The Listening Tension
In a society where the musical product is diversified to the point of dispersing the interest of the audience, as performers we feel the need to design more inclusive and innovative shows, focusing on the concentration and attention required to the people, the role of the musician, the musical choices and the variety of interpretation.
How do the elements that make up a performance influence audience concentration?
When we choose a concert programme, do we consider listening tension?
How can we exploit the properties of contrasting genres to design more engaging events?
The application of the research take place on different levels: the study of perception in the psychological, social and musical fields; the historical-geographical contextualisation of the musical programmes of relevant institutions; the practical application with live performances centred on unconventional musical choices; the involvement of musical realities that already implement diversified proposals, with the consequent perception analysis of audience and ‘insiders’.
The aim is to find a malleable performance practice for every occasion, which can allow several musical genres to coexist in the same performance, without simply juxtaposing them. A praxis that contemplates the impact of each performance on the listener. We want to move away from the very idea of ‘genre’, which outlines a closed and non-inclusive concept, fighting closure in favour of discovery and encouraging open-mindedness, the basis of our artistic ideal.
The knowledge acquired will be disseminated among ‘insiders’ and thanks to the European channels that are supporting us (SoC Zürich, Zürcher Hoschule Der Künste, Orpheus Institute Ghent, Consvervatorio of Milano, Conservatorio of Firenze), the project is taking on an international and intercultural scope, which is necessary for modern, functional and innovative research.
People
Sofia Goetz & Riccardo Acciarino, Performers with the willingness to innovate the academic music scene. They achieved academic degrees with top marks and honours, winning international awards, recording with importantrecord labels and collaborating with leading orchestras and ensembles; an international concert career in a wide variety of musical fields, that led them to meet and share an interest in artistic research with practical application. They founded the duoCup of Coffee producing events and music for tv series, with the aim of abandoning all genre prejudices in music, taking the listener by the hand through combinations they did not think could coexist.
Sofia Goetz, Sofia Goetz began studying the violin at the age of three thanks to the Suzuki method. Her studies led her to obtain a master's degree in violin at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan, with top marks, honours and an honourable mention. She has played with orchestral and chamber music groups in the most important Italian theatres and has distinguished herself by winning national and international prizes, as well as important auditions organised by institutions of the calibre of the Perosi Academy in Biella, the Chigiana Academy in Siena, the Gustav Mahler Academy and the Academy of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. With La Scala, he has toured the famous theatre and abroad, such as when he performed in front of the highest state officials at EXPO 2021 in Dubai. In 2022 he won an audition to become a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchestra. In between her international concert career and her master's degree in attainment at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste in Zurich, Sofia Goetz has also turned her attention to research, winning a competition from the School of Commons association in Zurich for a research project in the arts.
Riccardo Acciarino, "For Acciarino there are no limits" is how Corriere della Sera, leading Italian newspaper, defines Riccardo Acciarino, a multifaceted multi-instrumentalist with an international concert career that ranges across opposing musical genres. Internationally recognized as one of the most promising performers in the contemporary field (Ulysses Network), he has won prizes and collected appreciations as soloist, with important orchestras (Filarmonica della scala, Pomeriggi Musicali etc.) and renowned ensembles (Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Divertimento Ensemble etc.). He graduated in Clarinet at the Conservatory of Milan, obtaining a master degree in Bass Clarinet, both with honors and winning the prize as best wind instrumentalist of the institution. He obtained a master degree in contemporary music at the International Ensemble Modern Academy and he won auditions for numerous institutions (Lucerne Contemporary Orchestra, IRCAM Ulysses Ensemble, IEMA etc.). He is the artistic director and ideator of the music festival The No Way Experience. He frequently collaborates with composers of all nationalities in writing solo compositions dedicated to him. Acciarino recorded with labels such as Stradivarius, Hessischer Rundfunk, Limen Music and RAI, Italy's first radio station, from which he was invited for a podcast reserved to the most promising young contemporary performers. Since 2022 he is working on a research project that involves the University of the Arts in Zurich, the Orpheus Institute in Ghent, the Conservatories of Milan and the Conservatory of Florence. He teaches music, clarinet and saxophone in different institutions between Italy, Germany and Switzerland.
