Serial Intervention in Nono’sIl canto sospeso

Abstract

The instrumental movements of Luigi Nono’sIl canto sospesoexhibit a variety of procedures that override determinations made by serial structures. The overrides, as I describe them, yield novel textures in multiple musical dimensions and seem to inspire Nono’s experimentation with electronic media later in his career. Further, multidimensional textures create formal musical and symbolic regions that underlie Nono’s projection of highly charged textual matter.