Musica Futurista

In his manifesto of 1913, the Italian futurist artist Luigi Russolo turned his back on the classical instruments featured so prominently in, amongst others, Beethoven’s symphonies. In the ears of Russolo, the fresh twentieth century was yearning for a new art that would fit the noise and the rush of the new times: engines, factories, a raging urban life, steaming and roaring locomotives, … He introduced new machines of sound that resonated with a world of metal and plastic, of blaring factory sirens, street noise and advertising slogans. With the throbbing, rattling, piercing and rustling noises of his intonarumori, he approached everyday noise as musical sounds. His influence is still felt today.  The sound of noise is an essential part of music, and composers still design new instruments for new times.