PROGRAMME

The course provides 5 full days of lessons, the programme includes:

Analysis
Orchestration techniques and notions of acoustics
Timbral fusion
Preparation for Composition Competitions
A brief introduction on the application of emotional intelligence in the composer’s creative process 

You will be guided to discover the technical/expressive characteristics of the most influential languages of today, starting from the biographical/aesthetic experience of some great composers and of the 20th Century. 

You will discuss about dissonance as as a relative phenomenon, microtonal intonation and balance within the instruments of the orchestra/ensemble.

You will discover music-writing techniques for a direct dialogue with the unconscious, bypassing the rational filter. 

You will also focus on how to prepare a composition competition, with one of the most succesful composers of today in this field, winner of competitions such as Toru Takemitsu, “Arturo Duo Vital” International Competition, Uuno Klami International Competition chaired by Magnus Lindberg, Penderecki International Competition, ‘Stresa Festival’ International Competition chaired by Gianandrea Noseda, ‘Camillo Togni’, ‘Franco Evangelisti’, ‘Valentino Bucchi’ etc

Analysis

The students will be guided to discover the technical/expressive characteristics of the most influential languages of today, starting from the biographical/aesthetic experience of some great composers and of the 20th Century.
The composers will be analyzed and their music interpreted in the light of the aesthetics of his era, with an awareness of the composer’s role in his environment and the importance of artistic creation in contemporary society.
In this section we will speak of the composer by comparing him to a kind of prophet: he must be able to interpret the omen that each epoch experiences unconsciously and translate it into the musical language in order to generate a collective awareness.

In the same way, we consider Art to be a creative gesture that is always ‘contemporary’, whose task is not only to entertain but to reflect the desires and anxieties of those who use it in order to amplify empathy.

Orchestration techniques and notions of acoustics

Timbral fusion
Dissonance as a relative phenomenon: at least three ways to use it without perceiving the auditory collision
Superposition of distinct sound dimension planes, avoiding chaotic layering
Microtonal intonation in the orchestra: how to create and enhance microtonal interval in each department of the orchestra, avoiding the feeling of “wrong pitch wrong intonation”
The balance of contraries in orchestration

The Dimensions of Music

The great achievement of experimental music: the abstract component of the 20th century to the present day
Music-writing techniques for direct dialogue with the unconscious, bypassing the rational filter (outline)
The 4 dimensions of music in relation to a Cartesian plane
The fifth dimension: psychological space
The balance of contraries in musical dimensions

Preparation for Composition Competitions

As one of the most prize-winning composers in the world, Andrea Portera has won prizes in competitions such as the ‘Toru Takemitsu’ International Competition, the ‘Krystof Penderecki’ International Competition, the ‘Uuno Klami’ International Competition chaired by Magnus Lindberg, the ‘Stresa Festival’ International Competition chaired by Gianandrea Noseda, ‘Camillo Togni’, ‘Franco Evangelisti’, ‘Valentino Bucchi’ and many others.
Like few others, Andrea Portera has proved himself capable of combining his expressive needs and content with a form that can communicate immediately to the audience and competition juries in an effective and authentic manner.

In this section, the students will tackle all the stages that lead to success in an international competition, from the design of the piece to its drafting.

A brief introduction on the application of emotional intelligence in the composer’s creative process

The importance of recovering a wide emotional range while avoiding an exercise in style
The limits of the music of the last 70 years of works: confusing analytical intelligence and as the only filter of the unconscious, generating music of limited emotional range

Talk by Dr. Laura Artusio, researcher at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a leading expert on the subject.

Analysis

The students will be guided to discover the technical/expressive characteristics of the most influential languages of today, starting from the biographical/aesthetic experience of some great composers and of the 20th Century.
The composers will be analyzed and their music interpreted in the light of the aesthetics of his era, with an awareness of the composer’s role in his environment and the importance of artistic creation in contemporary society.
In this section we will speak of the composer by comparing him to a kind of prophet: he must be able to interpret the omen that each epoch experiences unconsciously and translate it into the musical language in order to generate a collective awareness.

In the same way, we consider Art to be a creative gesture that is always ‘contemporary’, whose task is not only to entertain but to reflect the desires and anxieties of those who use it in order to amplify empathy.

Orchestration techniques and notions of acoustics

Timbral fusion
Dissonance as a relative phenomenon: at least three ways to use it without perceiving the auditory collision
Superposition of distinct sound dimension planes, avoiding chaotic layering
Microtonal intonation in the orchestra: how to create and enhance microtonal interval in each department of the orchestra, avoiding the feeling of “wrong pitch wrong intonation”
The balance of contraries in orchestration

The Dimensions of Music

The great achievement of experimental music: the abstract component of the 20th century to the present day
Music-writing techniques for direct dialogue with the unconscious, bypassing the rational filter (outline)
The 4 dimensions of music in relation to a Cartesian plane
The fifth dimension: psychological space
The balance of contraries in musical dimensions

Preparation for Composition Competitions

As one of the most prize-winning composers in the world, Andrea Portera has won prizes in competitions such as the ‘Toru Takemitsu’ International Competition, the ‘Krystof Penderecki’ International Competition, the ‘Uuno Klami’ International Competition chaired by Magnus Lindberg, the ‘Stresa Festival’ International Competition chaired by Gianandrea Noseda, ‘Camillo Togni’, ‘Franco Evangelisti’, ‘Valentino Bucchi’ and many others.
Like few others, Andrea Portera has proved himself capable of combining his expressive needs and content with a form that can communicate immediately to the audience and competition juries in an effective and authentic manner.

In this section, the students will tackle all the stages that lead to success in an international competition, from the design of the piece to its drafting.

A brief introduction on the application of emotional intelligence in the composer’s creative process

The importance of recovering a wide emotional range while avoiding an exercise in style
The limits of the music of the last 70 years of works: confusing analytical intelligence and as the only filter of the unconscious, generating music of limited emotional range

Talk by Dr. Laura Artusio, researcher at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a leading expert on the subject.