Luigi Russolo Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Luigi Russolo
Luigi Russolo ca. 1916
Background information
Birth name	Luigi Russolo
Born	(1885-04-30)30 April 1885 Portogruaro, Italy
Died	4 February 1947(1947-02-04) (aged 61) Laveno Mombello, Italy
Genres	Futurism experimental avant-garde noise
Occupation(s)	Composer painter custom instrument builder
Years active	1901–1947

Luigi Russolo (born April 30, 1885 – died February 4, 1947) was an Italian artist. He was a painter, a composer, and he built special musical instruments. He also wrote an important paper called The Art of Noises in 1913.

Many people see him as one of the first artists to create 'noise music.' He put on concerts with his unique noise music in 1913-1914 and again after World War I, especially in Paris in 1921. He made special machines that created sounds, which he called Intonarumori.

Luigi Russolo's Life and Art
- Creating Noise Machines: The Intonarumori
- Russolo's Impact on Music
Working with Antonio Russolo
Images for kids
See also

Luigi Russolo's Life and Art

Russolo and his assistant Ugo Piatti in their Milan studio in 1913 with the Intonarumori (noise machines)

Luigi Russolo was likely the first artist to focus on noise in his art. In his 1913 paper, The Art of Noises, he explained his ideas. He believed that the Industrial Revolution had changed how people heard sounds. Modern life, with its factories and machines, made people ready for more complex noises.

Russolo felt that traditional music, with its simple melodies, was too limiting. He imagined a future where noise music would take its place. He wanted to explore all the sounds of the world, not just musical notes.

Creating Noise Machines: The Intonarumori

Russolo designed and built many machines that made noise. He called these special devices Intonarumori, which means "noise intoners." He even put together a noise orchestra to perform with them.

One of his performances, called Gran Concerto Futuristico (1917), was very controversial. The audience reacted with strong disapproval and even some violence. Russolo had actually predicted this kind of reaction.

Sadly, none of his original Intonarumori instruments still exist today. Some were destroyed during World War II. Others have simply been lost over time. However, people have built new versions of these instruments. This allows us to hear what Russolo's noise music might have sounded like.

Russolo's Impact on Music

Even though Russolo's noise music sounds different from modern noise music, his early work was very important. His creations were a key step in the development of many new music styles. Today, many artists know about and are inspired by Russolo's ideas from his The Art of Noises paper.

Working with Antonio Russolo

Luigi's brother, Antonio Russolo, was also a Futurist composer. In 1921, Antonio made a special recording. This recording featured two of his works that used Luigi's original Intonarumori.

The recording included pieces called Corale and Serenata. These works mixed regular orchestral music with the sounds from the noise machines. This recording is the only surviving sound of Luigi Russolo's noise music from that time.

In April 1914, Luigi Russolo and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti held the first concert of Futurist music. It featured the Intonarumori and caused a riot among the audience. The concert program included four "Noise Networks."