Toccata

for seventeen instruments (2007)

instrumentation

fl.(also picc.), ob., 2 cl. (2° also cl.b), fg. / cr., tr., tbn. / vibr., mar., harp, piano / 2 vn., vla., vc., cb.

duration

15 min.

commission

New Paths in Music

recording

New Paths Ensemble. David Alan Miller, conductor. Live recording, New York 9 June 2007

presentation

[see English below]

Nel 2005 ho composto un lavoro di teatro musicale per la Schauspielhaus di Francoforte, commissionato dall’Ensemble Modern, basato su testi, progetti e disegni di Bruno Munari. Nel numero di apertura, Munari descrive con ironica intelligenza la professione creativa del designer. Da quell’entusiasmo innovativo, che pervade ogni aspetto della vita quotidiana, ho tratto successivamente un brano virtuosistico per grande ensemble, in cui rivive l’antica forma strumentale della toccata, che conserva memoria del contrappunto, in ritmo serrato: una prova di resistenza, di vitalità e di energia propulsiva.


In 2005, I composed a musical theatre work for the Schauspielhaus in Frankfurt, commissioned by the Ensemble Modern, based on texts, projects, and drawings by the groundbreaking artist, writer, and designer Bruno Munari. In the opening number, Munari wittingly describes the professional and creative figure of the designer. From his innovative enthusiasm, which pervades every aspect of daily life, I later drew a virtuosic piece for large ensemble that revives the old instrumental form of the toccata and preserves a memory of counterpoint in a very tight rhythm. Toccata is a test of endurance, vitality, and propulsive energy.

© Francesco Antonioni

performances

9 June 2007
New York, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
New Paths Ensemble. David Alan Miller, conductor [WP]

10 March 2024
Rome, Auditorium Parco della Musica
PMCE ensemble. Tonino Battista, conductor