Fausto Romitelli
Born in Gorizia on 1 February 1963, Fausto Romitelli graduated in composition at the Conservatorio “Giuseppe Verdi” of Milan and subsequently went on to take part in advanced courses at the Accademia Chigiana of Siena and the Scuola Civica of Milan. In 1991 he moved to Paris to study the new technologies at the “Cursus d’Informatique Musicale” of Ircam, with which he also collaborated as “compositeur en recherche” from 1993 to 1995.
Although his attention was directed to the principal European musical experiences (György Ligeti and Giacinto Scelsi, in particular), his main inspiration was drawn from French spectral music, in particular Hugues Dufourt and Gérard Grisey, to whom he dedicated the second piece of the cycle Domeniche alla periferia dell’Impero (1995-96, 2000).
As for his interest in the social and artistic aspects of the contemporary world, and in particular in the means and processes of mass communication, this spawned works like Dead City Radio. Audiodrome (2003), the essence of which is encompassed in the Canadian sociologist Marshall McLuhan’s book The Medium is the Message. “Perception of the world is created by the channels of transmission: what we see and hear is not simply reproduced, but elaborated and recreated by an electronic medium that overlays and replaces the real experience” (Romitelli). Dead City Radio interprets the nightmare relationship between perception and technology and reflects on the techniques of production and reproduction of the electronic channels.
After a series of successes at various international competitions, at Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Graz, Milan, Stockholm and Siena (first prize at the Casella in 1989), Romitelli’s music was routinely played at the main international concert venues.
Struck down by a fatal illness, Fausto Romitelli died in Milan on 27 June 2004 at the age of 41.
Although his attention was directed to the principal European musical experiences (György Ligeti and Giacinto Scelsi, in particular), his main inspiration was drawn from French spectral music, in particular Hugues Dufourt and Gérard Grisey, to whom he dedicated the second piece of the cycle Domeniche alla periferia dell’Impero (1995-96, 2000).
As for his interest in the social and artistic aspects of the contemporary world, and in particular in the means and processes of mass communication, this spawned works like Dead City Radio. Audiodrome (2003), the essence of which is encompassed in the Canadian sociologist Marshall McLuhan’s book The Medium is the Message. “Perception of the world is created by the channels of transmission: what we see and hear is not simply reproduced, but elaborated and recreated by an electronic medium that overlays and replaces the real experience” (Romitelli). Dead City Radio interprets the nightmare relationship between perception and technology and reflects on the techniques of production and reproduction of the electronic channels.
After a series of successes at various international competitions, at Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Graz, Milan, Stockholm and Siena (first prize at the Casella in 1989), Romitelli’s music was routinely played at the main international concert venues.
Struck down by a fatal illness, Fausto Romitelli died in Milan on 27 June 2004 at the age of 41.