原載于LP【Bruno Maderna - Ein Dokument - Konzert der Salzburger Festspiele 1973】

In?a?specific?sense?he?was?“old?fashioned“.?In?a?world?which?in?every?sense?strives?for?technical?precision,?also?in?music,?he?constantly?sought?only?the?human?element.?Both?in?the?artistic?and?the?private?sector?Maderna?always?supported?the?right?of?the?individual?vis-a-vis?an?organized,?rigid?environment.?He?tried?to?safeguard?the?individualistic?and?to?this?end?was?deeply?engaged?in?humanistic?ideals.
This?humanistic?ideal?and?his?unerring?ability?to?grasp?the?intrinsic?conformity?of?a?particular?matter?also?left?their?mark?on?his?interpretations.?As?little?as?Maderna?the?conductor?could?be?understood?without?the?composer?and?pedagogue,?just?as?little?could?the?composer?be?understood?without?the?conductor.?The?music?ofJosquin?Desprez?or?Monteverdi?was?just?as?close?to?him?as?that?of?Mozart,?Schumann?or?that?of?his?immediate?contemporaries.?A?glance?at?the?far-reaching?list?of?premieres?which?Bruno?Maderna?directed?in?over?25?years?of?activity?as?conductor?all?over?the?world,?and?which?covers?all?the?important?names?in?contemporary?music,?already?indicates?his?complete?lack?of?prejudice?which?did?not?bind?him?toone?trend?or?one?ideology,?but?only?to?music.?Without?prejudiced?resentments?and?always?ready?to?discover?something?new?he?also?approached?the?classical?works,which?in?his?interpretations?often?indicate?completely?fresh?aspects.?To?this?extent?Mahler's?famous?sentence?applied?to?him:?“Tradition?is?slovenliness.“?He?was?not?prepared?without?examination?to?accept?what?had?been?passed?on?merely?because?it?had?always?been?practized?in?such?and?such?a?manner.
For?Maderna?every?interpretation?was?a?challange?to?create?the?work?a?new,?so?to?speak?to?compose?it?once?again?as?conductor;?for?Maderna?the?interpretative?as?well?as?the?compositional?element?primarily?was?an?intellectual?rather?than?a?musical?process.?The?impression?of?a?concert?which?he?conducted?was?therefore?also?a?very?specific?one:?one?had?the?feeling?of?being?present?during?the?originating?process?of?the?work,?of?being?drawn?into?its?emergence.?Maderna?tracked?down?the?forces?in?a?work,?made?them?audible?to?those?to?whom?he?owed?his?being.?He?did?not?arrange?the?whole?according?to?its?sections,?but?brought?the?parts?into?a?whole,?making?their?function?within?the?organism?of?the?work?of?art?discernible.?Thus?the?work?did?not?appear?to?the?listener?as?a?completed,?that?is?to?say,?historical?entity,?but?as?something?momentarily?coming?into?being?andprogressively?developing.?From?this?resulted?the?vitality,?the?sense?of?topicality?which?made?Maderna's?interpretations?so?unmistakeable.
As?a?conductor?and?composer?influenced?by?the?experience?of?new?music?and?inturn?schooled?by?the?mode?of?thinking?in?structural?concepts,?Maderna?perceived?in?the?works?of?the?past?that?which?was?present?from?his?point?of?view?and?brought?it?to?the?consciousness?of?the?listener.?Thus?he?led?the?listener?to?a?recognition?of?the?inner?logical?context?of?the?music,?and?with?it?insight?into?the?compelling?necessity?of?the?musical?process.?This?was?an?ability?which?eased?his?work?also?with?the?most?difficult?modern?scores?and?with?orchestras?which?were?not?always?receptive,?because?the?musicians?were?then?convinced.
