Ricardo Nillni
Argentine composer born 14 June 1960 in Buenos Aires.
Ricardo Nillni studied composition at the Buenos Aires Faculty of Musical Arts and Sciences, graduating in 1985 with a Bachelor’s as well as an advanced composition pedagogy degree. At the same time, he studied composition and contemporary music with Francisco Kröpfl and worked at the Buenos Aires Centre of Electro-Acoustic Music (LIPM).
In 1986, he was awarded a grant from the Rubin Academy which allowed him to study electro-acoustic techniques and the semiology of music at Tel Aviv University with Yizhak Sadaï. In 1987, he moved to Paris, where he undertook further study with Guy Reibel, Gérard Grisey, and Paul Méfano at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP), graduating from his composition class with highest honours. He also attended seminars and master-classes led by Brian Ferneyhough, Helmut Lachenmann, and Klaus Huber, among others. He went on to study with Franco Donatoni in Sienna, and finally, participated in the IRCAM Cursus (IRCAM’s composition and computer music course) in 1990-91.
His works have been performed at prestigious international festivals such as Donaueschingen, Darmstadt, Présences, Son-Mu, A tempo, Why note, York Spring Festival, Traiettorie, and Susaa, and by orchestras and ensembles including the Radio France Philharmonic, Orchestre de Picardie, 2E2M, Soloists of the Paris Opera, Soloists of Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Recherche, Itinéraire, Court-circuit, Ensemble FA, Accroche Note, Alternance, Das Neue Ensemble, Phace, and E-MEX.
From September 2000 to July 2002, he was composer-in-residence with the Orchestre de Picardie. In 2014, he was in residence at the Reims Conservatory, where he worked with students of composition and flute. In 2016, he was composer-in-residence in Haute-Corrèze (central France).
In October 2003, his work Plongements for orchestra was premiered by the Radio France Philharmonic at the 81st Donaueschingen Festival. In 2010, the Soloists of the Paris Opera presented a portrait concert of his chamber works at the Bastille Opera.
Ricardo Nillni’s music is characterised by its fluidity and continuity, its formal transparency and its use of particularly dense sonorities. Regular contact with Helmut Lachenmann’s “instrumental musique concrète“ and Gérard Grisey’s spectral works contributed significantly to Nillni’s compositional identity. However, a major stylistic change came about following an encounter with the work of visual artist Sol Lewitt, notably, the Five Degrees of Scribbles (a pure geometric form which, when viewed up close, reveals itself to be a mass of scribbles), which Nillni discovered in 2012 at a retrospective of the artist’s work at the Metz Pompidou Centre. This experience ushered in a new creative period which saw the development of an alternate harmonic system. Prior to this, Nillni’s works traced a gradual shift away from a focus on sound/noise relationships in favour of the use of pure pitches; however, after 2012, he once again embraced the union of pitch and noise, “fusing the noise elements of instrumental gestures with precisely defined pitches” within musical structures with shifting contours, with the objective of creating a “vibrational geometry”.
Alongside his concert music, since 1996, he has been developing a catalogue of multimedia works in collaboration with visual artist Laura Nillni under the name “ARAOZ.”
Nillni’s scores are published by Billaudot, EME, Babelscores, and Ricordi Munich.
Prizes
- Composition Prize of the City of Wiesbaden, 1999
- Boswil Prize, 1995
- TRIME Prize, 1994
- TRINAC Prize from the International Music Council, 1991
© Ircam-Centre Pompidou, 2021
Sources
Site du compositeur ; BabelScores.
