Janusz Podrazik born in Poland, lives and works in London and Venice. Podrazik’s involvement in music has been wide-ranging and varied. In 1975 he enrolled to study composition at the Musik Konservatorium in Poland. The course of study was interrupted when in 1976 Podrazik left Poland for Frankfurt Germany. Soon he formed the group “Ominous Mirage” a free jazz ensemble performing Podrazik’s compositions, himself on saxophone. In the early ‘80 his musical collaboration included the establishing of the now famous “English Speaking Theatre” in Frankfurt.

1984 Podrazik moved to London and embarked on an extensive study of Schönberg’s Harmonielehre. In 1991 Podrazik has conducted research into Computer Music (a study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition), which lead him on a journey of no return to computer programming and algorithmic composition.

“The first step was to understand the creative process and methodology well enough to reproduce it as an algorithm that provides the composer with an unlimited scope for structural manipulation and tools to generate a series of variants and transformations.”

This accumulated knowledge and dexterity has enabled Podrazik to writing compositions for contemporary classical music, scores for film and the theatre.

The outcome of Podrazik’s work is the MRAC Library (Music Research and Composition Library) software. Here the computer interacts with compositional thought and imagination and explores regions we do not know – “what we know is far less important than what we do not know”. In 1996 the software was available to the music research community and MRAC Library algorithms became part of Symbolic Composer a composition software written in Common Lisp language, developed by Peter Stone. Since 2006 MRAC Library has added over 250 new algorithms to Symbolic Composer.

“The main focus of the MRAC Library is to give the contemporary composer support for the almost impossible tasks in composing music today – where there are no rules and the limit is your own imagination as well as the processing power of the CPU. In the world of the infinite and random possibilities the library – especially for a creative and daring mind – tries to build some kind of order to the world for the contemporary composer and thinker and maybe even help to picture her/his own language of composition.”

Ernesto Rubin de Cervin studied composition in Florence with Roberto Lupi and Luigi Dallapiccola, and in Rome with Goffredo Detrassi and Virgilio Mortari.

From 1965-67 taught solfeggio at the Liceo Musicale Udine. Until 1985 analysis – composition and didactic composition at the Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello Venice. Has predominately written chamber music (string quartetts and for various chamber ensembles) as well as two major pieces – “Sine Nomine” for 31 instruments (1987) and “Divinità” for 64 chorists (1966). His work includes of what he calls Doni (gifts) – compositions for musician friends, also Omaggi (homages) to J.S. Bach and Alban Berg.

His music has been performed in various countries such as Germany, Austria, Belgium, UK, USA, Spain, Luxemburg and Italy. He published two novellas: “Passeggiata al Castello” (A walk to the castle) Palermo 1989. “Il Ragazzo in Tunica” (The boy in a tunic) Venice 1995. He has also written poetry and several essays on music.

At the side of artistic studies at Academy of Arts  he has attended the classes of Giuseppe Sinopoli and Ernesto Rubin de Cervin at the Conservatory of Music in Venice  during the Seventies.

Since 1979, the year of his debut at the Venice Biennale, he has partecipated in many of the main musical festivals in Italy, including: Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano, Festival Pontino, Ater Forum, Stagione Sinfonica dell’Orchestra della Rai di Torino 1988, Rassegna Eco e Narciso (Milano 1988), Rassegna Dialogo con Maderna (Milano 1989), Nuova Musica Italiana , Roma Europa, Antidogma, Nuova Consonanza, Trieste Prima, Festival Musica d’Oggi, Festival Internazionale di Venezia, Settembre Musica, Rive Gauche Concerti, Finestre sul ‘900, Arcipelago Musica.

He has partecipated in many important musical events abroad: Ferienkursen Darmstadt, Festival Bartok Szombathely, Biennale of Berlin, Art Musica Bruxelles, Aspekte Salzburg, Settembre Musica in Peking (1999), Symphonic Season OCSA (Asuncion-Paraguay 2002) and others.

