THE LIVING COMPOSERS PROJECT  

Luca Cori

(b. 29 December 1964, Busto Arsizio).

Italian composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, vocal, and piano works that have been performed throughout Europe and elsewhere.

Prof. Cori studied counterpoint and harmony with Dario Maggi at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan in 1983–84 and with Davide Anzaghi there from 1985–88, as well as analysis and instrumentation with Paolo Castaldi from 1984–92. There he also studied composition with Giacomo Manzoni from 1989–91 and with Azio Corghi in 1991–92, where he earned his diploma summa cum laude in 1992. In addition, he attended masterclasses in composition with Franco Donatoni in Milan from 1985–89, Siena in 1988–89 and Rome in 1992–93, as well as with Brian Ferneyhough in Milan in 1985–86 and Gérard Grisey in Milan in 1988.

Among his honours are Primo Premio in the competition Gian Francesco Malipiero in Asolo (1988, for Echõs), Primer Premio in the competition of the Festival Internacional de Orquestas Jóvenes in Murcia (1990, for Concerto) and Primo Premio twice in the competition Alfredo Casella in Siena (1991, for Rondeaux I [version for piano, small orchestra]; 1999, for Musica notturna). He has also earned Primo Premio in the competition Camillo Togni in Brescia (1992, for Trio) and Erster Preis in the competition Mozart in Salzburg (1997, for Studi [1º Libro] [nos. 2, 6, 8]). In addition, he was twice a finalist in the competition of the Internationale Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Amsterdam (1988, for Concertino; 1990, for Raku) and earned an honourable mention in the competition of the festival Wien Modern (1991, for Sobre los ángeles). His music has been performed in Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, and the USA.

He is also active in other positions. He has worked as an analyst and essayist with a specific focus on contemporary music and on the analysis of selected forms and languages from the classical tradition since 1992. He has written articles for the cultural publication Rassegna Musicale Curci in Italy and the music journal Pauta in Mexico, as well as an analytical monograph on the structures of Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080 by Johann Sebastian Bach (2001–04, Hortus Musicus, Bologna).

He co-organised with Víctor Rasgado and Juan Trigos the masterclasses in composition that Franco Donatoni led in Mexico City from 1995–97, where he also taught as an assistant to Franco Donatoni. He taught composition at the Conservatorio Egidio Romualdo Duni in Matera in 1996–97 and from 1999–2001, as well as at the Conservatorio Francesco Morlacchi in Perugia in 1997–98 and the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini in Palermo in 1998–99. He taught as Professore di Composizione at the Conservatorio Francesco Antonio Bonporti in Trento from 2001–05, as Professore di Composizione at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Tartini in Trieste from 2005–07 and as Professore di Composizione at the Conservatorio Egidio Romualdo Duni from 2007–14. He gave the lectio magistralis and masterclasses in composition at the Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City in 2003, taught as a visiting professor of analysis and composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona in 2005–06, taught as a guest professor at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and the University of Kentucky in Lexington in 2011, and taught as a guest professor at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and the Universidad de Guanajuato in 2013. He has taught composition at the Conservatorio Arrigo Pedrollo in Vicenza since 2014.

His publishers are Casa Ricordi, Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, Universal Edition, and Ut Orpheus.

CONTACT INFORMATION

E-mail address: lucacori64@gmail.com

COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS

STAGE:

Danze Meridiane (ballet in 1 act), flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone (+ tenor saxophone), harp, guitar, piano, percussion, 1985–94 (may be performed as a concert work)

Storia della Geisha Butterfly (atto unico lirico–drammatico, text by Grazia Coppolecchia), soprano, baritone, speaker, flute, clarinet, 2 guitars, violin, cello, percussion, 2010

ORCHESTRAL:

Concerto, cello, string orchestra, 1987–88

Rondeaux I, piano, small orchestra (13 players), 1991 (version of chamber work)

Threni, clarinet obbligato, string orchestra, 1996

de repente II, guitar, small orchestra (flute, alto flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, trombone, tuba, harp, 2 percussion, 3 violins, 2 cellos, double bass), 2008

Sinfonia Ypnos, orchestra/large orchestra (11 winds, 7 brass, piano, minimum 40 strings), 2012

CHAMBER MUSIC:

Echõs, flute, English horn, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, harpsichord, percussion, 1986–87

Concertino, oboe, piano, 1987

Rondeaux I, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1988 (also version for piano, small orchestra)

Rondeaux II, violin, 1988

Raku, 2 violins, viola, cello, piano, 2 percussion, 1989

Ypnos, flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, piano, 1989–90

Trio, violin, viola, cello, 1990

Perpetuum mobile, bass flute, 1986–91

Rondeaux III, piccolo, tenor saxophone, violin, 1991

Rondeaux IV, flute, clarinet, piano, 1992

Cage d'escalier, sopranino recorder (+ 3 soprano recorders, alto recorder, tenor recorder, bass recorder), 1993

Danze Meridiane, flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone (+ tenor saxophone), harp, guitar, piano, percussion, 1985–94 (concert version of ballet)

Rondeaux VI, flute, guitar, 1995

Salomé-Double per Franco Donatoni, string quartet, 1995

Locus Solus, contrabass recorder, 1995–96

Djunli Rondeaux, tenor recorder, 1997

Musica notturna, clarinet, violin, piano, 3 ensembles (flute, oboe, bassoon, percussion; viola, cello, double bass, percussion; harp, vibraphone, marimba, percussion), 1999

Rondeaux V, cello, 1999

Azoth, tenor recorder (+ 2 soprano recorders, 2 alto recorders), 2000–01

Rondeaux VII, oboe, 2001

Incisi e sequenze, flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, piano, 2003

