“Elvira Muratore est une compositrice du vécu émotionnel, de l’expérience sensorielle.” (review by Marie Humbert, 7 August 2020 – www.composher.com)
A music of small, precise, minimal gestures; gestures to be carefully observed, always deeper. Elvira’s works come from the idea of music as an experience, that goes from composer to performer, from performer to audience: nothing to be understood, but simply an experience to be lived. Due to a period of studies in Mathematics, she became extremely fascinated by the idea of Zero or Void, and in particular by the differences and the similarities that can be found in different cultures: sometimes seen as a dangerous idea, sometimes lived as the most essential part of reality; many times Zero is just another face of Infinity. Summing her studies and fascinations about the concept of Zero/Void, she is still developing her personal musical philosophy, made of easily recognizable structures and melodies; small, precise, minimal gestures, that make her music light and bright, but highly penetrating. Among her projects, the first cd ALIAS, created with the viola d’amore player Valerio Losito and published in 2020 for Da Vinci Classics, stands out for its originality and intensity:
“Alias, Amor, is more than a cd: it is a is a unique and multiple experience, fertile and profound, of a vibrant intensity and much needed in the contemporary music scene.” (review by Nadir Garofalo, 26 July 2020 – Tgmusic.it)
“in the end, the listener can be sure that he listened and enriching cd.” (review by Remy Franck, 31 August 2020 – Pizzicato)
After obtaining the degree in Violoncello, she brilliantly graduated in Composition in 2011. Immediately after she attended a masterclass with the composer Ivan Fedele; among the other composers she studied with: Klaus Huber, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Andrea Portera, Nadir Vassena and Alessio Elia. Her works were performed in seasons and festivals such as 42° FIMNME – Foro Internacional de musica nueva (Messico), Ravenna Festival, Italian Cultural Institutes in Istanbul and Budapest, Composers’ Voice Concert Series (New York), Hacettepe University (Ankara), Jewish Art Days Festival (Budapest), Festa dell’Opera (Brescia), Serate Musicali (Milano), Società dei Concerti Barattelli, Megaron Theatre (Thessaloniki), Sulle Ali Del Novecento (Brescia), Società Catanese Amici della musica, Settimana Barocca di Siracusa.
Among the musicians who played her music we remind the Hungarian Tamás Vásáry, the conductors Ludwig Carrasco, Vittorio Parisi and Andrea Vitello, the pianists Roberto Prosseda e Borislava Taneva, the flautists Luisa Sello and Arcadio Baracchi, the guitarist Luigi Attademo.
In 2014 she was the only Italian composer selected to take part in Atelier Para Jovens Compositores promoted by Orquestra Clàssica do Sul in Portugal; the same year she was a finalist at the Second Composition Competition promoted by International Federation for Choral Music. In 2011 she won the Second Prize at Assisi Suono Sacro International Composition Competition and in 2008 she was a finalist in the Second International Composition Competition promoted by ISME (International Society for Music Education) in Belgium. In 2016 she was composer in residence for Dedalo Ensemble in Brescia and for Tuscan Youht Choir.