- Solo (excluding voice)
- Sonata for piano (1982), 12 mn
- Discurso Uno for piano (1984), 8 mn
- Trois Épisodes for clarinet in B flat (1984), 6 mn
- Va Viene for guitar (1989), 12 mn
- elec Gaps for flute in G and magnetic tape (1990), 13 mn
- elec Autour des Tores for bass clarinet and fixed sounds (1994), 17 mn
- Trace de Tores for bass clarinet (1994), 9 mn
- Dressing cello for cello (2003), 10 mn
- Envol for violin (2003), 6 mn
- Reliefs brisés for piano (2003), 10 mn
- Hélice for cello (2006), 2 mn
- Dressing Harp for solo harp (2007), 12 mn
- Dressing Bass (2008), 8 mn
- Dressing Viola for solo viola (2009), 8 mn
- Axée-Desaxée for alto saxophone (2010), 7 mn
- Dressing Flute for solo flute (2010), 5 mn
- Vaga for solo trumpet (2015), 6 mn
- Per Se I for trumpet in C (2017)
- Per Se II for flute in C (2017)
- Transeo for solo double bell trumpet (2019)
- Transeo Tandem for double bell trumpet (2019), 4 mn
- Chamber music
- Quatuor à cordes (1983), 10 mn
- Aleph-Aviv for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and percussion (1986), 10 mn
- Tzadig Express for flute, bass clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello and double bass (1987), 12 mn
- Granula for viola, cello and double bass (1988-1911), 13 mn, Ricordi Berlin
- Spin for saxophone quintet (1988), 10 mn, BabelScores
- Tzadig Express II for eight instruments (1987-1992), 13 mn
- Acunada for double bass and piano (educational piece) (1993), 3 mn, Billaudot
- Points fixes for five instruments (1993), 20 mn
- Spinning for brass sextet (1993), 10 mn
- Quipus for bass clarinet and piano (1996), 12 mn
- Territoires en Fil de Fer for brass quintet (1997)
- Grammaire d'une Vague for clarinet, harp, celesta and double bass (1998), 6 mn
- Double Jeu for cello and trombone (1999), 10 mn
- Habillage du vide for clarinet, trombone, cello and piano (1999), 10 mn
- Twist suite for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1999), 11 mn
- Double Hélice for clarinet and cello (2006), 10 mn
- Undae for cello and harp (2007), 10 mn
- La Pieuvre for clarinet, horn, piano and cello (2009), 17 mn
- Quatorze c'est l'infini for string quartet (2009), 25 mn
- Floutée for two flutes (2010), 7 mn
- Trio Curvo for violin, cello and piano (2010), 16 mn
- Curved Air for flute quartet (2011)
- Fulcrum for clarinet and violin (2011), 6 mn
- Involuta for flute and cello (2011), 10 mn
- La Nube, la luna y el ojo for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano (2011), 13 mn
- Terra Cuita for flute, viola and harp (2011), 9 mn
- Trio Erratico for clarinet, cello and piano (2011), 13 mn
- Bis Copula for flute in C and alto saxophone (2012)
- Cinq degrés de crayonnage for flute, clarinet, viola and cello (2012), 12 mn
- Copula for flute in G and alto saxophone (2012)
- Wipe for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano (2013), 8 mn 30 s
- Boom for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano (2013-2014), 7 mn 30 s
- Wipe (II) for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano (2014), 6 mn 30 s
- Wipe, Boom, Wipe for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano (2013-2014), 22 mn 30 s
- Mono no Aware for shakuhachi duo (2015)
- Tèbah for flute, viola and trumpet (2015), 11 mn
- Terra Virdis for flute in G, cello and harp (2015)
- More Geometrico for trumpet in C and piano (2016)
- Tandem for violin and cello (2016)
- L'infini cartographié for string quartet (2017)
- Sub Rosa for alto saxophone, alto, cello and percussion (2017)
- Hash for alto saxophone and piano (2018)
- Bis Involuta for flute and viola (2019)
- Pantha rhei for viola and marimba (2019)
- E pur si muove for saxophone and trumpet (2020)
