FABIO FALCIONI

STEFANO
SCODANIBBIO
19562012
The double bassist and composer was a tireless champion of new music
who pushed the boundaries of his instrument. PAUL CUTTS pays tribute

S
TEFANO SCODANIBBIO, WHO DIED IN JANUARY
aged 55, was a genuine pioneer, a double bassist and
composer who devised techniques that expanded the
colour and range of his instrument in ways that were
previously thought impossible. Leading figures from
Xenakis to Berio wrote works for him, and his collaborations
with composer Terry Riley received widespread acclaim.
Riley and Scodanibbio first met at a Los Angeles gallery in the
1990s, at a solo recital given by the bassist. I was running late,
Riley recalled, and as I was walking down a series of concrete
halls to reach the gallery I could hear the sound of French horns,
trombones, strings and brass all mixing in a beautiful modal
ensemble. I thought Stefano must be playing with a chamber
group. I was amazed to find him all alone playing his bass.
Some years later, Scodanibbio visited Riley at his home in
California. A frequent traveller to India, Riley was particularly
impressed that Scodanibbio played his bass similarly to the north
Indian sarangi, a bowed stringed instrument that is played by

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Scodanibbio won
acclaim for his work
with Terry Riley
gliding the fingernail along the side of the string. Together they
derived a series of twelve-tone scales, Riley tuning his synthesiser
to the same frequencies as the bass harmonics. From these basic
scales grew collaborative improvisations, memorably captured
on the CD A Lazy Afternoon among the Crocodiles.
BORN IN MACERATA, Italy, in 1956, Scodanibbio studied double
bass with Fernando Grillo, composition with Fausto Razzi and
Salvatore Sciarrino, electronic music with Walter Branchi and
music history with Michelangelo Zurletti. In the 1980s he became
associated with Giacinto Scelsi, helping to originate some of the
avant-garde composers quasi-improvisational works. When
Luigi Nono wanted to find something that could produce a
mobile sound, Scodanibbio started experimenting by rolling
the bow from one side and creating small oscillations of timbres.
Nono was so impressed that he made use of the technique in his
1984 music-theatre work Prometeo; the manuscript even bears the
note arco mobile la Stefano Scodanibbio.
In the early 1980s Scodanibbio began appearing at the
Monday Evening Concerts series in Los Angeles. Among those
who became aware of him at this time was Dennis Trembly,
now principal bassist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
He was the performer
against whom everybody
else would be judged
ROBERT NAIRN
When we met, he gave me a copy of his Sei studi per contrabbasso,
along with a tape recording to make sure I didnt take liberties,
he recalls. I was immensely impressed by the precision with
which Stefano executed his repertoire, whether it was written
by him or other composers. Integrity is one of the first words
I would associate with Stefano and he is one of the first people
I would associate with that word.
By the end of his life, Scodanibbio had composed more
than 50 works, principally for strings, including a concerto
COURTESY INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF BASSISTS
for double bass, strings and percussion, four quartets and six
string duos. In 2004 he premiered a double-bass reworking of
Berios Sequenza XIV, originally written for cello, and four years
later his music-theatre work Il cielo sulla terra had a triumphant
production in Mexico City. Since 1983 a festival of new
music has been held annually in Scodanibbios home town of
Macerata, an event he was instrumental in setting up.
Most significantly, Scodanibbio worked on expanding
the range and tonal colours of the double bass, inventing
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STEFANO SCODANIBBIO
new techniques and inspiring composers to write for the
instrument. Salvatore Sciarrinos concerto, one of the most
important modern contributions to the double bass repertoire,
was written for Scodanibbio, who also commissioned and
premiered Brian Ferneyhoughs fiendishly challenging Trittico
per G.S. the Ulysses of the instrument. Julio Estrada, Vinko
Globokar and Grard Grisey are among the other composers
whose works Scodanibbio premiered.
SCODANIBBIOS ABILITY to conjure new colours is embodied
in his composition Voyage That Never Ends. The culmination of 20
years work, the piece (recorded on the New Albion label) began
as an exercise on the open string, growing until it became a work
of 50 minutes in scope. Improviser, performer and composer
Mark Dresser regards Voyage That Never Ends as Scodanibbios
crowning achievement an unprecedented solo polyphonic
piece in just intonation. What you saw didnt explain what you
were hearing.
Robert Nairn organised the International Society of Bassists
2009 convention at Penn State University, where he is professor
of double bass. Awestruck when he first heard the Italian play
(in Adelaide in 1992), Nairn made sure Scodanibbio was one
of the first people he contacted at the convention: His packed
recital as a featured artist was one of the absolute highlights
of the week: a master performer at the height of his career,
a performance of burning intensity and communication. For
many of those present, it was their first chance to see and hear
Stefano and, for us all, it was a performance we will never forget.
For technical mastery of the instrument, there are few players
who have ever been in his league for performing such demanding
20th-century repertoire, adds Nairn. He was the performer
against whom everybody else would be judged, especially for
things such as Trittico per G.S. He extended the technique of the
instrument perhaps more than any other performer in the
second half of the 20th century.
Scodanibbios techniques, works and recordings bear
remarkable testament to an uncompromising artist, one
whose demise from the muscle-wasting illness amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (known in the UK as motor neurone disease)
was a particularly cruel blow. He was unique: an artist whose
musical intellect and performing brilliance deserve to earn him
a permanent place in the pantheon of string greats.
In 2009 Scodanibbio
performed at the
International Society
of Bassists convention
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