Live at 20:00 UT April 29, 2011 with composer Giovanni Renzo
The new edition of the “Cosmic Concert,” an online musical performance for GAM 2012, is based on the music composed by the Italian pianist and composer Giovanni Renzo. Renzo has worked for a long time with the relationship between music and astronomy (such as star maps changing into scores or compositions based on the beat of the pulsar); and for the last three years he has been invited by Astronomers Without Borders to perform his works live during Global Astronomy Month. This online event is now one of the most successful dates of the general program.
For this year’s edition, Giovanni Renzo will play piano compositions and improvisations that take inspiration from the photographs and time lapse videos by some of the best astrophotographers of the project “The World at Night” (TWAN). The TWAN photos and videos will be mixed with the live streaming of the piano performance, creating a natural flow of music and spectacular images.
Giovanni Renzo was born in Messina, Italy, in 1962. He graduated from the Conservatorio “Corelli” of his hometown in 1986, continuing his musical education in Rome. He made his debut in 1979 as a jazz pianist. In 1994 he founded and directed the Messina Jazz Orchestra. He regularly plays in concerts and festivals in tour around Italy, alternating his concerts with teaching and composition. Renzo has composed the music for more than twenty theatrical performances. He won the Special Mention at the International Film Music Contest “Mario Nascimbene Award 2006.” His first recording, “Eclisse” (1989), is a collection of piano solo compositions. Then he produced “La distanza della Luna” (two editions, 1996 and 2007), “Il mare” (2001), live recording featuring Paolo Fresu and “Suono e ritmo quintet,” and “Infanzia” (2008), again piano solo.
Cosmic Concert 2012 Trailer
