WHAT MAKES IT ITALIAN? Music + Sculpture | Casa Italiana Zerilli / Marimò

WHAT MAKES IT ITALIAN? Music + Sculpture

"What Makes It Italian?" is a music listening and discussion group that meets online on the Zoom platform and is open to everyone.
Participation is free.
The group is led by Gina Crusco, who has also guided listening at Bard LLI and Riverdale Y; acted as maestro del coro for opera in Italy; instructed music at The New School; and directed Underworld Productions.
Please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance and receive an invitation link.

 

Spring 2024 Schedule

How can our understanding of italianità in music be informed by Italian sculpture? The insubstantial nature of musical materials – mere vibrations that move through the air, imperceptible to sight and touch – creates in us a longing for an analog made of solid material. In sculpture we have just such an analog: run your hand across the carved wood; feel the heat radiating from the bronze; watch the light play off the marble surface. This Spring we find the substance of Italian music by exploring its relationship to the substance/s of sculpture, one medium at a time.

Tuesday, February 27, 6:00pm
Wood
Wood is the substrate for sculptures early and late; chant is the basic material of music works, early and late.

Tuesday, March 12, 6:00pm
Bronze
Molten bronze is poured into a form; here is music that also depends on pre-existing forms.

Tuesday, March 26, 6:00pm
Marble I
Marble’s suavity of surface chimes with smooth, legato musical surface.

Tuesday, April 2, 6:00pm
Marble II
When are marble sculpture – and music – all about the surface, and does this make them superficial?

Tuesday, April 9, 6:00pm
Various Media
Here are music and sculpture that reflect distant cultures, but instrumentation and materials that do not.

Tuesday, April 16, 6:00pm
Mixed Media
Mixing it up: The goldsmith famous for a bronze; a non-sculptor's life-sized figures; a composer who changed styles; and another who infused Renaissance style with Indian motifs, Chinese instruments, and electronics.