Scherzo noir, harmonica, piano, 2004 (also version for flute, piano, 2006)

Rondeaux VIII, soprano recorder (+ alto recorder), guitar, 2006

Processi melodici dell'ansia I, marimba, 2006

Rondeaux IX, accordion, 2007

de repente I, guitar, 2007

Rondeaux X, piano, accordion, marimba, 2008

Processi melodici dell'ansia II, guitar, 2009

Triplum pro Ockeghem, alto recorder, tenor recorder, bass recorder, 2009 (Ut Orpheus)

Cortège, clarinet, alto saxophone, B-flat trumpet, tenor-bass trombone, electric guitar, piano, ring modulator, 2010

Questo, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, 2010

Sintodanze, guitar, 2010

Rondeaux XII, clarinet, 2011

Rondeaux XIII, 4 clarinets, 2011

Processi melodici dell'ansia III, cello, 2011

Charivari I, harp, 2012

Concertino d'inverno, clarinet, violin, piano, 2013

In Nomine, soprano recorder (+ alto recorder, bass recorder), alto recorder (+ tenor recorder, bass recorder), 2013

Saturno resonante, flute, trombone, cello, double bass, 2013

In Capo o in Cifra, cello, 2014

Un altro gioco, alto flute, guitar, 2014

Alle Correnti, 2 soprano recorders, 2 alto recorders, 2 tenor recorders, 2 bass recorders, 2 contrabass recorders, 2015

Three Encores, 2 tenor recorders, bass recorder ad libitum/contrabass recorder ad libitum, 2015

Charivari II, harp, darabukka (goblet drum from the Middle East), 2015

Quodlibarth, flute/alto flute, 2015

Perpetuum Dances, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, 2015–16

CHORAL:

Nocturnes (texts by Ezra Pound, August Strindberg, John Dowland, William Blake), alto, mixed chorus, 1996 (also expanded version as Four Nocturnes, alto, tenor, mixed chorus, harp, percussion, orchestra, 1998)

VOCAL:

Cantata (texts by Federico García Lorca, the composer), soprano, alto flute, oboe, bass clarinet, 2 violas, cello, percussion, 1984–85

E. P. Cantares (text by Ezra Pound), soprano, 1986–87 (also expanded version as Cantares, soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, 2 violins, viola, cello, 1988–89)

Sobre los ángeles (text by Rafael Alberti), mezzo-soprano, sopranino recorder (+ 2 soprano recorders, alto recorder, tenor recorder, bass recorder), violin, percussion, 1989–90

I Have Tried to Write Paradise (text by Ezra Pound), mezzo-soprano, cello, piano, 1991

So läßt mich scheinen (text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), voice, piano, 1995

D. H. Variations (1º Serie) (Scheinspiele 5) (text by Douglas Hadfield), mezzo-soprano, violin, cello, piano, 1993–96

O Lynx (text by Ezra Pound), soprano, oboe, cello, harpsichord, 1998

D'Artificio (Scheinspiele 4) (text by Rosaria Lo Russo), voice, piano, 2003

Mignon-Lieder (Scheinspiele 1) (text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), soprano, violin, cello, piano, 1995–2005 (also version as Mignon, soprano, orchestra [11 winds, 6 brass, harp, strings], 2006)

Lyr (Scheinspiele 2) (text by Rita Filomeni), soprano, piano, 2005

Tanzakkord (text by Laura Cantelmo), soprano, clarinet, cello, piano, 2005–06

Gotán (Scheinspiele 3) (text by Juan Gelman), soprano, violin, 2007

PIANO:

Tombeau, 2 pianos, 1994

Studi (1º Libro) (8 studies), 1997

Élan, 2 pianos, 1998

Studi (2º Libro) (8 studies), 2002

Rondeaux XI, 2010

Diferencias AD, 2012

Toy Rondeaux, toy piano, 2013

Quattro Scherzini sul nome Emma, 2014

Sì nere sirene, 2014

ORGAN:

Elohim, 2 organs, 2004

ARRANGEMENTS:

Siete Canciones populares españolas (Manuel de Falla), voice, flute (+ alto flute), oboe (+ English horn), clarinet (+ bass clarinet), soprano saxophone (+ alto saxophone), B-flat trumpet, trombone, guitar, cello, double bass, percussion, 1993

Dos Canciones (Blas Galindo), string orchestra, 2002

Toby Dammit from Tre Passi nel delirio (excerpt) (Nino Rota)–Consider Yourself and My Name from Oliver! (Lionel Bart)–Ballade von der sexuellen Hörigkeit, Kanonensong and Barbarasong from Die Dreigroschenoper (Kurt Weill)–Le Grand Lustucru from Marie Galante (Kurt Weill)–Surabaya Johnny from Happy End (Kurt Weill), soprano, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, accordion, percussion, 2011

DISCOGRAPHY

Studi (1º Libro) (nos. 2, 6, 8). Jung-Min Lee, Kyung-A Shin, piano (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg: UNIMOZ 15–16, 1997)

D'Artificio (Scheinspiele 4). Zara Dimitrova, soprano; Marino Nahon, piano (Milanocosa Progetti – ExCogita Editore: Contagio [book with CD], 2005)

Rondeaux VIII. Erik Bosgraaf, soprano recorder, alto recorder; Izhar Elias, guitar (Phenom Records: Big Eye PH0713, 2007)

Locus Solus; Cage d'escalier (excerpts). Tosiya Suzuki, sopranino recorder, 3 soprano recorders, alto recorder, tenor recorder, bass recorder, contrabass recorder (MusicScape: MSCD-0006)

de repente I. Dieter Hennings, guitar (Naranjo: 151 HH6078)