Due Miniature Futile (Two Futile Miniatures / Două miniaturi fără rost)

The music of the Due miniature futile (Two Futile Miniatures) obstinately draws upon Erik Satie’s carefully sought futility and reductionism. O audiție incomodă în spiritul reducționist-futil „marca” Erik Satie.

English Summary

A fairly awkward listening, located at the border between laughable and tragic, giving one the choice to either contemplate what happens around or attempt to change something.

The music of Due miniature futile (Two Futile Miniatures) obstinately draws upon Erik Satie’s carefully sought futility and reductionism. It also combines Webern’s ascetic conciseness with Kagel’s caustic humor, and these both with the anachronistic romanticism of Prokofiev.

But it is not the stunning stylistic shuffle that makes this piece an uneasy listening: its message is. The music violates a couple of social and cultural taboos. Il piccolo bambino (The Little Child) is actually based on a beggar’s song, that I unwillingly learned during my frequent subway travels; on the other hand, Il filosofo (The philosophe) strands into a suburb rap/hip-hop medley. Put these together, and you get the sad story of way too many children learning “the law of the streets” as the supreme form of wisdom, and losing their innocence in the process.

But the music is strange, and doesn’t lack humor, so what will it be? Will you laugh? Will you cry? Will you enjoy it?