Luigi Nono was born in Venice on January 29, 1924. Gian-Francesco Malipiero was an early teacher. Nono detoured by way of a degree in criminal law from the University of Padua before he immersed himself in serious musical studies with Hermann Scherchen and Bruno Maderna. His star rose quickly. By the time he was 30, Nono, along with Stockhausen and Boulez, was a fixture at Darmstadt and one of serialism’s most charismatic proponents. He married Arnold Schoenberg’s daughter Nuria in 1955. A great deal of his early works reflect deeply felt political views, e.g., Il canto sospeso (1956), for vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra, piano and tape, the texts of which come from resistance fighters’ letters. With the 1980 string quartet Fragmente - Stille, An Diotima, his music grew increasingly enigmatic, fragmented and, most surprisingly, quieter. Still passionate about philosophy and music, Nono had embarked upon a quest to discover new sounds, especially those on the brink of inaudibility. Electronics became crucial to his work, as were close partnerships with performers and other composers. Nono died on May 8, 1990, in Venice.“Caminantes, no hay caminos, hay que caminar”
Graffiti sparked Nono’s late works. In 1985, he sighted an inscription on a monastery wall in Toledo, Spain. Caminantes, no hay caminos, hay que caminar (Travelers, there are no paths, you must walk) became the motto for several late compositions: Caminantes … Ayacucho (1987), No hay caminos, hay que caminar … Andrej Tarkovskij (1987), La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura, Madrigale per più “caminantes” con Gidon Kremer (1988/89) and “Hay que caminar” soñando (1989).
Poet Antonio Machado (1875-1939), whose texts Nono had used in “Ha venido” Canciones para Silvia (1960) and Canciones a Guiomar (1963), wrote similar lines: Caminante, son tus huellas el camino, y nada más; caminante, no hay camino….
La lontananza’s history
Nono and violinist Gidon Kremer met in 1987. It immediately became clear to each man that they had to work together. They committed to a fall 1988 performance date at the Berlin Festwochen. Nono invited Kremer to the Experimental Studio of the Heinrich Strobel Foundation in Freiburg. For several hours each day between the 15th and 19th of February 1988, the composer asked the violinist to improvise before the microphone. Nono analyzed Kremer’s playing. He electronically processed and manipulated the recordings, creating a final tape between June 19 and 25.
As the summer progressed, Kremer grew increasingly concerned. He had committed to the new work’s creation but had not yet received a single page of music. The violinist arrived in Berlin two days before the premiere. Still no music. Nono gradually delivered one page at a time. The music was close to indecipherable. Kremer worked feverishly to decode the extraordinarily high notes and precise expressive markings.
Even with the presence of Nono’s experienced colleagues from Freiburg, Hans Peter Haller, André Richard, Rudolf Strauss, and Alvise Vidolin, an eleventh-hour crisis loomed. The composer’s confidence evaporated. He doubted the tape’s content. The technical challenges required for playback appeared insurmountable. He wanted Kremer to play the 45-minute La lontananza nostalgica-futura unaccompanied. After much assuaging, Nono relented. The composition premiered with violin and tapes on September 3. A second performance followed in Milan on October 2 (paired with Busoni’s second sonata for violin and piano).
But Nono was not satisfied. He completely rewrote the solo part and altered its relationship to the tapes. The revisions were completed in January 1989. He even changed the title.
La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura
Ricordi, the music’s publisher, gives the complete title as La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura, Madrigale per più “caminantes” con Gidon Kremer. The work is scored for solo violin, eight tapes, and eight to ten music stands. The score indicates 45 minutes; most recordings, at close to an hour, bear this note: “Production and electronic realization of the 8-track magnetic tape under the direction of Luigi Nono and Hans Peter Haller in the Experimental Studio of the Heinrich Strobel Foundation Südwestrundfunk Freiburg, Rudolf Strauss, sound engineer.”
