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“Italian Modern Composers”
28 April 2016, 7.30pm
On the occasion of the festival Goodbye Dolce Vita:
ITALIAN MODERN COMPOSERS: SCARLATO - VERLINGIERI - CASELLI - RAVERA MARCONI - MORGANTINI - TURI Presentation: Dimitri Scarlato
in conversation with: Prof. Jonathan Cole
Gabriele Caselli: Sei cantiche su trillo Amazzonico (for solo cello) - UK premiere
Marco Morgantini: Sequor (for solo violin) - UK premiere
Domenico Turi: Tre piccoli pezzi (for violin and piano) - UK premiere
Gianluca Verlingieri: imaginActions (for solo cello)
Laura Marconi: Birds of Paradise (for violin and cello) - World premiere
Dimitri Scarlato: The Migrant’s Tale (for solo cello) - World premiere
Alessandra Ravera: Corde in canto (for violin and cello) - UK premiere
Cello: Rohan de Saram
Violin: Mandhira de Saram Dimitri Scarlato:
Dimitri Scarlato is a Composer and Conductor born and bred in Rome where he studied Composition, Piano
and Conducting at the Conservatorio di Musica S.Cecilia. In 2004 he moved to London to attend an MMus
in Composition at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and in 2014 he completed a DMus in Composition
at the Royal College of Music, which in 2010 selected him as a RCM Rising Star.
His music has been performed in several venues across Europe and Accademia Filarmonica Romana
(Italian institution which regularly worked with Stravinsky) premiered his opera Fadwa in May 2013 at Teatro
Olimpico, Rome. In 2011 Dimitri has been selected at VOX3 - Composing for Voice at the Royal Opera
House of London, and at the Berlinale Talent Campus 2011 as a film composer. In this 2014 he has been
the music/conducting coach for sir Michael Caine on the new Sorrentino’s film Youth (premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival and released in the UK 2016). In 2015 he won the 3rd Composition Competition at the
International Spring Orchestra Festival, with his piece Caduceo, written for two pianos. In the same year he
conducted the premieres of his two new works at the Barbican Hall, during the inaugural concert of MiSST
(trust which supports music education in schools, funded by sir Andrew Llyod Webber). Last November
Nuova Consonanza (leading association which promotes contemporary music in Rome) premiered his last
opera The Christmas Truce at Teatro Palladium in Rome.
His wide curiosity draws him to work also as composer/sound designer for films, documentaries and theatre,
leading him to collaborate with upcoming British, Italian and Tunisian directors on several projects.
Dimitri is dedicated to music education too, working as Composer in Residence for MiSST and lecturing
History of Film Music at the RCM. He is currently completing the soundtrack for the Tunisian film Thala my
love, and writing a new piece commissioned for the festival Ex Novo Musica 2016, which will be held next
autumn at Teatro la Fenice in Venice.
Jonathan Cole
Since winning the Royal Philharmonic Composition Prize in 1999 Jonathan Cole has built up a continuing
relationship with the London Sinfonietta who have premiered three of his pieces, toured Cole’s work in
Sweden and Switzerland and have recorded “Testament” with conductor Oliver Knussen. Cole’s “Testament”
and “Ouroboros II” were nominated for RPS awards. In 2003 George Benjamin chose Cole to be the recipient
of a commission from the London Symphony Orchestra as part of the By George! Festival at the Barbican in
London and in 2006 Mark Anthony Turnage programmed “Temporale Distante” as part of a festival with the
BBC Philharmonic in Manchester.
Other ensembles and orchestras to programme and commission Cole include the Asko Ensemble, BBC
Singers, Chamber Domaine, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Composer’s Ensemble, Icebreaker, Italian Radio
Orchestra (Turin), London Brass, Nash Ensemble, Ojai Festival Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Soyulla
Trio and Tokyo Sinfonietta. Cole’s works have been featured at many festivals including Aldeburgh, Basle,
Bath, Brighton, Britten (Aldeburgh), Cheltenham, Chicago Music Now!, Hoxton, Klara (Brussels), Musica Nova
(Strasbourg), Music Past and Present, Music for Today (South Bank), Music Today 21 (Tokyo), Oxford, Ojai
(USA), Spitalfields and in 1999, 2000 and 2002 his music was performed as part of the ‘State of the Nation’
Festival in London’s South Bank Centre.