In?addition?to?his?inborn?and?intense?sense?of?music,?Maderna?also?possessed?something?which?very?clearly?characterizes?the?type?of?the?modern?musician:?awide-ranging?education?at?home?in?all?sectors?of?art,?comprehensive?intellectual?engagement?directed?towards?philosophy,?literature,?history,?archaeology?as?well?as?music?itself.?Maderna's?restless?intellectual?curiosity,?manifested?in?the?constant?demand?for?exchanges?of?views?in?conversation,?the?unending?searching?and?collecting?of?books?and?his?day?and?night?reading?sessions,?was?continually?bent?on?discovering?new?contexts,?on?gaining?fresh?insight.?It?also?compelled?him?againand?again?to?deal?with?forgotten?musical?works,?tempted?him?to?the?adventure?of?discovering?new?compositions,?an?adventure?reflected?in?the?concert?pro-grammes?which?seldom?contained?what?is?well?known?but?all?the?more?often?featured?the?unknown,?off?the?beaten?track?or?difficult?of?access.?The?mainspring?of?Maderna's?programme?design?was?to?seek?out?contexts,?combining?or?separating?elements,?to?mobilize?them?and?thereby?encourage?understanding.?Bach?beside?Strawinsky?and?Josquin,?Ravel?together?with?Boulez?and?Mozart-each?received?from?the?other?a?changed?outlook,?revealed?a?new?sideto?his?music.?Born?of?mental?curiosity?and?animated?by?the?search?for?the?mysterious?dominating?order?in?music,?Maderna's?interpretations?were?not?a?rendering?of?tonal?events?but?acts?of?intellectual?appreciation.
Maderna?the?pedagogue?also?benefited?not?only?from?his?comprehensive?skilled?knowledge?but?also?from?his?versatile?education.?It?was?precisely?this?general?education?which?time?and?again?enabled?him?to?deduce?cross?connections,?not?seeing?the?single?element?in?isolation,?but?always?bearing?it?in?mind?as?a?whole,as?the?sum?total?of?individual?factors.?This?view?of?the?whole?-as?regards?the?world?and?mankind?-?was?Maderna's?basic?experience,?from?which?point?music?too?was?for?him?always?a?form?of?intellectual?appreciation?which?he?tried?to?reproducein?his?compositions?and?interpretations.
Bruno?Maderna's?compositional?work?ranges?in?its?beginnings?from?the?start?of?the?1940's?and?thus?encompasses?practically?all?genres?of?music,?including?electronicforms.
In?the?course?of?his?compositional?development?Maderna?used?almost?all?contemporary?techniques.?The?early?works?up?to?about?1948/49?still?mainly?display?the?influence?of?the?compositional?techniques?of?Bartók?and?Strawinsky,?while?the?years?1950-1956?indicate?preoccupation?with?serial?composition?and?technique,which?probably?find?their?clearest?expression?in?the?string?quartet?composed?1955.?However,?already?in?this?strictly?organized?work,?the?second?movement?of?which?is?a?note-by-note?reflection?of?the?first,?there?are?moments?when?the?composer?breaks?out?of?the?rigid?principle?of?organisation:?notes?are?omitted?and?replaced?by?pauses?if?they?might?disturb?the?course?of?the?movement.?Giacomo?Manzoni,?in?his?thorough?analysis?of?this?piece,?remarks?almost?with?regret:?“Soat?this?point?the?composer?intervenes?with?his?'feeling'.“?This?remark?touches,however,?a?basic?trait?of?Bruno?Maderna's?composing?work,?which?he?himself?once?summarized?tersely?and?precisely?with?the?words:?“The?worst?thing?in?the?world?is?consistency.?I?hate?to?be?consistent,?because?it?is?fatal.“?The?reserved?right?topersonal?freedom,?never?to?subject?himself?unconditionally?to?a?law?-?even?one?that?he?may?have?created?himself?-?led?Maderna?in?the?succeeding?years?to?amode?of?composing?which?exploited?and?combined?all?available?possibilities?of?dodecaphonic,?serial?and?aleatoric?processes?without?ever?being?tied?down?to?aprinciple.
The?fact?that?both?in?the?external?formal?sector?and?in?the?musical?structure?similarities?occur?among?the?various?works,?and?even?in?parts?they?are?exchangeable?-?and?are?exchanged?by?the?composer?-?has?its?basis?in?the?compositional?mode?of?approach?as?such?which?Maderna?developed?during?these?years.?I?trepresents?the?attempt?to?combine?the?“formal“?organisation?of?the?material?with?the?“informal“?liberty?of?aleatoric?structures.?That?which?in?the?“Musica?su?duedimensioni“?from?1952?and?1958?was?still?formulated?as?a?strict?antithesis?and?from?which?point?on?appears?in?Maderna's?works?as?a?basic?problem,?was?now?tobe?turned?into?one,?to?be?led?towards?a?synthesis.?When?Maderna?once?mentioned?that?in?his?music?he?wanted?to?relate?“basic?experiences?of?man“,?then?these?can?be?most?clearly?perceived?in?this?attempt?at?mediation?between?strict?law?and?complete?freedom.?Just?as?in?the?phase?of?strict?serial?composing?technique?heused?the?“feeling“?as?the?permanent?corrective,?in?the?later?years?of?the?complete“freedom“?of?aleatoric?processes?he?always?adhered?to?an?organisation?of?material?which?was?precise?in?detail.
