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Marxist Notes on Music with BEN LUNN: May 28, 2024
The centenary of his birth is a chance to assess the remarkable combination of Marxism, activism and modernism in the works of Luigi Nono
KINDRED SPIRITS: Luigi Nono and Karlheinz Stockhausen in Darmstadt, summer 1957 [Seppo Heikinheimo/CC]

LUIGI NONO is one of the most significant composers of the last century and one of the major voices who epitomises both modernism and Marxism in music. 

SOCIALIST APPEAL: Maria Krzyszkowska and Witold Gruca, in Luigi Nono's ballet The Red Cloak, 1962 - Pic: Piotr Baracz, scanned from monthly Poland, January 1963, Interpress Publishers, Warsaw, Poland/CC

Born January 29 1924, Nono was deeply involved in political struggle. Having been active within the Italian resistance against Mussolini and joining the Communist Party of Italy (PCI) in 1952 (becoming a member of the central committee in 1975), Nono searched to tie his political convictions with his musical aspirations. 

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