Futurism (music)
Encyclopedia
Futurism
was a 20th century movement in art which encompassed painting
, sculpture
, poetry
, theatre
, music
, architecture
and gastronomy
. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
initiated the movement in his Manifesto of Futurism
, published in February 1909. Futurist music rejected tradition and introduced experimental sounds inspired by machinery. It influenced several 20th century composers.
joined the movement in 1910 and wrote the Manifesto of Futurist Musicians (1910), the Technical Manifesto of Futurist Music (1911) and The Destruction of Quadrature (Distruzione della quadratura), (1912). In The Manifesto of Futurist Musicians, Pratella appealed to the young, as had Marinetti, because only they could understand what he had to say. He boasted of the prize that he had won for his musical Futurist work, La Sina d’Vargöun, and the success of its first performance at the Teatro Communale at Bologna
in December 1909, which placed him in a position to judge the musical scene. According to Pratella, Italian music was inferior to music abroad. He praised the "sublime genius" of Wagner and saw some value in the work of Richard Strauss
, Debussy, Elgar, Mussorgsky
, Glazunov
and Sibelius. By contrast, the Italian symphony
was dominated by opera
in an "absurd and anti-musical form". The conservatories encouraged backwardness and mediocrity. The publishers perpetuated mediocrity and the domination of music by the "rickety and vulgar" operas of Puccini and Umberto Giordano
. The only Italian Pratella could praise was his teacher Pietro Mascagni
, because he had rebelled against the publishers and attempted innovation in opera, but even Mascagni was too traditional for Pratella's tastes.
In the face of this mediocrity and conservatism, Pratella unfurled "the red flag of Futurism, calling to its flaming symbol such young composers as have hearts to love and fight, minds to conceive, and brows free of cowardice".
His musical programme was:
(1885-1947) was an Italian painter and self-taught musician. In 1913 he wrote The Art of Noises
,
which is considered to be one of the most important and influential texts in 20th century musical aesthetics. Russolo and his brother Antonio
used instruments they called "intonarumori", which were acoustic
noise
generators that permitted the performer to create and control the dynamics
and pitch
of several different types of noises. The Art of Noises classified "noise-sound" into six groups:
Russolo and Marinetti gave the first concert of Futurist music, complete with intonarumori, in April 1914 (causing a riot). The program comprised four "networks of noises" with the following titles:
, Honegger imitated the sound of a steam locomotive. There are also Futurist elements in Prokofiev's The Steel Step.
Most notable in this respect, however, is George Antheil
. Embraced by Dadaists, Futurists and modernists, Antheil expressed in music the artistic radicalism of the 1920s. His fascination with machinery is evident in his Airplane Sonata, Death of the Machines, and the 30-minute Ballet mécanique
. The Ballet mécanique was originally intended to accompany an experimental film by Fernand Léger
, but the musical score is twice the length of the film and now stands alone. The score calls for a percussion ensemble consisting of three xylophones, four bass drums, a tam-tam, three airplane propellers, seven electric bells, a siren, two "live pianists", and sixteen synchronized player pianos. Antheil's piece was the first to synchronize machines with human players and to exploit the difference between what machines and humans can play.
Russian
Futurist composers included Mikhail Gnesin
, Alexander Goedicke
, Geog Kirkor (1910-1980), Julian Krein (1913- 1996), and Alexander Mosolov
.
.
The tracks are:
Numerous recordings of Italian and Russian Futurist music have been made by Daniele Lombardi.
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
was a 20th century movement in art which encompassed painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and gastronomy
Gastronomy
Gastronomy is the art or science of food eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine...
. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet and editor, the founder of the Futurist movement, and a fascist ideologue.-Childhood and adolescence:...
initiated the movement in his Manifesto of Futurism
Futurist Manifesto
The Futurist Manifesto, written by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, was published in the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dell'Emilia in Bologna on 5 February 1909, then in French as "Manifeste du futurisme" in the newspaper Le Figaro on 20 February 1909...
, published in February 1909. Futurist music rejected tradition and introduced experimental sounds inspired by machinery. It influenced several 20th century composers.