The?difficulties?inherent?in?the?attempt?to?lead?the?antithesis?“formal?-?informal“to?a?synthesis?are?in?ample?evidence?in?the?major?orchestral?works?from?the?years?between?1960?and?1967?(1st?and?2nd?oboe?concerto,?Dimensioni?III?for?Orchestra?and?Solo?Flute,?Stele?per?Diotima?for?Orchestra?with?a?cadenza?for?several?instrumental?soloists,?to?mention?only?the?most?important.?The?division?of?the?two?sectors?becomes?very?clear?here:?as?a?rule?the?solo?instrument?is?allotted?the?informal?sector?in?the?shape?of?eternally?modifiable,?quasi-improvising?cadences?and?insertions.?The?orchestra?is?the?rigidly?through?composed?sector,?whose?unusually?differentiated?tonal?treatment,?often?reduced?to?smallest?motifs,?admittedly?shows?signs?at?first?of?future?resolution?possibilities,?but?on?the?whole?is?really?a?combined?block?against?the?solo?instrument.?The?motif?arrangement?and?melody?in?the?solo?sections?of?the?concertos?practically?never?conceal?their?declamatory?character,?their?structure?marked?by?the?natural?pause?for?breath.?The?preference?for?the?higher?woodwind?(flute,?oboe)?has?in?this?respect?its?actual?origins,?for?“breathing“?and?“speaking“?are?for?him?character-determining?indications?of?individual?human?excistence.
As?opposed?to?this,?the?orchestral?passages?display?a?construction?of?manifold,sometimes?the?shortest?motifs,?which?mutually?cross?over?each?other?and?in?multi-farious?time?values?are?constantly?superimposed?upon?each?other.?Similarly?the?individual?orchestral?groups?are?frequently?combined?into?tonal?areas?which?take?over?from?each?other,?fuse?with?each?other?or?which?also?clearly?stand?out?from?each?other.?All?of?this?gives?the?impression?of?something?unstable,?buzzing,indefinable.?At?this?juncture?Maderna's?mode?of?composing?-?which?was?definitely?his?own?intention?-?stands?on?the?threshold?of?where?the?highest?degree?of?differentiation?suddenly?changes?into?indifferentiation,?into?a?kind?of?wolesale?character.The?non-musical?reference,?the?announcement?of?the?“basic?experiences?of?man“,become?completely?clear?here,?but?at?the?same?time?it?is?also?amply?evident?how?far?removed?from?a?banner-like?nature?the?“announcement"?is?bound?up?in?absolute?musicality,?although?Maderna?did?not?always?succeed?in?fully?integrating?the?divisively?striving?components?of?formal/informal,?tutti/solo.?Often?the?tension?of?the?parts?threatens?to?explode?the?whole?of?the?work,?something?which?becomes?all?the?more?evident?since?the?concept?of?the?“conclusive?work“?is?never?ab-andoned.
