Venice Music Biennale seeking young composers for residency program

By Marcello Filotei

In concert halls, there are sometimes those who find it a nuisance to read the concert program and notes of a symphonic poem by the likes of Franz Liszt or Richard Strauss before the conductor steps onto the podium to begin

Others want the lights in the hall turned off to concentrate, even if they are about to listen to a Lieder cycle in an unknown language for which the organizers have distributed a translation that cannot be read by anyone in the dark.

Then some go to the opera without knowing the plot of La Traviata and then complain because they don't understand the words. (Spoiler: when a main character coughs during the first act, she almost always dies of consumption in the third).

These listeners might be dismissed as incurably lazy, but in reality, whether they know it or not, they are making a very important aesthetic choice.

In practice, they are tackling one of the issues on which "philosophers and poets" (cf. Vecchia Zimarra from Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème) have toiled.

Words are not necessary

As explained much better and more precisely by Carl Dahlhaus, a great German musicologist who died in 1989, those who do not care about the text are practically saying that sound speaks for itself. Or rather, it does not speak, but it communicates.

In some way, they are appealing to what Wagner first defined in 1846 as "absolute music," pieces written independently of any possible extramusical use.

If we do not take into account the meaning of the words, because we do not understand them, then we focus on the sense that the music finds in itself, without "leaning on" any comprehensible language.

Certainly, when the text is there, there is usually a reason. And to ignore it means missing part of the fun. However, this does not detract from the fact that the issue remains open.

‘Absolute music’

Perhaps for this reason, the 2024 Venice Music Biennale will focus precisely on absolute music.

However, the artistic director, Lucia Ronchetti, does not intend to limit herself to proposing the sonic opinions of great masters recognized internationally.

Rather, she wants young people from all over the world to grapple with this theme.

She hopes to include young people from countries that do not benefit from easy and immediate access to information and announcements.

For this reason, Ms Ronchetti has launched a campaign to inform everyone that five composers and six performers under 30 years of age will be selected for a residency program to conduct research and produce new creations and performances.

The works will be premiered as part of the 68th International Festival of Contemporary Music of the Venice Biennale, titled “Absolute Music”, scheduled from 26 September to 10 October 2024.

The context is that of the Biennale College of Music, which pairs the authors of the selected projects with internationally renowned tutors.

Representing a unique opportunity for young people, anyone interested can participate by clicking on this link.