Many of his works have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as well as in Belgium, Japan, Sweden and USA
and recordings of his pieces include Caught (Composer’s Ensemble on NMC) and Testament (London
Sinfonietta). Jonathan Cole is a professor of composition at the Royal College of Music and has taught at
King’s College, London and the Purcell School. His pieces are published exclusively by G.Ricordi and he has
written educational works for the ABRSM and the GSMD.
Rohan de Saram
Rohan de Saram has become well known both for his advocacy of contemporary music and for his nearly
three decades of service in the Arditti Quartet, itself a bastion for the performance and championing of new
music. While de Saram has, since the 1960s, been active in performing contemporary music, he has hardly
neglected more traditional composers, having developed a remarkably vast and eclectic repertoire. De Saram
has had more than 40 works dedicated to him, works he has generally premiered. Among the many works
that would be dedicated to him was the 2002 Berio Sequenza XIV, which de Saram premiered and recorded
for Deutsche Grammophon.
Born in England to Sri Lankan parents, Rohan de Saram developed proficiency on the cello in his early
childhood and at the age of 11 he was invited to study in Italy with Gaspar Cassadó. As a recipient of the
Guilhermina Suggia Award he was able to have later studies with Pablo Casals. After his debut at Carnegie
Hall, his international career brought him back to London, where he soon began teaching at the Trinity College
of Music. In 1977 de Saram joined the Arditti Quartet, remaining a member until 2005. As a member of the
Arditti Quartet, de Saram made well over 30 recordings, and about that many as a soloist and freelance
player. He is continuing to teach and perform as a soloist, regularly appearing at the Darmstadt Summer
School; New Music Festival in Ruemlingen, Switzerland; and in major venues across Europe, the Americas,
and Asia.
Mandhira de Saram
Mandhira is a versatile violinist performing as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral violinist in the UK
and abroad. She graduated with a 1st class honours from the University of Oxford achieving a high 1st in
performance and winning the Worcester College Arts Prize for the highest result in an arts subject. She is
also a founding member and leader of the Ligeti Quartet, a young string quartet which is quickly establishing
a reputation as a leading exponent of contemporary music. International solo and chamber music tours have
taken her around Europe as well as the USA, India, China and her country of origin, Sri Lanka. In the UK she
has performed in prestigious London venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and Cadogan Hall.
Other UK venues include St George’s Bristol, the Sheldonian Theatre, Jacqueline du Pre Music Building and
Holywell Music Rooms in Oxford. Her repertoire is varied consisting of standard classical works as well as
new and experimental projects often involving collaborations with contemporary composers, sound artists
and musicians from a variety of genres outside classical music. With her quartet she has worked with Neil Hanon (The Divine Comedy), Wadada Leo Smith, Shabaka Hutchings Chris Helme , Laura Jurd, Kerry Andrew
and, following a tour to China and Hong Kong, has collaborated with leading Hong Kong DJ Choi Sai Ho
and Japanese sound artist mamoru. Mandhira was born in London. After completing her primary education
in Sri Lanka, she was awarded a music scholarship to North London Collegiate School where she completed
her secondary education. She was also a Leverhulme Scholar at the Junior Royal Academy of Music where
she performed both as a violinist and pianist, also taking classes in composition and conducting. Her violin
teachers have included Igor Petrushevsky, Howard Davis and Levon Chilingirian.
Caselli - Sei cantiche su trillo Amazzonico
“A bird doesn’t sing because has an answer, but because it has a song” (old Chinese saying).
The beautiful song of the Musician wren (Cyphorhinus Aradus), native of the Amazon Rainforest, is applied as
theme and developed in six carols that exploit various compositional techniques. It is a sort of journey through
variations, where the theme isn’t created by the man but by the nature.
