Riccardo Malipiero and the fragments of a “quasi-dodecaphonic” Sereni: an analytical perspective with a few didactic observations

Abstract

This article examines a composition by Riccardo Malipiero (1914–2003) from 1979, which sets several poetic fragments taken from the final collection by Vittorio Sereni (1913–1983), Stella variabile. It starts with a broad overview of the salient features of 20th-century Italian “poetic-musical” art, and uses poetic and musical analysis tools to evaluate and interpret the work’s results. Notably, this is one of the few musical settings of the Luino poet’s verse, an aspect that merits attention in its own right. Further analysis identifies possible stylistic and aesthetic convergences between the two artists, whose creative trajectories were undeniably modern despite their choice of forms of expression that were less radical than those typical of the avant-garde. The article also has an educational dimension, offering reflections and suggestions for activities, including two unpublished letters from Malipiero to Sereni that were expressly made available for this article.