Friday, May 11, 2012, at the Villa Mazzacurati 1763 Theatre, run by theAssociation for culture and art of 700 ‘, was held in the evening, the presentation of the book “Richard Wagner, the poetics of pure human” by Musicologist Prof. Renzo Cresti , published in Italian and in English by “Italian Library of Lucca. To follow the concert with music by R. Wagner performed at the Piano byBeatrice Venice with the extraordinary participation of soprano Mirella Golinelli, I interviewed the Professor for Flasmusica, to promote his most recent monograph entirely dedicated to Richard Wagner.
The Theatre, an authentic Baroque jewel, elegant and particularly predisposed to host the best acoustics possible in a closed place, hosted a concert of great suggestion dedicated to Wagnerian musical genius. The event will replicate in September, with great expectation from all present. For that occasion, the guests of the evening singing to promote the theatre of Villa Aldrovandi-Mazzacurati, which risks closure. A call for an artistic musical pearls will not be forgotten territory and worse.
FM : How can today discover contemporary young audiences in Wagner, an author always considered classic?
RC : I am very pleased that I post this question because I had put in writing this work, aware of how objective Wagner is alive today, because if you don’t look at it from the angle of your time becomes a pure academic exercise. We think that the monograph on Wagner is among the largest in the world after Christ and Napoleon. There are over 50,000 printed books only, without considering the 21 million websites talking about it. It doesn’t want to be a critical monograph an end in itself, wouldn’t be interested even to Wagner, who hated the philology and academics. What matters is the communication, it is more interesting to see the reaction of the audience rather than the reaction of a colleague, otherwise it remains confined to a niche of niche of classical music. This in my opinion makes the bad music, because books with academic setting fail to bring the audience to Wagner, as well as any other author.
FM : View the experience distinguished by great musicologist, artistic director, and worthy contributor for criticism of industry, which are in your opinion the salient points of the concert scheduled for tonight (with pianist Beatrice Venezi and the famous soprano Mirella Golinelli) that is necessary to get the public to understand the Wagnerian feel?
RC : We live in a post-modern era, which he placed at the center of communication. Wagner in turn has always placed emphasis on the fact that his music should involve those who play and those who watch. He appealed to the people, today maybe linked too ideologies. Here must be interpreted as meaning of community. Basically communicate means entering into the community, the community of music lovers. If present, this splendid Villa Theatre Mazzacurati, those who participate in it excites, Wagner will have won. If they say “Yes, interesting, however …” Wagner has lost. Wagner was the musician who revolutionized in some respects the traditional 19th-century Theatre, though his formal technical revolution is never an end in itself, but is always rebellion seeking a deeper communication. Since the traditional work for him was a bit fixated, he has sought a deeper. When we hear the beginning of Tristan-Isolde, not all are aware of the fact that the agreement with which began the prelude has been tested by hundreds of scholars. Just listen to understand. Then the agreement is classified in one way or another does not matter. In the monograph there are of course also those aspects, but the large capacity of this absolute genius is that to be able to wrap musicians and spectators in a sublime atmosphere. This is at the bottom of its topicality.
FM : Let’s get unexpected aspects of its production: Which place occupy in his career as a writer of music his literary tales?
RC : A marginal seat. I wrote a couple of books of literature and two short stories, born from the need to go a little pen where he wanted. As the scholar craft requires that the work object is always very present-otherwise they are fantasies on vacuum-write freely becomes necessary at some point. A requirement that I heard a 15 years ago. Recently I did not have time to improve creative writing visas commitments by teacher and Director, but it may be that additions later on a new project.
FM : Among our readers there are aspiring researchers within musicology and music students. We know that there are many barriers that face by choosing this career path. What advice can you give?
RC : The situation is very difficult now for classical music. The pages of newspapers not interested almost more to these topics, except for certain events such as the first of the ladder. The reviews have disappeared, and even the funding were almost zero. What can I say, I always say to my students, is to not ever let down. Increase your energy, a willingness to show up in the labour market as prepared as possible, have patience if you meet some debacle, we passed them all. With this crisis is all the more difficult, but never surrender, even before that as scholars like men.
About the author: Renzo Cresti is Professor of history of music at the Conservatorio di Lucca (where he was also Director, 2006-2009, and where he teaches a course on the history of jazz). As a musicologist he wrote or edited more than 40 books, including the volume of music teaching life (6th ed., Panzano in Chianti 2008), Italian Enciclopedia of contemporary composers . hewas Director of editorial Necklaces. He has collaborated with various universities and prestigious institutions, RAI, Biennale di Venezia, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino etc. For many years collaborated with many magazines even foreign and his texts have been translated into English, German, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Japanese. Was Advisor to the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, creating, among other things, jazz Amphitheater (1994-98). Part of the juries of numerous contests of composition and execution (for many years was Chairman of the Barga Jazz contest). Active speaker, is artistic director or advisor to music associations, Musters and orchestras. Has to his credit including literary stories, essays by art critic and three opera librettos. His dissertation was devoted to Wagner, now masterfully described in hismonography “Richard Wagner” Lucca Library 2012.
To know more:
www.iperbole.bologna.it/iperbole/teatro700/
