Kremer/Arditti duet on record, but I haven't heard his rendition.

The second work, "Hay que caminar sondando" is a violin duet performed by Kremer and Tatiana Grindenko. It conveys a sense of confusion, puzzlement, and sadness at not being able to "find the path." This piece was written for Irvine Arditti and David Alberman, who recorded the orginal version in July of 1990 (which can be found on the Naive Montaigne label with Nono's 1980 string quartet "Framente-Stille, An Diotima" -- see my review). The original version is nearly 28 minutes long, while the Kremer version lasts "only" 20 minutes. The Arditti/Alberman version has more silence, more extreme dynamics, and conveys a sense of being utterly, existentially lost. You might say it emphasizes that there is "no path," while this version emphasizes that nonetheless "we must walk." Personally, I prefer the original version to this one.

This is an excellent addition to DG's 20/21 series, which includes a growing number of classic recordings of the late 20th century avant-garde. The packaging is high quality -- relevant, of course, only if you suffer from commodity fetishism.

What Nono was exploring in his late period seems to have been the result of a crisis of faith -- not religious faith, but humanist faith. The work was experimental, and not always successful (I see "Prometeo" as a flawed masterpiece -- see my review), but always fascinating. For more on Nono, see my reviews collected in the list LUIGI NONO'S LIBERATORY SOUNDWORLD.

The original and best recording of Lontanaza.......2003-11-16

Towards the end of his life, the marxist Italian composer Luigi Nono changed musical course from his big agitprop canvases to largely quiet, intimate explorations of sound. These two works--his last two--probably take this exploration as far as any.

In La Lontanaza Nostalgica Utopica Futura, Nono prepared eight tapes of electronically distorted violin sound, percussive noises and suchlike. These tapes--each with a distinctly different sound to them--are played back as accompaniment to the violin soloist during the performance, but with a live performer responding to the sound of the violinist by choosing which tape(s) should be heard at any one moment. This might seem cold and artificial, but in this performance, with the hyper-intense Gidon Kremer playing violin and the Tatar composer Sofia Gubaidulina preparing the tapes, the result is anything but. Sensibly, the performers do not attempt to utilise the whole of the taped material--one of the many flaws which makes Irvine Arditti's rival recording a tedious experience in comparison--but concentrate on maintaining a tension and intimacy over just under forty minutes of playing. The result is quite exceptional, and finally won me over to a work I had long denigrated as one of Nono's weakest.

"Hay que caminar", sognando, for two violins, is the other work on this disc. Once again it is a mostly quiet, intimate exploration of sound--though this time without any taped component. Related to Nono's earlier string quartet by musical material and the use of Verdi's 'scala enigmata'--a scale different going up and down, and rich in tritonal harmony, this is a rather less important work than Lontanaza, but still well worth hearing. The performance on this disc (by Kremer and Tatiana Grindenko) is much faster, clearer and more intense than the rival recording with Irvine Arditti and David Alberman, and in my opinion is greatly to be preferred.

Luigi Nono: La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura / "Hay que caminar" soñando - Gidon Kremer / Tatiana Gridenko
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Luigi Nono: La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura / "Hay que caminar" soñando - Gidon Kremer / Tatiana Gridenko
Luigi Nono (Composer) , Gidon Kremer (Violin) , and Tatiana Gridenko (Violin)
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000E53S
Release Date: 1993-02-16

Nono: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura
Average customer rating:

avant-garde music, beyond atonal

Nono: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura

Manufacturer: Kairos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004T74V
Release Date: 2001-03-27

Tracks:

La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura: Leggio I
La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura: Leggio II
La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura: Leggio III
La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura: Leggio IV
La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura: Leggio V
La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura: Leggio VI

Customer Reviews:

avant-garde music, beyond atonal.......2003-04-05

There isn't much music scored for music stands. This music features the stands dragged across the floor, & the violins yearning, & a voice sometimes...sort of stumbling. Good job, Mr Nono. This is music that wakes me up.

