Angelo Adamo

Night is Sound: Concerts for starry nights and orchestra by John Cage

Abstract

The year 2012 marked 100 years from the birth of composer John Cage. In this contribution I will discuss an aspect of his artistic production which has often, in my view, been neglected: his fascination with astronomy, which led him to write four compositions (or possibly five, as I hope to be able to explain in my talk) inspired by the starry sky. I will describe the origins of these compositions, starting from the star catalogs used by Cage and how they represent a turning point in his productions and in the history of 20th century music. When compared to the productions of other artists, I am convinced that they offer a novel approach in the discussion on the relationship between astronomy, music and painting, and in general between science and art.

Biography

I work as outreach officer at the Bologna Astronomical Observatory and I’m attending the PhD course in Astrophysics at Insubria University in Como, Italy, working on Cherenkov Telescope Array (C.T.A.). Apart from this, my main interests concern cultural astronomy, philosophy of science and the relationships between science and art. In addition to the bachelor in astronomy, I took also:
- The title of ‘Master in Science Communication’ at the I.S.A.S. Centre in
- Trieste, Italy
- A degree in ‘Music for Multimedia Applications (composition and comping)’ at the Bologna Conservatory
- A degree in ‘Comics ‘ at the Fine Arts Department of the same City.
I work also as an illustrator, a comic-stripe drawer and as musician (my main instrument is the chromatic harmonica). I have published two books:
- Planets Among Notes, Springer 2009;
- Tales of Suns and Moons, Giraldi, 2009.
I have presented both in the Poster Session of INSAP VI (Venice, 2009). In addition, I have also illustrated Astrokid.