Canon
Where to start with Nono
Essential works to know this composer by — spread across their styles-
ChamberContrappunto dialettico alla mente — For two-channel magnetic tape
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VocalIl canto sospeso — Cantata for vocal soloists, choir, and orchestra
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Keyboard...sofferte onde serene... — For piano and tape
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ChamberLa lontananza nostalgica utopica futura, for violin and 8 magnetic tapes
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Chamber'Hay que caminar' soñando, for 2 violins
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ChamberA Pierre. Dell' azzuro silenzio, inquietum, for bass flute, clarinet, double bass and live electronics
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VocalComo una ola de fuerza y luz, for soprano, piano, orchestra and tape
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ChamberCon Luigi Dallapiccola, for 6 percussionists also operating 4 pickups, 3 ring modulators and 3 frequency generators
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VocalCori di Didone, for chorus and percussion
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VocalDa un diario italiano, for 2 choirs
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VocalDas atmende Klarsein, for small chorus, bass flute, live electronics and tape
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ChamberEpitaffio per Federico Garcia Lorca no. 2: Y su sangre ya viene cantando, for flute and small orchestra
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VocalGuai ai gelidi mostri, for 2 altos, flute, clarinet, tuba, viola, cello, bass and live electronics
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VocalIntolleranza 1960, concert suite for soprano, chorus and orchestra
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VocalLiebeslied, for chorus and instruments
Listening guide
Hand-curated paths into Nono's catalogueMost Popular
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Il canto sospeso
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Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima (string quartet)
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Prometeo — Tragedia dell\’ascolto
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Incontri (orchestra)
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La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura
Most Acclaimed
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Prometeotragedy of listening — no theatrical action
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Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima
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Il canto sospeso
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A Pierre. Dell\’Azzurro Silenzio, Inquietum
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Post-Prae-Ludium per Donau
Most Weird
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Prometeoyou sit in a boat-shaped wooden structure; musicians are above you in the dark around the walls; there is no visual action at all — only sound for 2+ hours
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La lontananza nostalgica utopica futurasolo violin + 8 tape channels placed around the hall; the violinist wanders between recording stands during the performance
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Hay que caminar soñandotwo violins moving through the space; the players must keep moving
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Das atmende Klarseinbass flute + live electronics + chorus — sound dissolves into space
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Fragmente-Stillethe score has 53 silent quotes from Hölderlin in the margins that the players must read and interpret; the silences are as important as the notes
Similar composers
Same era, overlapping styles — by genre & period affinityWorks 21
- Chamber
- Contrappunto dialettico alla mente — For two-channel magnetic tape
- La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura, for violin and 8 magnetic tapes
- 'Hay que caminar' soñando, for 2 violins
- A Pierre. Dell' azzuro silenzio, inquietum, for bass flute, clarinet, double bass and live electronics
- Con Luigi Dallapiccola, for 6 percussionists also operating 4 pickups, 3 ring modulators and 3 frequency generators
- Epitaffio per Federico Garcia Lorca no. 2: Y su sangre ya viene cantando, for flute and small orchestra
- Post-Prae-ludium no. 1 'per Donau', for tuba and live electronics
- Vocal
- Il canto sospeso — Cantata for vocal soloists, choir, and orchestra
- Como una ola de fuerza y luz, for soprano, piano, orchestra and tape
- Cori di Didone, for chorus and percussion
- Da un diario italiano, for 2 choirs
- Das atmende Klarsein, for small chorus, bass flute, live electronics and tape
- Guai ai gelidi mostri, for 2 altos, flute, clarinet, tuba, viola, cello, bass and live electronics
- Intolleranza 1960, concert suite for soprano, chorus and orchestra
- Liebeslied, for chorus and instruments
- Omaggio a György Kurtág, for contralto, flute, clarinet, tuba and live electronics
- Prometeo, Tragedia dell'ascolto, for vocal soloists, speakers, choruses, orchestras and live electronics
- Quando stanno morendo. Diario polacco no. 2, for 4 female voices, bass flute, cello and live electronics
- Risonanze errante, Liederzyklus a Massimo Cacciari, for mezzo-soprano, flute, tuba, 6 percussionists and live electronics
- Sarà dolce tacere, for 8 vocal soloists
- Keyboard
- ...sofferte onde serene... — For piano and tape