In?his?most?important?work?of?the?period?from?1960?to?1968,?the?“Lirica?in?forma?di?spettacolo:?Hyperion“,?made?up?of?various?parts,?Maderna?frequently?used?iden-tical?material?for?the?individual?parts.?This?was?a?method?which?he?retained?in?the?works?composed?in?the?last?five?years?of?his?life,?but?wich?he?applied?in?varied?form.?In?the?Hyperion?pieces?they?are?already?properly?shaped?parts,?reused?in?the?same?or?varied?form;?but?later?only?the?basic?material?is?identical,?the?shaping?however?being?different?and?the?underlying?relationship?of?the?composition?scarcely?recognizable.?Admittedly?all?are?created?from?the?same?seed?but?are?formed?completely?differently.?In?pieces?such?as?“Quadrivium“?(1969),?“Aura",?“Biogramma"and?“Giardino?religioso“?(all?1972)?the?complete?synthesis?is?successful;?dissolution?of?what?up?to?that?point?had?the?effect?of?dialectical?tension?“formal?-?informal“,and?solo?and?tutti,?appear?as?integrated?elements?(most?obvious?in?the?“Giardinoreligioso“).?The?commentary?which?Maderna?wrote?in?1973?regarding?the?premiere?of?his?last?work?-?the?3rd?Oboe?Concerto?-?lays?this?down?very?precisely:?“While?preparing?this?work?the?thought?was?constantly?with?me?that?the?music?already?existed,?that?it?had?always?already?existed;?even?that?which?I?was?writing.?All?that?is?necessary?is?to?have?confidence?in?what?one?hears?around?one?and?in?oneself?and?to?execute?it?in?a?score.?'Firmly?shaped'?and?'open'?are?one?and?the?same.“
But?something?else?becomes?clear?from?this?quotation,?something?which?leads?deeper?into?the?nature?of?Maderna?the?composer?and?makes?one?more?sharplyaware?of?an?aspect?which?hitherto?was?only?vaguely?evident?from?descriptions?of?the?purely?craftsman's?compositional?process:?“that?the?music?already?existed,that?is?always?already?existed“?is?something?which?only?somebody?can?say?who?is?deeply?rooted?in?tradition,?who?draws?from?the?constantly?flowing?water.?Among?all?the?composers?of?the?generation?after?the?second?World?War,?Maderna?was?the?one?most?strongly?bound?to?musical?tradition,?not?in?the?sense?of?superficial?familiarity,?but?from?an?inner?creative?bond?of?a?definitely?dialectical?character.?It?is?hardly?surprising?in?this?respect?that?the?music?of?his?Venetian?background?played?a?decisive?role.?But?just?how?creatively?Maderna?applied?this?tradition?is?shown?by?the?“Musica?su?due?dimensioni"?and?everything?in?turn?which?resulted?from?its?conceptual?musical?beginnings:?the?Venetian?polychoral?element?is?its?actual?origin.?The?spaciousness?in?Maderna's?works,?to?which?Manzoni?already?referred?in?1958?in?his?analysis?of?the?string?quartet,?is?from?this?point?of?view?not?difficult?to?explain.?Other?circumstances?such?as?the?“orchestra?in?eco"?in?theviolin?concerto,?the?retention?of?such?traditional?descriptions?as?concerto,?serenade,notturno,?hardly?require?special?mention,?although?it?is?probably?in?this?resultantly?creative?link?with?tradition?that?the?root?lies?for?adherence?to?the?integrity?of?the“work“.
The?fact?that?Maderna?never?questioned?this,?indeed?he?condemned?its?destruction,also?had?its?reason?in?the?firm?conviction?of?the?inviolability?of?the?individual,?the?sanctity?of?individual?existence.?“Man?-?not?as?a?quantity,?as?a?mass-,but?as?an?individual,?must?have?the?right?to?his?life,?and?we?must?work?for?an?ideal?world?in?which?also?the?seer,?the?pioneer?has?his?place,?even?if?he?is?an?anarchist.“?These?words?by?Maderna?reveal?what?“basic?experiences?of?man“?are?manifested?in?his?music,?what?problems?he?tries?to?solve?musically,?that?is?to?say,?in?his?manner:?to?resolve?the?dialectical?tension?between?the?individual?and?the?general?public,to?integrate?the?individual?into?the?whole?without?depriving?him?of?the?room?for?his?own?existence.
This?could?only?succeed?if?ones?own?laws?were?traced?back,?if?feelings?controlled?the?intellect?and?vice?versa,?if?the?permanent?readiness?were?available?always?to?reverse?once?more?all?the?given?preconditions.“The?worse?thing?in?the?world?is?consistency.“?This?does?not?mean?merely?to?turn?aside,?but?rather?condemns?all?stubborn?schematic?thinking,?and?implies?the?right?at?all?times?to?seek?fresh?paths?to?reach?the?set?goal?if?the?old?ways?have?proved?in?effective:?Maderna?tried?to?do?justice?to?this?right?in?his?life?and?in?his?works?-?within?him?both?were?inseparably?linked.?In?failure?and?in?succes?one?can?feel?what?Luigi?Nono,?in?his?obituary?for?Bruno?Maderna,?summarized?in?the?sentence:“Bruno?Maderna?è?grandissima?generosità?humana.“