- qooalivi
- Oct 11
- 1 min read
It feels strange to attend a concert of art music with no musicians on stage. Just emptiness, loudspeakers, and sounds set free. Frequencies, abstract, without rhythm or melody. The same disorientation one might experience moving from a well-composed Raphael painting—the music we always hear made of harmony and melody—to a Pollock abstract, made of gestures and traces.
Even stranger is finding oneself listening to experimental electronic music from over 40 years ago. On Friday evening, October 10, 2025, at Milano's legendary Teatro Arsenale, four acousmatic works were diffused through the AUDIOR acousmonium, curated by Dante Tanzi. These pieces had all competed in the 1981 edition of the prestigious Prix Russolo, named after the Futurist musician who created the "intonarumori."
The program featured Riszard Szremeta's "Points" (Poland, 19'42", 1st prize), Maggi Payne's "Ling" (USA, 11'18", 2nd prize), Daniel Arfib's "Le Souffle de Dieux" (France, 10'54", 3rd prize), and Maria Luisa Bon's "Tarot" (Italy, 7'44"). As lights dimmed, sounds began spatializing through the specialized speaker array in semi-darkness. We listened, we didn't watch—rare in our era of hyper-spectacularization.
The hour-long journey through rises and falls, vortices and swirls, streaks and flashes, proved these weren't random noises. Speaking with others afterward, all agreed on the "beauty" or "superiority" of one work over the others—naturally, the 1981 first prize winner.
This retrospective concert was part of a two-day celebration organized by NoMus, Associazione Audior, MMT Creative Lab, Bruit de la neige, Società del Quartetto di Milano, AIMI, and MEDEG, with support from Regione Lombardia and Haute Savoie. info@nomusassociazione.org
