Synopses & Reviews
and#147;Luigi Russolo is increasingly being recognized as an important figure in 20th century art and music, and his work deserves to be better understood. Chessaand#8217;s archival research and readings of esoteric or otherwise little-known texts are impressive, and he offers a convincing account of the influence of the occult on Russolo and the Futurists in general. This book alters our conception of Russolo, Futurism, and the early artistic avant-garde.and#8221;and#151;Christoph Cox, Hampshire College
and#147;This book is timely, and merits the attention of a wider audience. Luigi Russolo, futurista makes a compelling argument that radically revises our views on a major creative figure of the twentieth century. Luciano Chessa provides vast amounts of information on the ideas and trends that influenced the Futurists, and offers a wealth of insight and observations that point the way for further research on avant-garde music and art in the twentieth century.and#8221;and#151;Paul DeMarinis, Department of Art and Art History, Stanford University
Review
and#8220;The most comprehensive source of Russolo available in English.and#8221;
Review
"In the spirit of the project, a review of it could simply read (to paraphrase a portmanteau word made up by Futurist Giacomo Balla in 1920): Chessa splendidwavesintonednoiseswordsluminousssss!"
Review
“Reconciles Russolos artistic temperament, spiritual awakenings, and philosophical entanglements.” Performa Magazine
Review
and#8220;Luciano Chessa reconstructs Russoloand#8217;s life through ambitious archival research, uncovering . . . how the artistand#8217;s eccentric interests influenced his creative output.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Reconciles Russoloand#8217;s artistic temperament, spiritual awakenings, and philosophical entanglements.and#8221;
Synopsis
Luigi Russolo (1885and#150;1947)and#151;painter, composer, builder of musical instruments, and first-hour member of the Italian Futurist movementand#151;was a crucial figure in the evolution of twentieth-century aesthetics. As creator of the first systematic poetics of noise and inventor of what has been considered the first mechanical sound synthesizer, Russolo looms large in the development of twentieth-century music. In the first English language study of Russolo, Luciano Chessa emphasizes the futuristand#8217;s interest in the occult, showing it to be a leitmotif for his life and a foundation for his art of noises. Chessa shows that Russoloand#8217;s aesthetics of noise, and the machines he called the intonarumori, were intended to boost practitioners into higher states of spiritual consciousness. His analysis reveals a multifaceted man in whom the drive to keep up with the latest scientific trends coexisted with an embrace of the irrational, and a critique of materialism and positivism.
About the Author
Luciano Chessa, a composer and musicologist, teaches music history at the San Francisco Conservatory.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One. Luigi Russolo from the Formative Years to 1913
1. Futurism as a Metaphysical Science
2. Occult Futurism
3. Spotlight on Russolo
4. Painting Noise: La musica
5. Russolo and Synesthesia
6. Russoloand#8217;s Metaphysics
Part Two. The Art of Noises and the Occult
7. Intonarumori Unveiled
8. The Spirali di Rumori
9. The Arte dei and#147;Romoriand#8221;
10. Controversial Leonardo
11. Third Level
Conclusion: Materialist Futurism?
Notes