Gabriele Caselli was born in Pisa and Graduated in Piano and Composition at the “Luigi Boccherini” Musical
Institute in Lucca. He attended several masterclasses, including one with Girolamo Deraco (composer in
residence at the Montegral Academy), and one with Louis Bacalov in Film Music, at the prestigious Chigiana
Academy in Siena (Italy). He is currently studying with Alberto E. Colla, completing his Postgraduate Diploma
at the Canepa” Musical Institute of Sassari. Gabriele also composes music for films, amongst them 4 feature
films produced by Uwe Boll and Extreme Video, which are worldwide distributed. He is a member of the
“Cluster-European Composers” Association in Lucca (Italy).
Morgantini - Sequor
The truths are not within the circumference of a circle whose centre is the man.
The truth will stand out in inaccessible places: man wanders along the twists and turns of a path that reveals,
occults, and in the end, equally, shows or hides.
The truths converge on one truth, but the paths are interrupted.
Marco Morgantini is a composer and a pianist. He started playing piano at a very young age, graduating (with
honours) at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. He then graduated (with honours) in Chamber Music,
Music Education and Composition at the same Conservatory. He Won the First Prize at the International Guitar
Petrassi with the composition “ Sol Niger “.
He attended to workshops held by Luis De Pablo, Beat Furrer, Mark Andre and attended the Masters in
Composition at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Ivan Fedele. His compositions have been
performed by prestigious ensembles such as the PMCE at the Parco della Musica in Rome. More than in
these personal details, he recognises himself in his works.
Turi - Tre piccoli pezzi
Three aphorisms. Three small thoughts suspended in time. Three moments to immerse into sound and
yourself.
Born in the Italian region of Apulia, Domenico Turi is composer and pianist who studied music at the Santa
Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. He obtained his degree in Piano performance studying with Riccardo Marini,
and in Composition studying with Matteo D’Amico. He also attended several composition master classes
taught by Scodanibbio, Stroppa, Hosokawa, Scurti, Battistelli and Sciarrino. Turi has been commissioned
by Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Accademia Filarmonica Romana in Rome, Amici della Musica di Foligno,
Camerata Italica and by Nuova Consonanza for their 49th and 50th festival of contemporary classic music in
Rome. His compositions have been performed at various festivals and concerts in Italy and abroad: Germany,
Great Britain, Japan, Finland, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Netherlands, Hungary, China, Switzerland, Romania
and Lithuania. Turi has also written music for stage plays, soundtracks for short films and documentaries by
directors such as Idalberto Fei, Elisa Rocca, Danilo Gattai, Oriana Marelli, Eros Achiardi, Emiliano Crialesi and
Wilson Alvarenga. His works are published by Edizioni Musicali Sconfinarte.
Verlingieri - ImaginActions (2008-2016)
Similarly to what happened with the mediaeval contrafacta, at the beginning of the last century an ancient
French folk tune of the XVII century, originating from Picardy, was matched with a sacred text from the IV
century, which incipit of the English version says: “Let all mortal flesh keep silent”. I was fascinated by the
psalmodic melodic profile of that tune, in which a repercussion (a pitch repeated for a long time and prevalent
on other pitches) is surrounded and enriched by fluctuations generated by its upper and lower turning notes.
Hence, in ImaginActions, I considered the open strings of the instrument as centres of gravity around which
the fragments of the folk tune are progressively unravelling, generating a continuous dialectic between the
attempts of a lyrical outlet of the plain chant and the irruptions of mainly material gestures, echoing stylised
rhythmical patterns of the Central African folk repertoire, and “Rock-distorted” sonorities. The piece has been
composed in memoriam György Ligeti.
Gianluca Verlingieri has gained international consideration thanks to performances, commissions and projects
held at major venues such as INA-GRM (Paris), Italian Academy at Columbia University (New York), Berlin
Staatsoper, Parco della Musica (Rome), Florence Opera at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Aix en Provence
Festival and numerous other venues in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, England, Denmark, Belgium, Greece,
Mexico, USA, New Zealand and Australia. Verlingieri’s compositions have been broadcasted by Radio France,
which spoke of “virtuosité” and “talent exceptionnelle”, and released on CD by EMA Records, Limen Music,
BIS Records and other labels. Several works of Verlingieri have been awarded in numerous competitions and
call for scores in Europe and North America, and got honors from public and private institutions, included
Cambridge University Press. Active as a researcher, Verlingieri classified Luciano Berio’s private sound
archive at Centro Tempo Reale (Florence), now hosted at Paul Sacher Stiftung (Basel). He also researched
on Mauricio Kagel’s musical theater, being personally encouraged by him, and on John Cage’s tape music in
collaboration with the archive of Milan’s Studio di Fonologia RAI and Edition Peters.
