Piccola Accademia degli Specchi
Piccola Accademia degli Specchi (Little Academy of Mirrors) is a chamber ensemble in Rome, central Italy, specializing in the performance of contemporary classical music, with particular attention to the so-called minimalist and postminimalist experiences. The instrumentation of the ensemble is similar to the common Pierrot ensemble set up except that saxophone is used in place of the clarinet and often many of their works and arrangements involve piano four hands. The ensemble performs frequently at music festivals throughout Italy. Their music has been featured on Echoes (the syndicated NPR show) and New Sounds on WNYC in the U.S., and on Concertzender in the Netherlands.
The ensemble's repertoire includes composers like Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen, Michael Nyman, Wim Mertens, Philip Glass, Yann Tiersen, Michael Gordon, Terry Riley, Morton Feldman, John Cage, and Simon Jeffes. Furthermore, they have standing collaborations with many international composers, who wrote or arranged music for them, such as William Susman, Matthias Kadar, Douwe Eisenga, Bruno Letort, Demetrius Spaneas, Ulli Goette, and Pavel Karmanov.
Piccola Accademia degli Specchi's mission also aims to diffuse the music of contemporary and living Italian composers such as Giovanni Sollima, Fulvio Caldini, Francesco Di Fiore, Irma Ravinale, Matteo Sommacal, Franco Antonio Mirenzi, Ada Gentile, Michele Biki Panitti, Paolo Carlomè, Giacomo Cuticchio.
Members
Current members include: Fabio Silvestro (Piano), Assunta Cavallari (Piano), Alessandra Amorino (Flute/Piccolo), Claudia Di Pietro (Alto Saxophone/Soprano Saxophone), Rina You (Cello), Giuliano Cavaliere (Violin).
Founder members include: Matteo Sommacal (Composition/Recorder), Giovanni Rosati (Piano), Assunta Cavallari (Piano), Alessandra Amorino (Flute/Piccolo), Claudia Di Pietro (Alto Saxophone/Soprano Saxophone), Donato Cedrone (Cello), Valerio Marchitelli (Violin).
Other collaborators include: Kyung Mi Lee (Cello), Paolo Andriotti (Cello), Ilaria Calabrò (Cello), Marco Simonacci (Cello), Giacomo Grandi (Cello), Giuliano Cavaliere (Violin), Carlo Vicari (Violin), Marcello Sirignano (Violin), Giorgio Tentoni (Violin), Emanuela Sabatiello (Violin), Min Ji Kim (Soprano), Giorgia Rocca (Soprano), Mauro Conti (Flute), Matteo Laspada (Flute), Giuseppe Rossi (Piano), Erika Mazzola (Piano), Luca Cipriano (Clarinet), Roberta Togni (Alto Sax/Soprano Sax), Walter Geromet (Alto Sax/Soprano Sax), Walter van Suijlekom (Drums/Percussions), Giuseppe Craparotta (Drums/Percussions).
Recordings
- Candidamente, Prod: M. Sommacal, R. Lancia, M. Siccardi (IT 2002)
- MinimaMachta, Centaur Records (USA 2009)
- House of Mirrors, Zefir Records (NL 2011)
Radio Archives Online
- Relentless Minimalism - New Sounds, Broadcast on WNYC, 93.9 FM/820 AM, New York, 28 August 2009
- EuroMinimalism, Part 1 - New Sounds, Broadcast on WNYC, 93.9 FM/820 AM, New York, 20 October 2009
- Fuori Circuito - Tornando A Casa, Broadcast on Radio RAI UNO, Italian National Broadcasting, 30 October 2009
- New Music from Keyboardists - New Sounds, Broadcast on WNYC, 93.9 FM/820 AM, New York, 19 March 2010
- Relentless Minimalism - New Sounds, Broadcast on WNYC, 93.9 FM/820 AM, New York, 31 July 2010
- New Music from Keyboardists - New Sounds, Broadcast on WNYC, 93.9 FM/820 AM, New York, 9 June 2011
- Nieuwe cd's met Nieuwe Muziek - Wereldmuziek, Broadcast on Concertzender, The Netherlands, 16 March 2012
- Nieuwe cd's met Nieuwe Muziek - Wereldmuziek, Broadcast on Concertzender, The Netherlands, 23 March 2012
- Douwe Eisenga: House of Mirrors - Wereldmuziek, Broadcast on Concertzender, The Netherlands, 20 May 2012
- Werken van Jan de Haan, Andres B. van Zoelen, Jan Willem Lagerwaard en Douwe Eisenga - Wereldmuziek, Broadcast on Concertzender, The Netherlands, 22 June 2012
- Werken van Jan de Haan, Andres B. van Zoelen, Jan Willem Lagerwaard en Douwe Eisenga - Wereldmuziek, Broadcast on Concertzender, The Netherlands, 29 June 2012
Rankings
- MinimaMachta ranked 9th in Echoes Top 25 for September 2007.