Pratella's Manifesto of Futurist Musicians
The musician Francesco Balilla PratellaFrancesco Balilla Pratella
Franceso Balilla Pratella was an Italian composer and musicologist.-Life and work:Pratella studied at the Pesaro Conservatory where he was a pupil of Pietro Mascagni....
joined the movement in 1910 and wrote the Manifesto of Futurist Musicians (1910), the Technical Manifesto of Futurist Music (1911) and The Destruction of Quadrature (Distruzione della quadratura), (1912). In The Manifesto of Futurist Musicians, Pratella appealed to the young, as had Marinetti, because only they could understand what he had to say. He boasted of the prize that he had won for his musical Futurist work, La Sina d’Vargöun, and the success of its first performance at the Teatro Communale at Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
in December 1909, which placed him in a position to judge the musical scene. According to Pratella, Italian music was inferior to music abroad. He praised the "sublime genius" of Wagner and saw some value in the work of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, Debussy, Elgar, Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky can refer to:*The Mussorgsky family of Russian nobility;*Modest Mussorgsky, a Russian composer belonging to that family.*Mussorgsky , a 1950 Soviet film about the composer...
, Glazunov
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...
and Sibelius. By contrast, the Italian symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
was dominated by opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in an "absurd and anti-musical form". The conservatories encouraged backwardness and mediocrity. The publishers perpetuated mediocrity and the domination of music by the "rickety and vulgar" operas of Puccini and Umberto Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
. The only Italian Pratella could praise was his teacher Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music...
, because he had rebelled against the publishers and attempted innovation in opera, but even Mascagni was too traditional for Pratella's tastes.
In the face of this mediocrity and conservatism, Pratella unfurled "the red flag of Futurism, calling to its flaming symbol such young composers as have hearts to love and fight, minds to conceive, and brows free of cowardice".
His musical programme was:
- for the young to keep away from conservatories and to study independently;
- the founding of a musical review, to be independent of academics and critics;
- abstention from any competition that was not completely open;
- liberation from the past and from "well-made" music;
- for the domination of singers to end, so that they became like any other member of the orchestra;
- for opera composers to write their own librettoLibrettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
s, which were to be in free verseFree verseFree verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
; - to end all period settings, ballads, "nauseating NeapolitanNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
songs and sacred music"; and - to promote new work in preference to old.
Russolo and the intonarumori
Luigi RussoloLuigi Russolo
Luigi Russolo was an Italian Futurist painter and composer, and the author of the manifesto The Art of Noises . He is often regarded as one of the first noise music experimental composers with his performances of "noise concerts" in 1913-14 and then again after World War I, notably in Paris in 1921...
(1885-1947) was an Italian painter and self-taught musician. In 1913 he wrote The Art of Noises
The Art of Noises
The Art of Noises is a Futurist manifesto, written by Luigi Russolo in a 1913 letter to friend and Futurist composer Francesco Balilla Pratella...
,
which is considered to be one of the most important and influential texts in 20th century musical aesthetics. Russolo and his brother Antonio
Antonio Russolo
Antonio Russolo was an Italian Futurist composer, brother of the more famous Futurist composer and theorist Luigi Russolo. The 78 rpm record made by him in 1921 is the only surviving sound recording that features the original intonarumori...
used instruments they called "intonarumori", which were acoustic
Musical acoustics
Musical acoustics or music acoustics is the branch of acoustics concerned with researching and describing the physics of music – how sounds employed as music work...
noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
generators that permitted the performer to create and control the dynamics
Dynamics (music)
In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...
and pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
of several different types of noises. The Art of Noises classified "noise-sound" into six groups:
- Roars, Thunderings, Explosions, Hissing roars, Bangs, Booms
- Whistling, Hissing, Puffing
- Whispers, Murmurs, Mumbling, Muttering, Gurgling
- Screeching, Creaking, Rustling, Humming, Crackling, Rubbing
- Noises obtained by beating on metals, woods, skins, stones, pottery, etc.
- Voices of animals and people, Shouts, Screams, Shrieks, Wails, Hoots, Howls, Death rattles, Sobs
Russolo and Marinetti gave the first concert of Futurist music, complete with intonarumori, in April 1914 (causing a riot). The program comprised four "networks of noises" with the following titles:
- Awakening of Capital.
- Meeting of cars and aeroplanes
- Dining on the terrace of the Casino and
- Skirmish in the oasis.
Composers influenced by Futurism
Futurism was one of several 20th century movements in art music that paid homage to, included or imitated machines. Feruccio Busoni has been seen as anticipating some Futurist ideas, though he remained wedded to tradition. Russolo's intonarumori influenced Stravinsky, Honegger, Antheil, and Edgar Varèse. In Pacific 231Pacific 231
Pacific 231 is an orchestral work by Arthur Honegger, written in 1923. It is one of his most frequently performed works today.The popular interpretation of the piece is that it depicts a steam locomotive, an interpretation that is supported by the title of the piece. Honegger, however, insisted...
, Honegger imitated the sound of a steam locomotive. There are also Futurist elements in Prokofiev's The Steel Step.
Most notable in this respect, however, is George Antheil
George Antheil
George Antheil was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author and inventor. A self-described "Bad Boy of Music", his modernist compositions amazed and appalled listeners in Europe and the US during the 1920s with their cacophonous celebration of mechanical devices.Returning permanently to...
