Giacinto Scelsi

Giacinto Francesco Maria Scelsi was an Italian composer known for his unique approach to composition, focusing on music based around a single pitch, altered with microtonal oscillations, harmonic allusions, and dynamic changes, as exemplified in his 'Quattro pezzi su una nota sola' (1959). Born in Pitelli, Scelsi spent time in Rome and Vienna, studying with notable teachers and becoming an early exponent of dodecaphony in Italy. His extensive travels and introduction to non-European music deeply influenced his work. Scelsi underwent a profound crisis after World War II, leading him to Eastern spirituality and a transformation in his musical vision. He favored improvisation, recording his sessions and guiding collaborators to transcribe them. Scelsi believed in music as a means to communicate transcendent reality, seeing himself as an intermediary, never allowing his image to be associated with his work.