The Italian composer Luigi Nono (1924–1990) is referred to as one of the most central – and radical – composers of the last century. In 2024 Nono would have turned a hundred years old, and at the Grieg Academy in conjunction with the Bergen International Festival, the Holberg Week and the artistic research project Sounding Philosophy, we celebrate the centennial anniversary of Nono’s birth with a symposium and concerts around his work, thinking, philosophy and ongoing relevance in our time.

“Nono expands and enlarges even the most delicate sounds of the ensemble and uses live electronics almost like a magnifying glass to showcase what exists in this microscopic world” conductor and Professor for Composition at the Grieg Academy, Dániel Péter Biró explains. The works on the first program were created at SWR Experimentalstudio, which has worked for more than 50 years with music utilizing live electronics. Throughout the 1980s, Luigi Nono was a regular presence at this important studio, which has also been a workplace for composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez.

There will be an opening reception for symposium participants on June 1, 2024 at 19:30 in Gunnar Sævigs sal, Grieg Academy.

On June 2, 2024 in Gunnar Sævigs Sal at the Grieg Academy, an international symposium at the Grieg Academy featuring international scholars and composers will discuss the music and thinking of Luigi Nono and its influence on the next generation of composers and musicians.

Program for the Symposium In Nono`s Footsteps

June 1, 19:30 Symposium Opening and Reception; Studio A

Performance of Iran Lamento of Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf
Studio A, Grieg Academy
(Performance also at 20:15 and 20:45)

June 2, 9:30 – 18:00, Gunnar Sævigs sal

9:30: Welcome with coffee

Session 1:
Marion Hestholm, Moderator
10:00: Dániel Péter Biró, Grieg Academy: Introduction to the Work and Philosophy of Luigi Nono

10:15: Lydia Jeschke, SWR Experimentalstudio: Resonating the world – Luigi Nono’s Compositional Approach

11:00: Bjørnar Habbestad: Performing as a Mode of Creating

12:00: Lunch

Session 2:
Erik Håkon Halvorsen, moderator
12:30: Henrik Hellstenius, Norwegian Music Academy: Re-Composing Nono

13:15: Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf and Fojan Gharibnejad: On the composition “Iran-Lamento”

14:00: Marta Gentilucci, Cambridge University: Political Sound(s): Space/Text

14:45: Coffee Break

15:00: Responses to Nono in 2024. Erik Håkon Halvorsen, moderator
Round Table discussion with Dániel Péter Biró, Henrik Helstinius, Marta Gentilucci, Julia Constance Wiger-Nordås, Ida Grande Kaurin, Ljubov Katerli and James Layton.

15:30: Coffee Break

Studio A
16:00: Open rehearsal with Nono’s Post-praeludium per donau with Max Murray, tuba and the SWR Experimentalstudio.
Sergej Tchikov, moderator.

Additional concerts
In addition to the Symposium, there will be a concert at the Bergen University Aula on June 3, organized in collaboration with the Holberg week and the Bergen International Festival.
 

Immediately after the first concert with the works by Luigi Nono, four compositions created by the next generation of composers – Ljubov Katerli, Ida Grande Kaurin, James Layton and Julia Constance Wiger-Nordås – responding to the works by Nono, will be premiered in a second concert in the University Aula.These works will be followed by pieces by composers influenced by Nono such as Helmut Lachenmann, Salvatore Sciarrino, Henrik Hellstenius, Marta Gentilucci and Dániel Péter Biró.

The concerts will feature musicians from the chamber ensemble Cikada, SWR Experimentalstudio, tubist Max Murray, mezzo soprano Zsuza Zseni, flautist Bjørnar Habbestad, accordionist Sergej Tchirkov, clarinetist Adria Torres Amoros and pianist Jarle Lars Rotevatn from the Bit20 Ensemble.

The symposium and concerts are done in conjunction with and supported by the Bergen International Festival, the Holberg Week, the department of Fine Arts Music and Design, Cikada, the SWR Experimentalstudio, the artistic research project Sounding Philosophy supported by the Norwegain Artistic Research Program, nyMusikk Bergen and Bergen Kommune.