. Embraced by Dadaists, Futurists and modernists, Antheil expressed in music the artistic radicalism of the 1920s. His fascination with machinery is evident in his Airplane Sonata, Death of the Machines, and the 30-minute Ballet mécanique
Ballet mécanique
Ballet Mécanique was a project by the American composer George Antheil and the filmmaker/artists Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy. Although the film was intended to use Antheil's score as a soundtrack, the two parts were not brought together until the 1990s. As a composition, Ballet Mécanique is...
. The Ballet mécanique was originally intended to accompany an experimental film by Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
, but the musical score is twice the length of the film and now stands alone. The score calls for a percussion ensemble consisting of three xylophones, four bass drums, a tam-tam, three airplane propellers, seven electric bells, a siren, two "live pianists", and sixteen synchronized player pianos. Antheil's piece was the first to synchronize machines with human players and to exploit the difference between what machines and humans can play.
Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
Futurist composers included Mikhail Gnesin
Mikhail Gnesin
Mikhail Fabianovich Gnesin was a Russian Jewish composer and teacher.-Life:Gnesin was born in Rostov-on-Don and came from a musical family. His sisters founded the Gnessin State Musical College , in Moscow in 1895. He studied at the St...
, Alexander Goedicke
Alexander Goedicke
Alexander Fyodorovich Goedicke was a Russian composer and pianist.Goedicke was a professor at Moscow Conservatory. With no formal training in composition, he studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory with Galli, Pavel Pabst and Vasily Safonov. Goedicke won the Anton Rubinstein Competition in 1900...
, Geog Kirkor (1910-1980), Julian Krein (1913- 1996), and Alexander Mosolov
Alexander Mosolov
Alexander Vasilyevich MosolovMosolov's name is transliterated variously and inconsistently between sources. Alternative spellings of Alexander include Alexandr, Aleksandr, Aleksander, and Alexandre; variations on Mosolov include Mossolov and Mossolow...
.
Recordings
A collection of Futurist music and spoken word from the period 1909-1935 has been recorded on a CD, Musica Futurista: The Art of Noises. As well as period recordings, including free-verse readings by Marinetti and Russolo's intonarumori, the CD includes contemporary performances by Daniele Lombardi of other key Futurist piano works. Daniele Lombardi, both performer and scholar of avantgarde music, was also the editor of the first LP release of this collection. The material has been digitally remastered and includes a booklet with rare images and sleeve notes by James HaywardJames Hayward
James Hayward is the pseudonym of James Nice , English writer on military and modern art history. Educated at the University of Glasgow prior to working in publishing and as a solicitor...
.
The tracks are:
- "Definizione Di Futurismo" - Filippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet and editor, the founder of the Futurist movement, and a fascist ideologue.-Childhood and adolescence:...
- 2:56 - "La Guerra : L'aspettazione" - Francesco Balilla PratellaFrancesco Balilla PratellaFranceso Balilla Pratella was an Italian composer and musicologist.-Life and work:Pratella studied at the Pesaro Conservatory where he was a pupil of Pietro Mascagni....
- 2:26 - "La Guerra : La Battaglia" - Francesco Balilla PratellaFrancesco Balilla PratellaFranceso Balilla Pratella was an Italian composer and musicologist.-Life and work:Pratella studied at the Pesaro Conservatory where he was a pupil of Pietro Mascagni....
- 2:55 - "La Guerra : La Vittoria" - Francesco Balilla PratellaFrancesco Balilla PratellaFranceso Balilla Pratella was an Italian composer and musicologist.-Life and work:Pratella studied at the Pesaro Conservatory where he was a pupil of Pietro Mascagni....
- 3:16 - "La Battaglia Di Adrianopoli" - Filippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet and editor, the founder of the Futurist movement, and a fascist ideologue.-Childhood and adolescence:...
- 3:03 - "Risveglio Di Una Citta" - Luigi RussoloLuigi RussoloLuigi Russolo was an Italian Futurist painter and composer, and the author of the manifesto The Art of Noises . He is often regarded as one of the first noise music experimental composers with his performances of "noise concerts" in 1913-14 and then again after World War I, notably in Paris in 1921...
- 0:03 - "Intonarumori : Gorgogliatore (Gurgler)" - Luigi RussoloLuigi RussoloLuigi Russolo was an Italian Futurist painter and composer, and the author of the manifesto The Art of Noises . He is often regarded as one of the first noise music experimental composers with his performances of "noise concerts" in 1913-14 and then again after World War I, notably in Paris in 1921...
