sfSound & special guests
Celebrating Stefano Scodanibbio
co-presented with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of San Francisco
Stefano Scodanibbio Avvicinamenti (2007); My New Address (1986/1988); Mas lugares (on Monteverdi’s Madrigali) (2003); Plaza (2001)
Luciano Chessa COHIBA (2015)
structured improvisation by Lisa Mezzacappa & Matt Ingalls Omaggio (2015)
This concert is co-presented with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of San Francisco.
In 2008 Old First Concerts, in conjunction with the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco and sfSound, hosted an outstanding and memorable concert of music by the composer and contemporary contrabass virtuoso Stefano Scodanibbio. Scodanibbio passed away in 2012 at the age of 55, after a battle with a form of motor neurone disease. Dedicated to his memory, sfSound and the Italian Cultural Institute present a concert of Scodanibbio’s compositions and new work by local musicians created especially for this occasion. Stefano Scodanibbio’s name has been permanently linked to the contemporary renaissance of the double bass, creating new techniques extending the colors and range of the double bass never thought possible on this instrument. Over his career, he performed dozens of works written especially for him in major festivals throughout the world by composers such as Berio, Bussotti, Donatoni, Estrada, Ferneyhough, Frith, Globokar, Sciarrino, and Xenakis. He was also a frequent collaborator with Terry Riley, with whom he released Lazy Afternoon Among The Crocodiles. Active as a composer, his catalogue consists of more than 50 works principally written for strings. Two of his best works are represented on this concert, performed by the Del Sol String Quartet and violin soloist, Benjamin Kreith. The 2008 concert featured Scodanibbio leading sfSound in the improvisational work, Avvicinamenti, which has been specially reconstructed for this event.