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When the Ensemble Dissonanzen asked Die Schachtel in 2013 to publish a massive retrospective edition of some of their most representative works to celebrate their 20th anniversary, the label knew it would be a challenge. They were -- and still are -- quite conscious of the fact that the work of an all-acoustic New Music ensemble with a heavy dose of improvisation may appear out of place within the more electronic/experimental Die Schachtel catalog, but then they listened to the music -- and all of a sudden they were glad to embark on the operation. Dissonanzen, born in Naples in 1993, is one of the most reputed and internationally-acclaimed Italian New Music ensembles. They have always carried out important work on the modern and contemporary repertoire, performing pieces by composers such as Berio, Cage, Crumb, Dallapiccola, Feldman, Henze, Ives, Kagel, Maderna, Petrassi, Rzewski, Scelsi and Stockhausen, to name a few. They regularly collaborate with many musicians, composers and artists within the framework of the concert series of the Associazione Dissonanzen. The recordings contained in this 5CD box set, curated by Ciro Longobardi and Tommaso Rossi, present the most important steps in their life, covering a period of about six years (from 2003 to 2009) and shedding a significant light on their relationship with improvisation, which spans over a wide variety of productions, from repertoire to sheer improvisation to multimedia projects (as in the case of the "post-scoring" of the Man Ray movies). The close working relationship between the players, and the emphasis placed on extremely subtle investigations of their instruments, makes these recordings an invaluable document of the life of one of the most creative musical experiences emerging from Italy, as well as an immersive and rewarding listening experience. From the liner notes: "The aesthetical key of our work consists in the meeting of different personalities, coming from diverse musical trajectories. The Ensemble Dissonanzen has always carried out very serious work on the modern and contemporary written repertoire, while engaging with various possibilities in the area of improvisation. We have always experimented in new directions, also through our collaboration with outstanding guest artists belonging to different musical areas (Cristina Zavalloni, Marc Ribot, Michel Godard, Markus Stockhausen, Adam Rudolph, Alvin Curran, Stefano Scodanibbio, etc.)."
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