ORIGINAL WORKS
| FOR ORCHESTRA | |
|---|---|
| Zephir (2020) | – for chamber orchestra. – commissioned by Sanremo Symphony Orchestra for season 2019/’20 |
| La clairvoyance (2019) | – piano solo and string orchestra. – première: Florence (Italy), July 2019, Chiesa di Santo Stefano a Ponte. Other performances: Ankara (Turkey), Hacettepe Üniversitesi, January 2020 |
| Listening to empty spaces (2019) | – solo flute and string orchestra. – première: Prato (Florence, Italy), Convitto Nazionale Cicognini, December 2019 |
| ALIAS: Narcissus (2017) | – viola d’amore, clarinet and string orchestra. – première: Thessaloniki (Greece), Megaron Theatre, November 2017 |
| Nomen (2017) | – harp and string orchestra. – commisioned by La Primavera Women Ensemble. Première: Montecatini (Italy), Terme Excelsior, July 2017 |
| Nomen (2015) | – chamber orchestra. – première: Prato (Florence, Italy), Conservatorio San Niccolò, December 2015 |
| Nomen (2015) | – string orchestra – première: Prato (Florence, Italy), December 2015 |
| Impegno (2015) | – accordion and symphony orchestra. – commissioned by «2 Agosto» International Composition Competition. Première: Bologna (Italy), Piazza 2 Agosto, August 2015 |
| Roji – garden of emptiness (2014) | – chamber orchestra. – work selected by Orquestra Clàssica do Sul for Atelier para jovens compositores 2014 (only Italian composer); Faro (Portugal), Algarve University, March 2014 |
| Calma di tremiti (2012) | – string orchestra. – première: Prato (Florence, Italy), Chiesa dello Spirito Santo, September 2012 |
| FROM 2 TO 8 PERFORMERS | |
|---|---|
| Flow (2020) | – violin and viola – commissioned by Virginia Ceri, 1st violin of ORT – Tuscany Regional Orchestra |
| Sei ora… (2019) | – soprano and piano – commissioned by Cianti-Orselli Foundation; première: Florence (Italy), Dicember 2019 |
| Haiku prelude (2018) | – soprano, harp and cello – commisioned by Teatro Grande Foundation of Brescia. Première: Brescia (Italy), Festa dell’Opera, September 2018. |
| Spaces of absence: outside (2016) | – violin and cello – commissioned by Dédalo Ensemble as composer in residence for season 2016/’17; première: Brescia (Italy), Sancarlino Theater, November 2016 |
| Spaces of absence: almost forget (2016) | – flute, clarinet, piano, violin and cello – commissioned by Dédalo Ensemble as composer in residence for season 2016/’17; première: Brescia (Italy), Sancarlino Theater, January 2017 |
| Lacrime calde (2016) | – voice, violin, tenor mandola and trombone – première: Florence (Italy), Pieve di San Bavello, May 2016 |
| Giocando all’ombra della nuvola (2014) | – flute, clarinet, harp, piano, 2 violins, viola and cello – première: Florence (Italy), Apri 2014 |
| Listening to scent of violet Lan (2014) | – flute, clarinet, violin, 2 cellos and synth – première: Arezzo (Italy), Pietro Aretino Theater, December 2014 |
| Haiku Quartet (2014) | – string quartet – première: Florence (Italy), Palazzo Medici Riccardi, September 2014 |
| …chacun dans la voie… (2014) | …chacun dans la voie… (2014) 2 flutes and piano Première: Genoa (Italy), Palazzo Tursi, March 2014 |
| La tête (2011) | – female voice, violin, cello and percussions – première: Cesena (Italy), Metamorfosi del Contemporaneo Festival, May 2011 |
| Punto IV (2011) | – guitar, flute and clarinet |
| Punto acerbo (2011) | – flute, cello and piano – Second Prize to the Assisi Suono Sacro Composition Competition 2011 |
| Rimbalzi di vuoto (2010) | – G flute, cello and piano |
| Echi d’altrove (2010) | – guitar, flute and clarinet |
| SOLO INSTRUMENT | |
|---|---|
| Void’s equation (2019) | – piano – première: Lussembourg, Foyer Européen, March 2019 |
| ALIAS: Sacred love (2018) | – viola d’amore – in the CD “Alias: Amor”, released by Da Vinci Classics in 2020 |
| ALIAS: Narcissus (2017) | – viola d’amore – in the CD “Alias: Amor”, released by Da Vinci Classics in 2020 |
| ALIAS: Haiku (2017) | – viola d’amore – in the CD “Alias: Amor”, released by Da Vinci Classics in 2020 |
| ALIAS: Love after death (2017) | – viola d’amore – in the CD “Alias: Amor”, released by Da Vinci Classics in 2020 |
