Milan, at HangarBicocca a concert in direct dialogue with the sound machines of Jean Tinguely

A concert in direct dialogue with Jean Tinguely ’s sound machines in the exhibition spaces of Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan, where the largest Italian retrospective dedicated to the artist since his death is on view until Feb. 2, 2025. The event titled Electroacoustic Circus in the Imaginary of Jean Tinguely, curated by Milano Musica in collaboration with Ircam-Centre Pompidou and the G. Verdi Conservatory of Milan, is part of the exhibition’s Public Program; it will be held on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7 and 9 p.m. and is designed to celebrate the centenary of Jean Tinguely’s birth. In the Swiss artist’s research, the relationship between sound and vision was a central element, since the 1950s, and the concert on the program takes its cue from this very theme. Fascinated by the experiments of “concrete” music-which integrates mechanical sounds and noises or those taken from reality-Tinguely conceived of his sculptures as “machines for mixing sounds.” The exhibition features, for example, Méta-Maxi (1986), a work in which the artist combines musical instruments and mechanisms that produce deliberately disharmonious sounds.

The musical homage draws inspiration from one of his most iconic works: the Fontaine Stravinsky (1982-83), created in collaboration with Niki de Saint Phalle. Located in the square of the same name in Paris, between the Centre Pompidou and the Saint-Merry church, the fountain is on the roof of the building that houses Ircam (Institut de recherche et coordination acoustique/musique), one of the largest public research centers dedicated to both musical expression and scientific research. The artist shared a deep bond of friendship with Pierre Boulez, founder and first director of Ircam.

The concert program opens with one of the first works Boulez conceived at Ircam, Dialogue de l’ombre double (1985), a work combining the sound of a live clarinet with a recorded clarinet. This is followed by an “imaginary crossing” made by Yann Brecy and Luca Bagnoli with the sounds recorded from Cyclop, a monumental 22-meter-high sculpture made by Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle in the Milly-la-Forêt forest in 1969. This complex work, the result of the collective work of several artists over nearly 15 years, integrates moving metal machinery, sound mechanisms and even a small theater.

The concert then continues with Three Pieces for Clarinet by Igor Stravinsky, composed in 1918 when Tale of the Soldier was published, and concludes with Feu de joie, a piece for wind orchestra composed in 2023 by Mikel Urquiza. The latter piece, performed for the first time in Italy, commissioned by Ircam-Centre Pompidou with support from AXA on the occasion of the restoration of the Fontaine Stravinsky, symbolically closes the program, celebrating Tinguely’s artistic and sonic legacy.

Electroacoustic Circus in the Imaginary of Jean Tinguely
curated by Milano Musica in collaboration with Ircam - Centre Pompidou and Conservatorio G. Verdi di Milano
with:
Jérôme Comte, clarinet, soloist with Ensemble Intercontemporain
Luca Bagnoli, sound engineering Ircam
Yann Brecy, electronics Ircam
Wind Orchestra of the Conservatorio G. Verdi of Milan
Sandro Satanassi, conductor

Pictured: Jean Tinguely, Méta-Maxi (1986; Metal structure on wheels, wooden and metal wheels, musical instruments, rubber belts, plastic and plush toys, electric motors, 340 x 1260 x 430 cm; MercedesBenz Art Collection). © Jean Tinguely by SIAE, 2024. Photo by Agostino Osio

Milan, at HangarBicocca a concert in direct dialogue with the sound machines of Jean Tinguely

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