The Art of Noises

Not to be confused with Art of Noise.

Cover of Luigi Russolo's L'arte dei rumori, published in book form in 1916

The Art of Noises (Italian: L'arte dei Rumori) is a Futurist manifesto written by Luigi Russolo in a 1913 letter to friend and Futurist composer Francesco Balilla Pratella. In it, Russolo argues that the human ear has become accustomed to the speed, energy, and noise of the urban industrial soundscape; furthermore, this new sonic palette requires a new approach to musical instrumentation and composition. He proposes a number of conclusions about how electronics and other technology will allow futurist musicians to "substitute for the limited variety of timbres that the orchestra possesses today the infinite variety of timbres in noises, reproduced with appropriate mechanisms".[1]

The Art of Noises is considered by some authors to be one of the most important and influential texts in 20th-century musical aesthetics.[2]

Intonarumori instruments built by Russolo and Ugo Piatti, photo published in Russolo's 1913 book The Art of Noises
  1. ^ Warner, Daniel; Cox, CChristoph (2004). Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music. London: Continiuum International Publishing Group LTD. pp. 10–14. ISBN 0-8264-1615-2.
  2. ^ (Warner & Cox 2004, p. 10)