- Surfaces “malerish” for flute, clarinet in B flat, violin and cello (2020)
- Instrumental ensemble music
- Espiral for orchestra (1984-1985), 8 mn
- Zoom per Camera for fifteen instruments (1988-1989), 15 mn
- Origami for orchestra (1990-1991), 20 mn
- elec ircam Ircam cursus Mnese for ensemble and electronics (1992), 20 mn, Inédit [program note]
- Tremas for eighteen instruments (1993), 15 mn
- Stase (1993-1994)
- Stream for eighteen instruments (1993-1994), 15 mn
- Morphologies presqu' effaçables for sixteen instruments (1995), 17 mn
- De Columpios y Pliegues for string orchestra (1996-1997), 12 mn
- Grammaire des Vagues for symphonic wind ensemble (1999), 9 mn
- Le Miroir du Souverain Jaune for orchestra (2000), 20 mn
- Plongements for orchestra (2000), 18 mn
- Battements d'Ailes for orchestra (2001), 14 mn
- La Ritournelle du Géomètre for orchestra (2001), 12 mn
- Médanos for orchestra (2002), 10 mn
- Ruinas Circulares for orchestra (2002), 21 mn
- elec Ombres portées for nine instruments and electroacoustic device (2003), 16 mn
- Parcours fléchés for sixteen instruments (2005), 17 mn
- Torquere (2006), 10 mn
- elec Aer for flute ensemble and electronics (2011)
- Oscillare for twenty-four flute orchestra (2012), 8 mn
- Fuscum Subnigrum for twelve musicians (2016), 18 mn
- Concertant music
- Aire Curvo for trombone and nine instruments (1998), 14 mn
- Concerto for violin and orchestra (2003), 16 mn
- Double Concerto for harp, cello and fourteen instruments (2008), 18 mn
- Concerto Liquido for alto saxophone and ten instruments (2013), 16 mn
- Inveniendi for alto saxophone and string quartet (2019)
- Vocal music and instrument(s)
- Imaginaria for thirteen musicians and female voice (1985-1986), 10 mn
- Elogio de la Sombra For 3 female voices, children's choir and instrumental ensemble (2004), 15 mn
- Angst for female voice, flute, clarinet, cello and piano (2014), 13 mn 30 s
- Der Fahrgast for female voice and viola (2018)
- Der Nachhausweg for female voice, cello and piano (2018)
- elec Le Passager for soprano, children's choir, instrumental ensemble and video (2019)
- Electronic music / fixed media / mechanical musical instruments
- elec Sonambula for magnetic tape (1986-1987), 18 mn
- elec Entropogel for magnetic tape (1988), 14 mn
- elec Veladuras for magnetic tape (1992), 10 mn
- elec Detras...Detour for magnetic tape (1995), 13 mn
- elec Le Mal qui foudroie en plein Bonheur Electroacoustic music for the video film of the same name (1997), 6 mn
- elec On Swings and Folds acousmatic piece (1998), 15 mn
- elec Resonare Fibris Electroacoustic music for the video film of the same name. (1999), 7 mn
- elec Via Aerea Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name (2000), 5 mn
- elec Portées disparues Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name (2002), 6 mn
- elec Transit electroacoustic music for the film of the same name (2002), 5 mn
- elec VOX Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name (2004), 5 mn
- elec Sistina Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name (2006), 5 mn
- elec Contrapunto electroacoustic music for the film of the same name (2007), 3 mn
- elec Sistina acousmatic piece (2008), 18 mn
- elec Tranches de Vie fixed sounds for sound installation (2008), 45 mn
- elec Blossom Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name (2010), 2 mn
- elec Papirolas Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name (2012), 5 mn
- Via Dolorosa Electroacoustic music for the video of the same name (2015)
- 2020
- E pur si muove for saxophone and trumpet
- Surfaces “malerish” for flute, clarinet in B flat, violin and cello
- 2019
- Bis Involuta for flute and viola
- Inveniendi for alto saxophone and string quartet
