ABSTRACT
Dealing with the practical and personal dynamics of an opera house had left Luigi Nono exhausted but keen to get back to making music in a more creative environment. ‘A tidal wave’ is how he referred to the enormous, inflexible organism that is an operatic production. He wanted to return to a direct, intimate productive relationship. Between the initial recordings and working on the score, tragedy had struck Maurizio and Marilisa Pollini – the work’s dedicatees – and Nono had lost both his parents within three months. The death of Luigi Dallapiccola shortly before the premiere of Al gran sole must also have been a sad preparation for a year of loss. Nono is clearly remembering the important part played by Dallapiccola in his own development; perhaps the brotherhood is theirs. Resonances with Dallapiccola ring through the new work.