- 1:19 - "Intonarumori : Ronzatore (Buzzer)" - Luigi RussoloLuigi RussoloLuigi Russolo was an Italian Futurist painter and composer, and the author of the manifesto The Art of Noises . He is often regarded as one of the first noise music experimental composers with his performances of "noise concerts" in 1913-14 and then again after World War I, notably in Paris in 1921...
- 1:04 - "Intonarumori : Ululatore (Hooter)" - Luigi RussoloLuigi RussoloLuigi Russolo was an Italian Futurist painter and composer, and the author of the manifesto The Art of Noises . He is often regarded as one of the first noise music experimental composers with his performances of "noise concerts" in 1913-14 and then again after World War I, notably in Paris in 1921...
- 1:42 - "Intonarumori : Crepitatore (Crackler)" - Luigi RussoloLuigi RussoloLuigi Russolo was an Italian Futurist painter and composer, and the author of the manifesto The Art of Noises . He is often regarded as one of the first noise music experimental composers with his performances of "noise concerts" in 1913-14 and then again after World War I, notably in Paris in 1921...
- 1:06 - "Corale" - Antonio RussoloAntonio RussoloAntonio Russolo was an Italian Futurist composer, brother of the more famous Futurist composer and theorist Luigi Russolo. The 78 rpm record made by him in 1921 is the only surviving sound recording that features the original intonarumori...
- 1:57 - "Serenata" - Antonio RussoloAntonio RussoloAntonio Russolo was an Italian Futurist composer, brother of the more famous Futurist composer and theorist Luigi Russolo. The 78 rpm record made by him in 1921 is the only surviving sound recording that features the original intonarumori...
- 2:34 - "Sintesi Musicali Futuristiche" - Aldo Giuntini and Filippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet and editor, the founder of the Futurist movement, and a fascist ideologue.-Childhood and adolescence:...
- 6:51 - "The India Rubber Man (Foxtrot)" - Aldo Giuntini - 2:00
- "Aeroduello (Dinamosintesi)" - Luigi Grandi - 2:59
- "Two Preludes From Gli Stati D'animo" - Silvio Mix - 2:44
- "Profilo Sintetico - Musicale Di Marinetti" - Silvio Mix - 1:12
- "Prelude To Prigionieri" - Franco CasavolaFranco CasavolaFranco Casavola was a Futurist composer and theorist.-Futurist movement:In a letter dated 1 October 1922, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti wrote to the composer, theorist and writer Franco Casavola:...
- 2:49 - "Danza Della Scimmie" - Franco CasavolaFranco CasavolaFranco Casavola was a Futurist composer and theorist.-Futurist movement:In a letter dated 1 October 1922, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti wrote to the composer, theorist and writer Franco Casavola:...
- 2:28 - "Pupazzetti" - Alfredo CasellaAlfredo CasellaAlfredo Casella was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor.- Life and career :Casella was born in Turin; his family included many musicians; his grandfather, a friend of Paganini's, was first cello in the San Carlo Theatre in Lisbon and eventually was soloist in the Royal Chapel in Turin...
- 6:56 - "Parole In Liberta" - Filippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet and editor, the founder of the Futurist movement, and a fascist ideologue.-Childhood and adolescence:...
- 3:39 - "Futurist Caprice" - Matty MalneckMatty MalneckMatty Malneck was an American jazz violinist, violist and songwriter.Malneck's first professional gigs as a violinist began when he was age 16. He worked with Paul Whiteman from 1926 to 1937, and also recorded in the same period with Frank Signorelli, Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, and...
and Frank SignorelliFrank SignorelliFrank Signorelli was an US jazz pianist of the 1920s. He was a founder member of the Original Memphis Five in 1917, then joined the Original Dixieland Jazz Band briefly in 1921. In 1927 he played in Adrian Rollini's New York ensemble, and subsequently worked with Eddie Lang, Bix Beiderbecke, Matty...
- 3:48 - "Cinque Sintesi Radiofoniche" - Filippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso MarinettiFilippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet and editor, the founder of the Futurist movement, and a fascist ideologue.-Childhood and adolescence:...
- 13:08
Numerous recordings of Italian and Russian Futurist music have been made by Daniele Lombardi.
Further reading
- Daniele Lombardi. 1996. "Il suono veloce. Futurismo e futurismi in musica". Milano: Ricordi-LIM.
- Dennis, Flora, and Jonathan Powell. 2001. "Futurism". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley SadieStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
and John TyrrellJohn Tyrrell (professor of music)John Tyrrell was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1942. He studied at the universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Brno. In 2000 he was appointed Research Professor at Cardiff University....
. London: Macmillan Publishers.