Review: "Random or Not Random" at the Milan Conservatory
A critical analysis of the electronic music evening featuring works by Tajè, Daniele, Baiocchi, and Giani. The review explores the intersection of autogenerated electronics, extended vocal techniques, and the dialectic between chance and composition.
Lorenzo Marranini
7/20/2011
Random or Not Random – Electronic Music at the Cloister Concerts
On July 19th, an evening dedicated to electronic music took place, distinguished by its original intent and the singularity of the compositions performed. The Concerti del Chiostro (Cloister Concerts) represent a key part of Milan’s institutional summer programming, born from a collaboration between the Milan Conservatory and Anteo Spazio Cinema.
The concert, held in the Sala Puccini, featured a diverse avant-garde program:
Daria Baiocchi, Piano Inside for piano and electronics
Simone Giani, Odyssey for electronics and organ
Romina Daniele, La Natura Assente for voice and electronics
Ruggero Tajè, Per Volontà e Per Caso for sensor guitar synth and autogenerated electronics.
The theme, "Random or Not Random," explored the relationship between construction and intuition—composition versus chance—mediated through electronic technology. This concept was epitomized in the second half of the program by the director of the event, Maestro Ruggero Tajè.
The first half opened with Simone Giani, an internationally active composer and DJ, who drew inspiration from Kubrick’s cinematic masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, creating evocative narrative atmospheres.
The program demonstrated a flexible and forward-thinking conception of electronic music in open dialogue with acoustic instruments. Daria Baiocchi’s Piano Inside utilized sound processing derived from recordings of objects interacting with the piano's soundboard, offering a poetic reflection on the "interiority" of musical nature.
Romina Daniele’s composition, La Natura Assente (Absent Nature), focused exclusively on the processed human voice paired with spoken and sung parts using extended vocal techniques. The underlying poetics addressed the contradictory relationship between man and nature through both philosophical and linguistic lenses.
The evening concluded with a technical discussion of the compositional methods, leaving an audience clearly surprised and satisfied by the originality of the works. [L. Marranini]