Marconi - Birds of Paradise
Birds of Paradise it’s a dreamlike journey across the world of birds of Paradise, a mystic place between legend
and reality. The first movement, Dhyana – melodia automatica, is a sort of prelude that leads the listener to a
state of trance in order to make him perceiving the first vision: Visione 1: Alkonost (one amongst the several
legendary names of birds of Paradise). In Duetto degli amanti and Danza rituale we can observe the couple’s
love rituals: here the sounds and rhythms recalls the particular signals of courtship of the two birds. The last
movement, Visione 2: ceneri, portrays a destruction and at the same time a new birth of the melody of the
first vision (quotation from Deux beaux oiseaux du Parais by M. Ravel): it is known indeed that, just like the
phoenix, birds of Paradise can reborn from their own ashes.
Laura Marconi started her musical studies with pianist M.Campajola, but she showed a deep interest towards
composition since a very early age. After having completed her high school studies, she decides to enrol at
the “G. Verdi” Conservatory of Turin to study composition, where she is now finishing her masters degree. She
also studies choral conducting with M° D. Tabbia. Her passion to develop her musical knowledge led her to
attend to several masterclasses in piano, composition and conducting: in Manchester with M° W. Godfree, in
N.Y.C. (Columbia University) with M° F. Lévy, in Sermoneta (Italy) with M° A. Solbiati, in Alessandria (Italy) with
M° A. Colla, in Turin with M° L. Gorli amongst others. In 2014 she won the First Prize and the Inaudita Musica
Prize at the International Composition Competition of Festival Fiati in Novara (Italy). In 2015 the Conservatory of
Turin commissioned hera piece for large ensemble on a project dedicated to C. Debussy’s Sonatas. In 2016
she was selected as a finalist at the Areon Flutes International Composition Competition (California). Her music
has been performed in Italy and across Europe.
Scarlato: The Migrant’s Tale
This composition is trying to portray the struggle, dreams and hopes of a migrant, who is escaping hunger,
war and poverty in search of a better life. A story that is heard too frequently in these current days.
This piece is dedicated to Rohan De Saram.
Ravera - Corde di Canto
The fundamental aspect of the piece is the dramatization of musical figures. The two instruments, both
protagonists, lead a dialectical path animated by lyrical and rhythmic tension, dialogues, conflicts and
contrasts of timbre that create a “theatre of musical gestures”. The score is the stage of this “theatre”.
Alessandra Ravera graduated with honors in Composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome.
She continued her studies completing first the Biennio Specialistico, then the Postgraduate Course at the
prestigious Santa Cecilia National Academy (Rome). Corghi and Fedele have been her composition tutors
during her postgraduate studies. She also attended the highly respected Postgraduate Course at the Chigiana
Academy. Alessandra was also taught by Dusapin and Sciarrino in composition master classes held at the
French Academy in Rome. She also studied piano, orchestration for woodwind and brass ensemble and
conducting at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory. Her compositions have been performed in several festivals and
concert seasons. Orchestra Regionale della Toscana, the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali
Orchestra of Milan, I Solisti Veneti, Algorithm Ensemble, New Made Ensemble, are some of the ensembles
which performed her music. Conductors such as Renzetti, Angius, Scimone and Rustioni have conducted
her music. She currently teaches Elements of Composition and Analysis of Compositional Forms at the
Conservatory of Music “Carlo Gesualdo” in Potenza (Italy). Her works are published by Edizioni Musicali
Sconfinarte and Rugginenti Editore (Milan).
Notes by the composers and S. Passamonte