bioshort

Agostino Di Scipio

Composer, sound artist, and scholar. Born in Naples (1962), graduated in Composition and Electronic Music from the Conservatory of L’Aquila. He was appointed Doctor of Research at Université Paris VIII (EDESTA, Ecole Doctorale Esthétique Sciences et Technologies des Arts), where he presented a practice-led research work on the notion of “liveness” in mediatized performance and live electronics. As a composer, he is active in various media (computer music, chamber music, live electronics and sound installations). Central to his practice are experimental methods in sound generation and transmission, often materialising man-machine-environment networks of sounding interactions. Artist-in-residence of several institutions world-wide, notably including the Berlin DAAD Künstlerprogramm (2004-2005). Some of his music is published on various labels (RZ Edition, Neos Records, Chrysopeé Electronique, Wergo, Neuma, Stradivarius, Die Schachtel, etc.). In 2011 the Galerie Mazzoli in Berlin hosted a solo exhibit of Di Scipio’s sound installations. With pianist Ciro Longobardi, he published a large-scale realization of John Cage’s Electronic Music for Piano (Venice Biennale 2012, available on Stradivarius). With saxophonist and political agitator Mario Gabola he established the Upset duo, exploring recycled analogue circuitry. With Dario Sanfilippo he established the Machine Milieu project, exploring chaotic dynamics and autonomic behaviour in multiagent systems (Toxo Records). His output also includes two larger-scale chamber music theatre works, with poetry reading plus electronics: Tiresia (with poet Giuliano Mesa) and Sound & Fury (based on excerpts from Shakespeare’s The Tempest). Studies and retrospectives devoted to Di Scipio’s oeuvre include a special issue of Contemporary Music Review (2014) and the collective volume Polveri sonore. Una prospettiva ecosistemica della composizione (La Camera Verde, Rome, 2013).

As a scholar and researcher, Di Scipio lectured on issues in the history, analysis and politics of sound and music technologies, and published extensively on related matters - e.g. the monograph Pensare le tecnologie del suono e della musica (Editoriale Scientifica, 2013) and the more recent textbook Circuiti del tempo. Un percorso storico-critico sulla creatività musicale elettroacustica e informatica (LIM 2020). He served as full-time professor in Electroacoustic Composition at the Conservatory of Naples (2001-2013) and today holds the same position in L’Aquila. Edgard-Varèse-Professor at Technische Universität, Berlin (2007-2008), visiting professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2004), CCMIX (Paris, 2001-2007) and several other institutions, he took part in several research projects at Université Paris 8, IEM-TU Graz and ICST-ZHDK Zürich a.o. Guest editor of the Journal of New Music Research for a special issue on Iannis Xenakis (2002), he served as editor for various publications including Xenakis’ Universi del suono (LIM, 2003), Gottfried Michael Koenig's Genesi e forma (Semar, 1995), Michael Eldred’s Heidegger, Holderlin & John Cage (Semar 2000).

Materials and more info: http://www.agostinodiscipio.it