Filmography
- Candidamente (Ruggero Lancia, 2000)
- Gabbia Aporetica (Fulvio Spagnoli, 2006)
- La Resistenza nella Provincia di Roma (Michele Imperio, 2006)
- Macchia Madre (Simona Marziani, 2008)
- me: Marine Equipment (EMEC, 2008)
- A mani nude, (Piero Pieri, 2010)
Broadcasts
- J. Schaefer, "Relentless Minimalism", New Sounds, broadcast on WNYC, 93.9 FM/820 AM, New York (USA), July 17, 2008
- J. Schaefer, "Eurominimalism", New Sounds, broadcast on WNYC, 93.9 FM/820 AM, New York (USA), September 10, 2008
- M. Shea, Martian Gardens, broadcast on WMUA, 91.1 FM, Amherst, MA (USA), November 15, 2009
- J. Schaefer, "New Music from Keyboardists", New Sounds, broadcast on WNYC, 93.9 FM/820 AM, New York (USA), 19 March 2010
- "Nieuw muziekstuk componist Douwe Eisenga", Omroep Zeeland, October 5, 2011
- G. Muelenberg, "Nieuwe cd's met Nieuwe Muziek", Wereldmuziek, broadcast on Concertzender (The Netherlands), March 16, 2012
- J. Elich, Douwe Eisenga: House of Mirrors, Wereldmuziek, broadcast on Concertzender (The Netherlands), 20 May 2012
- E. Randewijk, Werken van Jan de Haan, Andres B. van Zoelen, Jan Willem Lagerwaard en Douwe Eisenga, Wereldmuziek, broadcast on Concertzender (The Netherlands), 22 June 2012
- "Klasik her yerde", broadcast on Borusan Klasik (Turkey), January 21, 2013
References
- P. Ferialdi, "Piccola Accademia degli Specchi, minimalista", Il Piccolo, Trieste (IT), November 8, 2004
- D. Bozovic, "Minimalismo riflesso dagli specchi", Il Corriere Veneto, Trieste (IT), November 8, 2004
- L. Matteo, "Minimalisti a Roma", ARS - Anton Rubinstein Symposium, Anno II, Num. 1, February 2005, pp. 3–5
- A. Mistaro, "Minimalismo Corale al Festival di Topolò", Choralia, Anno X, Num. 41, September 2005, pp. 9–10
- L. Bamboschek, "Apertura corale del Festival Nono", Il Piccolo, Trieste (IT), November 27, 2005
- C. Di Pietro, "La Musica Minimalista", Laurea Thesis, Conservatorio di Musica di Roma "Santa Cecilia", Rome (IT), A.Y. 2006/2007
- F. Vitale, "Verso la Città a Piedi", Madeleines, published on Nuove Tendenze, 2008
- D. Gross, "Omaggio a Feldman", Il Piccolo, Trieste (IT), November 30, 2008
- F. Zampa, "Doppio concerto alla Casa del Jazz", Il Messaggero, Rome (IT), September 11, 2009
- A. Gasponi, "Minimalismo in chiave italiana", Il Messaggero, Rome (IT), October 19, 2009
- C. Pulsoni, "L'orazione di Victor Hugo trasformata in musica", Il Corriere dell'Umbria, Vivere d'Umbria, Perugia (IT), November 19, 2009
- V. Di Matteo, "Minimal Music", Thesis for the course "Analysis of musical literature for keyboard instruments", Conservatorio di Musica di Palermo "V. Bellini", Palermo (IT), A.Y. 2009/2010
- "Susman inedito alla Borghese", Corriere della Sera, Rome (IT), June 21, 2010
- R. Haskins, "Minimamachta", American Record Guide, May/June 2010
- L. Harder, "The Pierrot Ensemble: Are We Through? Shouldn’t We Be?", What music is, June 8, 2011
- "Zeeuwse Concertzaal viert haar 250e concert", Volgnieuws, Middelburg (NL), October 6, 2011
- J. van Damme, "House of Mirrors", Zeeland Geboekt, November 20, 2011
- CD "House of Mirrors", Dichterbij, nr. 3493, Rabobank, The Netherlands, 2012, p. 31
- H. Drost, "House of Mirrors", PlatoMania Klassiek, The Netherlands, February 8, 2012
- P. Janssen, "House of Mirrors", Klassieke Zaken, nr. 2, The Netherlands, March 2012, p. 36
- R. Punt, "World Premiere of American Spring by Stephen Cohn at Shumei Hall", The Huffington Post, April 9, 2012
- "House of Mirros", Arts en Auto, April 28, 2012
- A. van der Wal, "House of Mirrors", Opus Klassiek, The Netherlands, May 2012
- R. Seghers, "Eisenga - House of Mirrors", Luister, Da Ponte Music, June 30, 2012
- M. Shooter, "Piccola Accademia degli Specchi - Minimamachta", La voz de los vientos, November 24, 2012.
- C. Dromey, "A Snapshot of the Pierrot Ensemble Today", Proceedings of the Third International Meeting for Chamber Music, Universidade de Évora, Music Department, Unidade de Investigação em Música e Musicologia (UnIMeM), Portugal, 8–10 January 2013, pp. 25–40
- R. Schepper, "Douwe Eisenga: House of Mirrors - The Piano Files - Simon Songs - The Writer, his Wife, her Mistress", textura.org, March 2016.
External links
- Piccola Accademia degli Specchi - Official Website including repertoire, discography, multimedia, artist bios, composers
- House of Mirrors - PADS performs the music of Douwe Eisenga
- PADS YouTube Channel including live performances
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