- elec Le Passager for soprano, children's choir, instrumental ensemble and video
- Pantha rhei for viola and marimba
- Transeo for solo double bell trumpet
- Transeo Tandem for double bell trumpet, 4 mn
- 2018
- Der Fahrgast for female voice and viola
- Der Nachhausweg for female voice, cello and piano
- Hash for alto saxophone and piano
- 2017
- L'infini cartographié for string quartet
- Per Se I for trumpet in C
- Per Se II for flute in C
- Sub Rosa for alto saxophone, alto, cello and percussion
- 2016
- Fuscum Subnigrum for twelve musicians, 18 mn
- More Geometrico for trumpet in C and piano
- Tandem for violin and cello
- 2015
- Mono no Aware for shakuhachi duo
- Terra Virdis for flute in G, cello and harp
- Tèbah for flute, viola and trumpet, 11 mn
- Vaga for solo trumpet, 6 mn
- Via Dolorosa Electroacoustic music for the video of the same name
- 2014
- Angst for female voice, flute, clarinet, cello and piano, 13 mn 30 s
- Boom for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano, 7 mn 30 s
- Wipe (II) for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano, 6 mn 30 s
- Wipe, Boom, Wipe for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano, 22 mn 30 s
- 2013
- Concerto Liquido for alto saxophone and ten instruments, 16 mn
- Wipe for flute, violin, viola, cello and piano, 8 mn 30 s
- 2012
- Bis Copula for flute in C and alto saxophone
- Cinq degrés de crayonnage for flute, clarinet, viola and cello, 12 mn
- Copula for flute in G and alto saxophone
- Oscillare for twenty-four flute orchestra, 8 mn
- elec Papirolas Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name, 5 mn
- 2011
- elec Aer for flute ensemble and electronics
- Curved Air for flute quartet
- Fulcrum for clarinet and violin, 6 mn
- Involuta for flute and cello, 10 mn
- La Nube, la luna y el ojo for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano, 13 mn
- Terra Cuita for flute, viola and harp, 9 mn
- Trio Erratico for clarinet, cello and piano, 13 mn
- 2010
- Axée-Desaxée for alto saxophone, 7 mn
- elec Blossom Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name, 2 mn
- Dressing Flute for solo flute, 5 mn
- Floutée for two flutes, 7 mn
- Trio Curvo for violin, cello and piano, 16 mn
- 2009
- Dressing Viola for solo viola, 8 mn
- La Pieuvre for clarinet, horn, piano and cello, 17 mn
- Quatorze c'est l'infini for string quartet, 25 mn
- 2008
- Double Concerto for harp, cello and fourteen instruments, 18 mn
- Dressing Bass, 8 mn
- elec Sistina acousmatic piece, 18 mn
- elec Tranches de Vie fixed sounds for sound installation, 45 mn
- 2007
- elec Contrapunto electroacoustic music for the film of the same name, 3 mn
- Dressing Harp for solo harp, 12 mn
- Undae for cello and harp, 10 mn
- 2006
- Double Hélice for clarinet and cello, 10 mn
- Hélice for cello, 2 mn
- elec Sistina Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name, 5 mn
- Torquere, 10 mn
- 2005
- Parcours fléchés for sixteen instruments, 17 mn
- 2004
- Elogio de la Sombra For 3 female voices, children's choir and instrumental ensemble, 15 mn
- elec VOX Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name, 5 mn
- 2003
- Concerto for violin and orchestra, 16 mn
- Dressing cello for cello, 10 mn
- Envol for violin, 6 mn
- elec Ombres portées for nine instruments and electroacoustic device, 16 mn
- Reliefs brisés for piano, 10 mn
- 2002
- Médanos for orchestra, 10 mn
- elec Portées disparues Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name, 6 mn
- Ruinas Circulares for orchestra, 21 mn
- elec Transit electroacoustic music for the film of the same name, 5 mn
- 2001
- Battements d'Ailes for orchestra, 14 mn
- La Ritournelle du Géomètre for orchestra, 12 mn
- 2000
- Le Miroir du Souverain Jaune for orchestra, 20 mn