On 2005 he has been invited twice in Japan, where he conducted  a monographic concert of his music at the Denki Bunka Kaikan in Nagoya during  the Expo Aichi (July) and a second concert at the Oji Hall in Ginza, Tokyo (November). On 2007 he  conducted other two concert in Japan at Suntory Hall in Tokyo and at Munetsugu Hall in Nagoya with a programm of his music and music of other composers. He is regulary present on the radio programmes in Italy and he has partecipated at the  main internationales broadcasting programmes too.

Among his works:  Trio for viola, cello and bass (1978); “Der Himmel steht in Flammen” for 6 mixed voices a cappella (1985); Cantos (Songs) for 2 sopranos (1986); Fragmenti Lirici [Lyric Fragments] for 10 winds, piano, harp and 2 percussionists (1986); Aria for soprano and orchestra (1988); Refrain for orchestra (1989); Coro per Maderna [Chorus for Maderna] for 3 mixed choruses (1989); Trio for violin, cello and piano (1991); Doppio Enigma [Double Enigma], momodrama for actor and 4 instruments (1992); Aurora, nel grande Silenzio, [Aurora in Grand Silence] for clarinet and 5 mixed voices (1993); Uomo, vita e passione di Maiakovski secondo Maiakovski [Man, the Life and Passion of Mayakovsky according to Mayakovsky], radiovideomonodrama for actors, mezzo soprano, 4 instruments, percussion and synthetic sound (1997/2008); Le Quattro Stagioni [The Four Seasons], concerto in 4 tempos for flute, strings and cembalo (1998); Voodoo Child, re-elaboration for flute on 13 songs by Jimi Hendrix (1999); Coup de theatre for symphonic band (2000); Gloria for soprano, contralto, chorus, 2 electric guitars, bass and organ (2002); Divina Commedia: VIII Cerchio: Malebolge, for piano (from Dante Alighieri, 2004-7); Allologie, for two Harps and speaking voices (2006); Viaggio solitario nella città dell’acqua, for flute and strings (2007). His pieces have been published by Raitrade, Ricordi, Edipan, Agenda, Penthaflowers. 

He has taught, composition, harmony, theory and solfeggio at conservatories in Venice, Turin, Bari, Potenza, Udine, Trieste, Alessandria and Adria. He has been artistic director of the International Festival of Venice from 1998 to 2002 and a member of the Venice Association of Composers (Venice Musica Nuova) from 1992 to 2002.

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Born in Venice in 1970, Mancuso studied piano at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory, Venice, with Wally Rizzardo, composition at the International Composition Courses, Città di Castello (Perugia 1990 and 1991) and at the Philharmonic Academy in Bologna (1991-1992) with Salvatore Sciarrino.

Mancuso followed graduate courses in chamber music at the “Incontri col Maestro” Academy of Imola, where he studied with Dario de Rosa, Maureen Jones, Pier Narciso Masi, receiving a diploma with special mention. He continued his studies in Milan at the Scuola Civica with Renato Rivolta, concentrating on contemporary music. He studied jazz with Umberto de Nigris.

Giovanni Mancuso since, has developed a busy concert career both as pianist and as conductor; his recent engagements have been in Italy, Portugal, Lebanon and Norway. He has recorded for the Norwegian Broadcasting Company and for the RAI, Italian national Radio.

He has won many composition competitions, among which: the Grieg Memorial in Oslo, the Città di Rende, the Castagneto Carducci in Livorno, and has received special mention for others, the “Athenaeum N.A.E.” of Rome, the “Contemporanea Neopolesis” of Palermo competitions.

His compositions have been played on the radio in several countries, Italy, France, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Lebanon, U.S.A. Some of his compositions are published by Edipan, Rome, by CMP, Pescara-Brussels, and by Senz’h Edizioni, Rome; he was commissioned to write a string quartet by the Venice Biennale 2001.

Mancuso is founder and leader of the ensemble Laboratorio Novamusica, which enjoys a busy concert life, Mancuso conducting and performing as pianist. He has conducted many world premieres, among which works by Fabio Nieder, Olga Neuwirth, Luca Mosca, Lars Graugaard, Betty Olivero; the ensemble, with Mancuso conducting, featured in the festival “L’Altra Scena” in Venice in 1999 and in the festival “Biennale Musica” in Venice in 2000.

www.laboratorionovamusica.it