LUIGI RUSSOLO, quotes of his music manifesto ‘Art of Noises’ & life in Italian Futurism; biography facts
LUIGI RUSSOLO (1883 – 1947), his quotes on music in Futurism from the Art of Noises – composer in Italian Futurism and short biography facts. Russolo was a painter and music artist, the author of the famous Futurist Manifesto ‘The Art of Noises’, (1913). Russolo described himself as a Futurist painter, strongly fascinated by simultaneity what he tried to realize in a visual way in his paintings. He was close friends with the Milan Futurist artist Umberto Boccioni. At the bottom short biography facts on his music art, with some art links for Luigo Russolo. – the editor.
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RUSSOLO: ‘Dynamism of a car’, 1912 |
Luigi Russolo, his artist quotes on painting & music in Italian Futurism; Manifesto ‘The Art of Noises’
– Above all, we (the Futurists, fh) continue and develop the divisionist principle, but we are not engaged in Divisionism (developed by Seurat, Signac, Delaunay, fh). We apply an instinctive complementarism which is not, for us, an acquired technique, but rather a way of seeing things.
* Luigi Russolo, source of his quotes, artist in Italian Futurism: ‘Le Futurisme: Création et avant-garde’; as quoted in “Futurism”, ed. By Didier Ottinger; Centre Pompidou / 5 Continents Editions, Milan, 2008, p. 47. ( Futurist artist, famous for his music manifesto ‘The Art of Noises’ and fascinated by simultaneity as modern painter )
– On 9 March 1913, during our bloody victory over 4.000 past-lovers at the Constanzi theatre in Rome, we defended with punches and sticks your Futuristic Music, played by a mighty orchestra, when all of a sudden my intuitive mind came up with a new art which your genius alone can create: the Art of Noises…
* Luigi Russolo, source of his quotes, artist in Italian Futurism: ‘L’art des bruits’, Russolo in ‘Edizini futurista di Poesia, Milan 1916.
– At first the art of music sought purity, limpidity and sweetness of sound. Then different sounds were amalgamated, care being taken, however, to caress the ear with gentle harmonies. Today music, as it becomes continually more complicated, strives to amalgamate the most dissonant, strange and harsh sounds. In this way we come ever closer to noise-sound.
* Luigi Russolo, source of his quotes, artist in Italian Futurism: ‘Manifesto the Art of Noise’, in ‘Paris-Journal’, 1 April 1913.
– In the resounding atmosphere of large cities as well in formerly noiseless country sides, the machine today creates such a large number of varied noises that pure sound no longer arouses any emotion, because of its smallness and its monotype.
* Luigi Russolo, source of his quotes, artist in Italian Futurism: ‘Manifesto the Art of Noise’, in ‘Paris-Journal’, 1 April 1913; as quoted in “Futurism”, ed. By Didier Ottinger; Centre Pompidou / 5 Continents Editions, Milan, 2008, p. 328.
– Conclusions: (the Manifesto ‘The Art of noises’):
1. Futurist musicians must continually enlarge and enrich the field of sounds. This corresponds to a need in our sensibility. We note, in fact, in the composers of genius, a tendency towards the most complicated dissonances. As these move further and further away from pure sound, they almost achieve noise-sound. This need and this tendency cannot be satisfied except by theadding and the substitution of noises for sounds.
2. Futurist musicians must substitute for the limited variety of tones posessed by orchestral instruments today the infinite variety of tones of noises, reproduced with appropriate mechanisms.
3. The musician’s sensibility, liberated from facile and traditional Rhythm, must find in noises the means of extension and renewal, given that every noise offers the union of the most diverse rhythms apart from the predominant one.
4. Since every noise contains a predominant general tone in its irregular vibrations it will be easy to obtain in the construction of instruments which imitate them a sufficiently extended variety of tones, semitones, and quarter-tones. This variety of tones will not remove the characteristic tone from each noise, but will amplify only its texture or extension.
5. The practical difficulties in constructing these instruments are not serious. Once the mechanical principle which produces the noise has been found, its tone can be changed by following the same general laws of acoustics. If the instrument is to have a rotating movement, for instance, we will increase or decrease the speed, whereas if it is to not have rotating movement the noise-producing parts will vary in size and tautness.
6. The new orchestra will achieve the most complex and novel aural emotions not by incorporating a succession of life-imitating noises but by manipulating fantastic juxtapositions of these varied tones and rhythms. Therefore an instrument will have to offer the possibility of tone changes and varying degrees of amplification.
7. The variety of noises is infinite. If today, when we have perhaps a thousand different machines, we can distinguish a thousand different noises, tomorrow, as new machines multiply, we will be able to distinguish ten, twenty, or thirty thousand different noises, not merely in a simply imitative way, but to combine them according to our imagination.
8. We therefore invite young musicians of talent to conduct a sustained observation of all noises, in order to understand the various rhythms of which they are composed, their principal and secondary tones. By comparing the various tones of noises with those of sounds, they will be convinced of the extent to which the former exceed the latter. This will afford not only an understanding, but also a taste and passion for noises. After being conquered by Futurist eyes our multiplied sensibilities will at last hear with Futurist ears. In this way the motors and machines of our industrial cities will one day be consciously attuned, so that every factory will be transformed into an intoxicating orchestra of noises.
Dear Pratella, I submit these statements to your Futurist genius, inviting your discussion. I am not a musician, I have therefore no acoustical predilictions, nor any works to defend. I am a Futurist painter using a much loved art to project my determination to renew everything. And so, bolder than a professional musician could be, unconcerned by my apparent incompetence and convinced that all rights and possibilities open up to daring, I have been able to initiate the great renewal of music by means of the Art of Noises.
* Luigi Russolo, source of his quotes, artist in Italian Futurism: ‘Manifesto the Art of Noise’; as quoted from ‘The Art of Noises’, manifesto by Luigi Russolo, in English translation. ( Futurist artist, famous for his music manifesto ‘The Art of Noises’ and fascinated by simultaneity as modern painter )
Luigi Russolo; biography facts of the Italian Futurist painting artist & music composer
Luigi Russolo was perhaps the first noise artist. His 1913 futurist music manifesto, L’Arte dei Rumori, translated as ‘The Art of Noises’, stated that the industrial revolution had given modern men a greater capacity to appreciate more complex sounds. Russolo found traditional melodic music confining and envisioned noise music as its future replacement. He designed and constructed a number of noise-generating devices called Intonarumori and assembled a noise orchestra to perform with them. A performance of his ‘Gran Concerto Futuristico (1917)’ was met with strong disapproval and violence from the audience, as Russolo himself had predicted. None of his intoning devices have survived, though recently some have been reconstructed and used in performances.
Antonio Russolo, Luigi’s brother, produced a recording of two works featuring the original Intonarumori. The 1921 made phonograph with works entitled ‘Corale and Serenata’, combined conventional orchestral music set against the famous noise machines and is the only surviving sound recording. Russolo and Marinetti gave the first concert of Futurist music, complete with ‘Intonarumori’ in April 1914; the music performance resulted in a riot! All of his instruments were later destroyed in World War II during the bombings on Paris.
Luigi Russolo; art links for more information on the Italian futurist artist about life, painting & Futurist music
* Russolo’s ‘Intonarumori’ a futurist music composition
* about life facts and music and painting art of the Italian famous artist Luigo Russolo, on Wikipedia
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