Göteborgs Konserthus Swedish Premiere with Kopatchinskaja

After sixty years of experience as a composer, in my violin concerto No. 2. I liked the idea of returning to where I began as a youngster: putting voices above or next to each other like building blocks and findi n g pleasure in the variations of the successions. Do-Re-Mi means the beginning of music: it is like 1, 2, 3 in the world of numbers. We've learned it from nursery rhymes and ancient melodies - how to create tunes with only these three notes - and we can hear how a hierarchal relationship comes into being between them. One of the sounds occurs more frequently and gets the main role, while the other two merely accompany it. The position of the Re in the middle is extremely sensitive. Being wedged between Do and Mi, Re seems to want to escape from the pressure of the two other sounds. In the event that it succeeds, Re gets into a central position so that everything can revolve around it and finally every tune will end up with it. This is certainly just the starting point of my violin concerto. While a child is occupied with shaping, I am interested in misshaping. Let me demonstrate this with a simple example : when I push Re, the sound in the middle of Do-Re-Mi, with half a tone up or down, the D becomes D sharp or D flat so that it ends up closer to Do or Mi. It distances itself from one and gets closer to the other. This creates an immense tension and conflicts will emerge - just as in real life, dramatic situations can evolve. Actually, this is where my violin concerto begins. The theme of Do-Re-Mi is the world constituted of simple things, easing the tensions, freeing from the ties. The rest is to be listened to... (Peter Eötvös, Oktober 2012)

Prima esecuzione assoluta Titolo: Concerto finale del Toru Takemitsu Composition Award 2014 Interpreti: Tokyo Opera City Symphonic Orchestra (orchestra) Data: 25 05 2014 Luogo: Opera City Concert Hall, Tokyo - Giappone Emittente o ente organizzatore: Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation Giovanni Dario Manzini: Until the sea above us closed again It is the choice of theme and the musical refinement that makes this subdued and sensitive piece stand out from among the others. This piece is like three poems, recited in a whisper. It evokes the spirit of Dante – and the moment it becomes almost tangible, it disappears. This composition uses many new sounds and instrumental techniques, characteristic of the Italian music of the last decade. Manzini integrates this technique in organic way in his own music and his piece could be part of the international orchestral repertoire, I guess. (Peter Eötvös) 2nd Prize Giovanni Dario Manzini (Italy) Until the sea above us closed again Born in Florence, Italy in 1978. He approached composition by studying jazz harmony and piano improvisation with Tim Richards in London in 2007. In 2008 he started teaching himself classical harmony and orchestration, and in 2010 he went back to Florence and enrolled in the composition course at Scuola di Musica di Fiesole studying with Andrea Portera. He has written concert music and soundtracks for several artists, ensembles and institutions, amongst them: Virgilio Sieni, Nuovo Contrappunto Ensemble (Florence), Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali (Milan), A Cappella Bogaziçi (Istanbul), Swedish Film Institute (Stockholm) and Greenpeace. His works are published by Sconfinarte (Milan). http://www.giovannimanzini.com/ [Speech] There are few things a composer in the early stage of his career can wish for, and certainly one of these is participating in the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award. I am deeply thankful to have met all the people involved in this and to have been given the possibility to learn so much. I have learnt about the meaning of commitment and patience from the orchestra, whose preparation, unity and sensitivity was utterly outstanding. I have learnt much about the meaning of listening and open-mindedness from Maestro Sugiyama, and about clarity of vision and musical honesty from Maestro Eötvös who honoured me by selecting my score and who inspired me with his composition, his conducting and his truly helpful words about my music. I’ve learnt more about the meaning of exchange and hope from the other finalists who just like me are brave enough to keep dreaming up music to share it with everyone. In particular, I have learnt about the meaning of true generosity from Mr Wataru Taguchi, Shuichi Segawa, Jun Sawahashi and all the members of the Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation whose attention and kindness made me feel so welcome throughout my stay in Tokyo. I deeply thank you for all for all this and I leave you hoping to come back to Japan soon.

FROM DANTE'S <DIVINE COMEDY>