live electronics was performed in Lugano on 13 October 2023 by the Spheres Ensemble:
Chiara Ludovisi (viola), Bruna di Virgilio (piano) and Cristiana Palandri (electronics).
The work is an homage to German-born American musician Johanna Beyer (1888- 1944).
As a composer and pianist active in the United States in the 1930s, Beyer worked in
the shadow of male colleagues such as Henry Cowell and John Cage. Despite her
talent and her innovative and experimental musical language, Beyer’s work lay in
obscurity for decades (her Music of the Spheres, composed in 1938, is the earliest
known electronic work composed by a woman) and Palandri’s A Letter to Johanna is
a tribute to Beyer's courage and innovation.
The concert was a co-production of OGGIMUSICA and LuganoMusica, in collaboration
with the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, with the support of the Canton of
Ticino-Swislos Fund, the City of Lugano and Pro Helvetia.
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Cristiana Palandri
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Johanna Beyer
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