| ALIAS: Vivamus… (2016) | – viola d’amore – in the CD “Alias: Amor”, released by Da Vinci Classics in 2020 |
| Spaces of absence: inside (2016) | – flute – commissioned by Dédalo Ensemble as composer in residence for season 2016/’17. Première: Brescia (Italy), Sancarlino Theater, November 2016 |
| Running emptiness (2012) | – viola – selected for performance in Composer’s Voice Serie; première: New York, Jan Hus Chirch, February 2013 |
| 30” falls (2011) | – flute |
| 60” breath (2011) | – clarinet |
| 20” thoughts (2011) | – cello |
| Hommage à Magritte (2011) | – cello – première: Prato (Italy), December 2011 |
| CHORAL MUSIC | |
|---|---|
| Sul Cielo (2016) | – mixed choir – commissioned by FENIARCO – Italian Federation for Choral Music as composer in residence of Tuscany Youth Choir. Première: Florence (Italy), Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella, March 2017 |
| Panis Angelicus (2016) | – mixed choir |
| Luci serene (2012) | – mixed choir – Finalist to the IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music) 2nd Composition Competition in 2013 |
| L’usage de la parole (2011) | – mixed choir |
| Wilt thou forgive (2011) | – mixed choir and organ |
TRANSCRIPTIONS AND ARRANGEMENTS
| Allegro from piano sonata op.24 n.2 by M. Clementi (2019) | – symphony orchestra |
| Dido’s Lament by H. Purcell (2019) | – symphony orchestra – premiére: Lomza (Poland), Filharmonia Kameralna, January 2019 |
| Widmung by R. Schumann (2017) | – symphony orchestra – premiére: Milan (Italy), Sala Verdi, Serate Musicali, October 2017 |
| Mi haish from a sephardic traditional melody (2015) | – violin, viola or cello and string orchestra – première: Florence (Italy), Cestello Theatre, August 2015. Other performances: Budapest (Hungary), Jewish Art Days, May 2017; Florence (Italy), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Theater, August 2019 |
| Toccata e fuga in D minor by J. S. Bach (2015) | – chamber orchestra – première: Prato (Florence, Italy), Chiesa di San Domenico, August 2015. Other performances: Danzic (Poland), Polish Baltic Filharmonic, January 2017 |
CURRENT PROJECTS
| ALIAS: Amor | A unique contemporary music project designed around what it’s considered one of the most fascinating Baroque instruments: the viola d’amore. It is the notes by composer Elvira Muratore, conveyed to the hands of Valerio Losito, tailored to suit the warm sound of the 1775 Ferdinando Gagliano’s viola d’amore, property of the Elsa Peretti Foundation. In 2020 the label Da Vinci Classics will release the homonymous cd, containing the 5 original works of the project. |
| ALIAS meets BACH | The well known Solo Cello Suites by J. S. Bach, in a special version for viola d’amore, written by Elvira Muratore. As cello suites are a turning point in cello history, this project definitely leads the viola d’amore from his “natural” time (in which we thought it could better express itself) to nowadays: not just arrangements, but the Bach’s sound merged to Elvira’s one, both linked by the viola d’amore, an instrument that deserves to be rediscovered, celebrating all its peculiarities hidden in time by forgotten literature. An instrument with incredible resonances and huge possibilities offered by an incredibly flexible tuning. |
| NOMEN | The project NOMEN was born in 2015 with the two first versions, one for string orchestra and the other for 13 players. The title recalls the Latin word “nomen – nominis”, which means name. But it is also a Japanese word that defines the mask used in the traditional nō theatre. This is a research on identity: the same idea in two different shades, not just a transcription from an ensemble to another, but two pieces written simultaneously. In the nō theatre, the actor wears a mask (preventing him from using facial expressions, but forcing him to find other expressive means); in the project NOMEN, the mask is the musical idea, worn but two different actors, in this case, the two different ensembles. The project is developing, thanks to ensembles and orchestras, that ask for their own peculiar version. |