Inferno 1911

The Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago presents a CineConcert featuring the groundbreaking 1911 silent film L’Inferno, accompanied live by Stefano Maccagno (piano) and Furio Di Castri (double bass) on the mesmerizing musical score composed by Maestro Maccagno.

L’Inferno is a 1911 Italian silent film, loosely adapted from the first canticle of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. The movie took over three years to make, and was the first full-length Italian feature film ever produced. L’Inferno’s depictions of Hell closely followed those in the engravings of Gustave Doré for an edition of the Divine Comedy, which were familiar to an international audience. The movie production also employed several special effects, some of which were considered groundbreaking at the time, establishing the movie as a leader in innovation of cinematic techniques.

The concept of “musical accompaniment” for the film L’Inferno is a transverse musical process that fosters a timbric osmosis of a predominantly electronic track and live performances on double bass and piano. The designed absence of specific languages allows the musical selections and genres to be freely defined by the images themselves, the absolute protagonists of the project, creating an oftentimes surreal experience. The combination of electronic and live music transports the listener to atmospheres at times impalpable, as the timbric density undergoes rarefaction, and at times to “magmatic musical” situations, in which the full multiplicity of sounds coexist in an orchestral sum of timbric material. Free improvisation performed live on the double bass and piano defines the soundtrack, allowing the instruments to dialogue with one another in a purity of language that ranges from Jazz to classical-contemporary music.

Stefano Maccagno. Pianist, composer, conductor, professor of improvisation, orchestration, composition and orchestration of music for images. He is the official composer of the National Cinema Museum of Turin, for which he has composed and orchestrated the music for numerous silent cinema masterpieces including Cabiria, Royal Tiger, Maciste, The Whispering Chorus, Blood and Sand. He has collaborated as soundtrack composer with the “Italian National Film Archive” in Milan. He has been pianist accompanist of the biggest masterpieces of silent cinema at Cannes Film Festival, Bologna international film festival Il Cinema Ritrovato, Lumiere Festival in Lyon Pordenone Silent Film Days, Cinémathèque Française and Tokyo National Film Center. On commission of the Teatro dell’Opera di Florence he wrote a composition for a large symphony orchestra on music by Led Zeppelin performed by the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, which he directed himself at the Teatro dell’Opera in Florence. He has composed the music score for Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Nico, 1988”, recording with actress Trine Dirholm (best actress award at Berlinale 2017). He is the official pianist of the Cabiria restoration project, which has accompanied at Cannes and Berlin film festivals as well as in Belgrade, Budapest, Lyon, Luxembourg, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo, Vancouver.

Furio Di Castri. Born in Milano 1955, self-taught double bassist, he records his first album in 1973 (Dedalus – Trident rec.) at the age of 17. After living in Tunisia, he moves to Rome in 1978 where he plays with Maurizio Giammarco and Massimo Urbani bands. From 1979 to 1981 he plays as sideman with Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Walter Davis jr, Jimmy Knepper, Freddie Hubbard, Al Grey, Franco d’Andrea, Tete Montoliu, Sal Nistico, Enrico Pieranunzi, Dave Samuels. Throughout the 80s’ he is part of Enrico Rava quartet and Michel Petrucciani trio and takes part to international tours and concerts with Dino Saluzzi, Joe Henderson, Chet Baker, John Taylor, Steve Lacy, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Joe Lovano, Pharoah Sanders, Charles Lloyd, Ray Anderson, Daniel Humair, John Abercrombie, Cristian Escoudè, Philip Catherine, Aldo Romano, Franco d’Andrea. In the 90s’ he plays with Richard Galliano, Paul Bley, John Surman, John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Andy Sheppard, Paul Motian, John Scofield, Nguyen Le, Franco Ambrosetti, Antonello Salis, Stefano Bollani, Uri Caine. He has collaborated with Paolo Fresu for over 20 years. Since 2000, he dedicates himself to his own projects and to composition for orchestras, dance, theatre and contemporary art performances. Since 2001 he is professor in double bass at the Jazz Department of Turin Music Conservatory. He has held double bass masterclasses in Dublin, Den Haag, Paris, Rome, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Lousanne, Chambery. From 2012 to 2016 he has been the artistic director of Torino Fringe Jazz Festival (TJF Fringe) and in 2017 he directed the first edition of Firenze Jazz Fringe Festival. Furio Di Castri has recorded over 200 albums – 20 as band leader – and has performed in Europe, Canada, USA, Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, Chile, Russia, Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Israel, Turkey, Yemen, China, Indonesia, Malaesia, Philippines, Singapore, Japan and Korea.