Luigi Nono 2: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura (1988-89) - Irvine Arditti

Average customer rating:

Not entirely Nonoesque,the processed violin sounds like flys

Luigi Nono 2: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura (1988-89) - Irvine Arditti
Luigi Nono , Irvine Arditti , and André Richard
Manufacturer: Disques Montaigne
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tracks:

Leggio I
Leggio II
Leggio III
Leggio IV
Leggio V
Leggio VI

Amazon.com

La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura is a piece for violin with an eight-channel tape consisting of Gidon Kremer's violin playing and noises from the studio, with some sounds left untreated and others modified electronically. The violinist and tape projectionist interact in various ways, rendering each performance unique. Here, Irvine Arditti delivers a brilliant and loving hour-long performance, incorporating all but one minute of the prerecorded tape. Though Gidon Kremer is the work's dedicatee, he uses only 39 minutes of the piece for his Deutsche Grammophon recording. If you must choose only one version, go for Arditti's Montaigne rendering. --Robert Reigle

Customer Reviews:

Not entirely Nonoesque,the processed violin sounds like flys.......1999-04-08

Nono's final creative period was like beginning again. At the Experimentalstudio-H.Strobel in Freiburg he had retreated from the concert hall for an intense engagement with sound. He became a master craftsman at live electronics, a realm few would touch. In this piece Nono worked with the remarkable violinist Gidon Kremer. Kremer had pre-recorded Nono's musical ideas, and these were soft,delicate yet ugly sounding ideas inhabiting the extreme registers of the violin,much playing at the bridge, a nasal-like sound, attacked double-stops. Nono thought of many voices for this work, "Madrigals" he called it The premise here is straight-forward, a dialogue between a live violinist,and a technician who manipulates the prerecorded materials. I found this piece within Nono's final oeurve weak and uninspired. The prerecorded material doesn't have the haunted,ethereal, otherwordly qualities as we fine quite powerfully in his other music"Guai ai gelidi mostri" for example. The violinist materials are placed on six different music stands with 8 speakers on the audiences right and left, 4 on each side. The violinist freely chooses which stand he will play from. Here Irving Arditti does all the right things, plays all the right notes, reveals his formidable extended technique, but the musical edifice doesn't amount to much. I can't help hearing (forgive me Luigi) mosquitoes and Hollywood-like processed strings.

Luigi Nono: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura

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Luigi Nono: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura

Manufacturer: Disques Montaigne
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000DETDK
Release Date: 2000-01-01

Average customer rating:

An intricate inner life of musical texture
An intricate inner life of musical texture

Luigi Nono: La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura

Manufacturer: Disques Montaigne
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004WKJI
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Customer Reviews:

An intricate inner life of musical texture.......2002-06-04

La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura (1988-89) is for 8-track tape mostly containing diverse pre-recorded and manipulated violin sounds (played by Arditti, manipulated by Nono), and a solo violin part. The solo violin interacts with the tape, yet to a certain extent it is up to the discretion of the performer at which moments the solo violin involves in an interaction with the tape. The violin sounds from the tape often sound as if coming from another world, due to their electronic manipulation.

The music is for a large part very or quite soft (not surprising for late Nono), and the CD booklet suggests that this is among the most radical extensions by Nono of what began with the string quartet "Stille - An Diotima" from 1980. The quietness though is often deceiving: there are quite a few rather quiet passages that are actually loudly played but reproduced on a soft level.

Even though the music often is quiet (yet see above) it is mostly extremely dense: the diverse layers on the tape collaborate in a very complex manner to give a total texture that has a very intricate inner life (also due to the manipulations of sound) - and a fascinating one at that!

This is among the most extreme examples of textural music - the processes in the music almost may be experienced as changes *within* one *single* sound or soundscape - like also in some late Stockhausen, for example the Electronic Music from Friday from Light or the Helicopter-string quartet (even though a lot of other late Stockhausen is not like that).

Weirdly enough, this often quiet music that others may superficially find "boring" can give you, because of its riveting inner complexity that is so immensely captivating, an incredible adrenaline rush of excitement that makes you just want to listen over and over again. This is a fantastic masterpiece of extraordinary inner passion, artistic weight and importance, created with apparently sublime confidence and authority. And imagination! Recommended in the strongest terms.

Your stereo better should be very good to allow to hear into all the inner nuances. Because of the huge dynamic range of the music I recommend setting the listening level quite loud, such that the loudest passages (of the solo violin) are very present but just not to an annoying extent, and on the lower end the very quiet passages are still very quiet.

An intricate inner life of musical texture.......2002-05-10

Music Track: