Enrico Fubini

Abstract

The neoclassical style has accustomed us to the practice of citation, to the use of musical languages ​​of the past, to the rewriting in satirical or parodistic style. Today as well as in the past, laying hands on other people’s work isn’t something scandalous! Reflecting on this practice, which in fact isn’t exclusively typical of twentieth century neo-classicism, can lead us to reconsider the concept of artistic creation, which is never creation ex nihilo, but rather a process which draws in different ways from the past and the present. Are citation and creation really alternatives? This is probably a misleading question. Perhaps the problem could be solved simply by placing the two terms not as alternatives but as closely related. Citation is no more than one of the many creative practices often used in different ways by musicians of all periods, and musical creation always involves citation, in a metaphorical sense: in other words, there is no creation without citation.

Enrico Fubini full professor of History of Music at the University of Turin, has conducted courses and presented conferences at many foreign Universities. His research has concentrated on the History of Musical Aesthetics and thought. His publications, translated into many foreign languages, include: L’estetica musicale dal Settecento a oggi, Einaudi, Torino 1964; Gli Enciclopedisti e la musica, Einaudi, Torino 1971; Musica e linguaggio nell’estetica contemporanea, Einaudi, Torino 1973; L’estetica musicale dall'antichità al Settecento, Einaudi, Torino 1976; Musica e pubblico dal Rinascimento al Barocco, Einaudi, Torino 1984; La musica nella tradizione ebraica, Einaudi, Torino 1994; La musica: natura e storia, Einaudi, Torino 2004; Il pensiero musicale del Romanticismo, EDT, Torino 2005; Il pensiero musicale del Novecento, ETS, Pisa 2007.