- Plongements for orchestra, 18 mn
- elec Via Aerea Electroacoustic music for the film of the same name, 5 mn
- 1999
- Double Jeu for cello and trombone, 10 mn
- Grammaire des Vagues for symphonic wind ensemble, 9 mn
- Habillage du vide for clarinet, trombone, cello and piano, 10 mn
- elec Resonare Fibris Electroacoustic music for the video film of the same name., 7 mn
- Twist suite for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, 11 mn
- 1998
- Aire Curvo for trombone and nine instruments, 14 mn
- Grammaire d'une Vague for clarinet, harp, celesta and double bass, 6 mn
- elec On Swings and Folds acousmatic piece, 15 mn
- 1997
- De Columpios y Pliegues for string orchestra, 12 mn
- elec Le Mal qui foudroie en plein Bonheur Electroacoustic music for the video film of the same name, 6 mn
- Territoires en Fil de Fer for brass quintet
- 1996
- Quipus for bass clarinet and piano, 12 mn
- 1995
- elec Detras...Detour for magnetic tape, 13 mn
- Morphologies presqu' effaçables for sixteen instruments, 17 mn
- 1994
- elec Autour des Tores for bass clarinet and fixed sounds, 17 mn
- Stase
- Stream for eighteen instruments, 15 mn
- Trace de Tores for bass clarinet, 9 mn
- 1993
- Acunada for double bass and piano (educational piece), 3 mn, Billaudot
- Points fixes for five instruments, 20 mn
- Spinning for brass sextet, 10 mn
- Tremas for eighteen instruments, 15 mn
- 1992
- elec ircam Ircam cursus Mnese for ensemble and electronics, 20 mn, Inédit [program note]
- Tzadig Express II for eight instruments, 13 mn
- elec Veladuras for magnetic tape, 10 mn
- 1991
- Origami for orchestra, 20 mn
- 1990
- elec Gaps for flute in G and magnetic tape, 13 mn
- 1989
- Va Viene for guitar, 12 mn
- Zoom per Camera for fifteen instruments, 15 mn
- 1988
- elec Entropogel for magnetic tape, 14 mn
- Granula for viola, cello and double bass, 13 mn, Ricordi Berlin
- Spin for saxophone quintet, 10 mn, BabelScores
- 1987
- elec Sonambula for magnetic tape, 18 mn
- Tzadig Express for flute, bass clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello and double bass, 12 mn
- 1986
- Aleph-Aviv for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and percussion, 10 mn
- Imaginaria for thirteen musicians and female voice, 10 mn
- 1985
- Espiral for orchestra, 8 mn
- 1984
- Discurso Uno for piano, 8 mn
- Trois Épisodes for clarinet in B flat, 6 mn
- 1983
- Quatuor à cordes, 10 mn
- 1982
- Sonata for piano, 12 mn
Liens internet
- Site du compositeur : http://ricardo-nillni.eklablog.com/accueil-c133257
- Soundcloud du compositeur : https://soundcloud.com/ricardo-nillni
- BabelScores : https://www.babelscores.com/fr/RicardoNillni
- « Pitch-noise fusion », entretien vidéo avec Ricardo Nillni réalisé en 2019 par Mathilde Supe dans le cadre de la série “Explorers of Sound” produite par BabelScores : https://youtu.be/kggZNOu_ZJY
(liens vérifiés en juin 2021).
Discographie
- Ricardo NILLNI, « Surface », Ensemble Alternance, 1 Cd Stradivarius, 2021, STR37194.
- Ricardo NILLNI, « Hélices », Alexis Descharmes, violoncelle ; Ensemble FA ; Dominique My : direction, 1 Cd L’Empreinte Digitale, 2016, ED13248.
- Ricardo NILLNI, Concerto Liquido, sur « Wrestling Samoa », Ensemble PHACE ; Simeon Pironkoff : direction, avec des œuvres de Bernhard Lang, Jorge Sánchez-Chiong et Germán Toro-Perez, 1 Cd Phace, 2015 PHA001.
- Ricardo NILLNI, « s/t », Orchestre de Picardie ; Edmon Colomer : direction, 1 Cd Triton, 2002, TRI 331123.
Filmographie
- Alexis DESCHARMES, Conversation au Clair de Lune, avec Ricardo Nillni, film documentaire réalisé en 2016 par Alexis Descharmes, à voir en ligne : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XySsdEgTRss&ab_channel=AlexisDescharmes
(lien véfifié en juin 2021).