London – Today, 26th August, in Saint Martin in the Fields, Luca Luciano, a famous Italian clarinetist, has performed a concert with music by Luciano Berio, G. Bartholomew, Gershwin and some of his own compositions. In particular, the performance featured compositions from his new album “Partenope” and the premiere of two pieces part of Luciano’s research, that is Fragment #6 (world Premiere) and “Rollick and Romp” (European Premiere). Sequenza #1 has been inspired by the famous line of Gustav Mahler’s “A symphony must be like the world, it must embrace everything” and includes sections of music that is notated or “composed in real time” where a ‘sequence’ of propositions are developed by the musician during the piece.
In his composition, Luca Luciano tries in this remarkable journey to embrace all styles of music he loves in a imaginative tour around the world from Western European music to Afro-American or folkloric music of Southern of Italy, from contemporary classical music with chromatic and angular-shaped lines to heartfelt melodies. The programme of the concert consisted also of Luciano’s personal homage to Antonio Vivaldi, Giacomo Puccini and George Gershwin.
As we know, St Martin-in-the-Fields is no ordinary venue with its fantastic central London location in the heart of Trafalgar Square, known as one of the most beautiful concert hall in the world and Luca Luciano is regularly invited to present his own compositions. Today’s concert is part of the celebrations in honor of 65th anniversary of free Lunchtime Concert at St Martin in the Fields.
Luca Luciano started his career at the young age of twelve debuting at one of the most established halls of his home town Naples. He is described as “the new voice of the clarinet” on the front page of De Klarinet Magazine, internationally recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to contemporary clarinet music. A former clarinet professor at the Leeds College of Music, Luciano is one of the few specialists of classical, jazz and contemporary music at HE level and has held the only existing position of jazz-clarinet lecturer in the UK for several years. Luca has been introduced by the BBC Radio as “one of Europe’s leading exponent of jazz clarinet” and his repertoire also embraces Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Berio, Messiaen, Brahms, Schumann and recordings of music by Stravinsky and Poulenc.
Over the last ten years, Luca has found himself increasingly in demand as a soloist and has pursued a career as a solo artisttouring extensively the UK and overseas and focusing primarily on his own music. As a recording artist, Luciano’s solo albums have received much critical acclaim, in particular, his latest clarinet solo album “Partenope” has been appreciated by a panel of experts.
I met with Luca Lucian at the end of his performance. While with care and attention he was cleaning and breaking his clarinet up in order to put it back in its case (that is for a musician a pivotal moment, maybe a little less important than the same performance.), I asked him some questions.
Firstly: “ What talks a young Italian musician into crossing the borderlines of his country?” “Is it a matter of job? Or anything else?”
“There are many musicians (and others) who have an interest in going abroad to study or seek employment. It is certainly an experience that should be encouraged, because by means of it, they can broaden their horizons and their point of view. In addition to this, the willingness to look for a job abroad is not only characteristic of the historical moment in which we are living. But all the time scientists, musicians, researchers have always travelled. No one could imagine asking Bach, Wagner, Bartholdy who came to Naples to study “Why are you coming to Naples? Is there any job in Vienna?” However, travelling, the musician can disseminate their work and continue his research.”
“”What is the quality of teaching in the UK?
“The English colleges undoubtedly offer the opportunity to specialize in certain fields which in Italy have not yet been established (jazz and improvisation). I remember my experience at Leeds, as professor of clarinet, when a lecture on Mozart was followed by a lecture on Charlie Parker. But the only fly in the ointment of English colleges is their utilitarian view: students are viewed as customers, we have lost the ancient roots of the concept of “University” as “UNIVERSITAS SCHOLORUM ET MAGISTRORUM”. So, it is necessary to return to our origins: in the dialogue “The Republic” of Plato when somebody ask Socrates when why politician people are not remunerated, Socrates replied: “They cannot wish more than the esteem of the people”.
“What do you think of the reform of the conservatory in Italy?”
“The conservatory had to been reformed. The Italian reform is absolutely an Anglo-Saxon reform, because the system 3 plus 2 corresponds to the English system of Bachelor and Master.”
Now, come back to your music: “What inspires you mostly in your compositions in addition to your Napoli?”
“As it is known, my cds are dedicated to my Partenope, but beyond that there are many composers who are part of my musical memory: Mahler, Stravinsky, Poulenc. Moreover, for me art and music are part of a wider path that is purely philosophical. In my free time I love to read the classics of philosophy. Now at home The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle is waiting for me. “
“Where does the idea of composing for solo clarinet come from?”
“It is an experimental project within a broader idea that’s a collection of compositions for clarinet and piano. Today, the public has had the opportunity to listen to two premieres, which will form part of a manual of teaching clarinet which I am working for.”
On your youtube channel I listened to the recording of the famous sonata FP 184 for clarinet and piano by Francis Poulenc: “How can you define it?”
“I studied this Sonata for my final exam and it has for me a special value, because it reminds of my father. The alternation of melancholy moments and very modern passages makes it one of the most beautiful composition written for clarinet and piano.”
“Can you compare Luca Luciano to Luciano Berio?”
“Luciano Berio (1925-2003) is one of the most important Italian composers of the twentieth century. The difference, besides the fact that Berio wrote very much, it is above technique. Luciano Berio composed orchestral works of great difficulty. I like to make sure that I won’t have limitations as an artist. “
So, “Who is Luca Luciano?”
“I like to call myself and be called an artist to 360 degrees. Plato affirmed that music is necessary for the soul and gymnastics is necessary for the body. The man without the art, culture, music is a brute, a rough, unable to feel the passions and feelings. Otherwise, if he has only the music he will not have the strength and ability to make decisions ”
The interview with the composer Luca Luciano ended in this way, , even if we were going to talk for hours in front of the evocative paintings of the National Gallery. Luca combines in a masterly way his Neapolitan congeniality, his deep musical knowledge and philosophical contents that always make life more enjoyable.