Musica trasparente

On October 6, 1924, the Italian Radio Union began broadcasting in Rome. Thus was born what would become Italian public radio. The first and second movements of Haydn's "Quartet Op. 2 No. 1" were chosen for the inaugural concert. When you think about it, it was a curious choice for a country like ours, which at that time was still completely dedicated to the celebration of opera and moreover was immersed in the Fascist regime, which favored Italian composers and works. But this is what happened: for the first national radio broadcast it was decided to play chamber music by an Austrian composer. Perhaps it was the clarity of Haydn's music, suited to the technology of the time, which was pioneering, still imperfect. Perhaps there were contingent factors I do not know of. In inventing this little quartet of mine to commemorate that date, I liked to think, in an imaginative way, that the choice of that piece was meant to emphasize two of the characteristics that radio, in its cultural version, still proposes to this day: honesty and politeness. I am writing this as a composer, but I could also subscribe to it in my role as a radio host (for almost thirty years, in between composing, I have worked in Italian radio), and I am sure I am not wrong. Because in front of the microphone it is impossible to lie, the voice betrays emotions, the listener understands on the fly whether you are really talking to them or if you are squandering their time with aseptic, useless words; and the best way, the right way to bring music, ideas, thoughts to the thousands of listeners is to deliver them gracefully, seeking exchange, dialogue, civility. Exactly as it happens in the quartets of the classical period and those inspired by it. This little tribute of mine to October 6, 1924, composed one hundred years after that first radio broadcast, is therefore intended to offer listeners a moment of light, transparent music; and in the sonorous conversation of the musicians it tries to remind us how much more beautiful the world would be if we knew how to listen to each other and respect each other with the affection that music always knows how to offer us in an exemplary way. (Nicola Campogrande, July 2024)