2014: L'ADC Monograph Series#2 (eng): Five Easy Pieces dedicated to Ludovico Quaroni
Five easy pieces dedicated to Ludovico Quaroni
Monograph by Lucio Valerio Barbera
In every style: "... At that time we were young and possessed of fixed ideas, and for us the name Quaroni was associated with three things that were far removed from the idea of modernity, an idea we reckoned was worth fighting and scheming for. First there was the village of "La Martella", with its cultivated, pedantic pattern of little peasant farmers [...] Then there was the Olivetti-inspired movement "Comunità", to which we knew Quaroni had to some extent subscribed to [...] Thirdly, there was the “Tiburtino†residential district; when I visited it, I got the impression that it was an obvious showcase for provincial affectation; anything but part of a modern city.
Charisma: Quaroni was sitting next to De Carlo, and had raised his upper body, leaning over the table as if it was some massive slab of rock; he had listened to De Carlo's address humbly and attentively, following every word. Now his face took on a different expression; he frowned, his brows knitted, his chin tucked in. Slowly, he uttered a single sentence: "Asserting my prerogative as Chairman of this Seminar, I reserve the right not to speak." Not to speak. A murmur greeted his statement.
Schubert was stupid: A few weeks later I went to visit Ludovico in his studio where he was finding room for a large stack of records; he had piled them up on a chair next to his record-player, and the stack was wobbling dangerously. I don't remember exactly why I had gone to see him, but even at the time I soon forgot the reason; I hurried to help him with this enormous pile of music, and my curiosity was aroused “I had myself only a meager stock of records and a great desire to hear more.
Elective misunderstandings: Quaroni had had a flash of fondness when I had told him about my coming journey to Milan and my visit to the BBPR studio. "Give Lodovico my best wishes (Lodovico with an "o" not with a "u" like me). I haven't seen him since he was teaching in Venice. I'd really like to get in touch with him again. Just think... I met him in 1938 in EUR. Or was it 1939? ...
Letzte Lieder: All the Lieder composers, then, have objectively speaking written their last songs, their Letzte Lieder. But for most music lovers "last song" means above all the Vier Letzte Lieder, the "˜Four Last Songs", for soprano and orchestra, by Richard Strauss, written in 1947 when the composer was eighty-three years old. Music critics are agreed that Strauss, in his old age, had regained his full creative powers; the music shrouds the words in a vibrant atmosphere of melancholy, and the last song of all is pointedly entitled Im Abendrot: "In the Twilight". We would all like to see our own Master do likewise.
