mdi ensemble
Last update: before 2019
mdi ensemble was created in 2002 in Milan and was based on the idea of six young musicians sharing their common passion for contemporary music, with the support of Musica d'Insieme Association. From the very beginning, the ensemble has combined the studies of the more relevant scores by establishing close collaborations with many key composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Sylvano Bussotti, Gerard Pesson, Stefano Gervasoni, Misato Mochizuki, Emanuele Casale, Mauro Lanza, Emilio Pomarico, Stefano Scodanibbio, together with the works of young composers emerging into the international scene. mdi ensemble usually works on chamber repertoire, taking advantage of similar feeling while looking for a common interpretation; at the same time, the ensemble collaborates with eminent conductors such as Yoichi Sugiyama, Robert HP Platz, Marino Formenti and Pierre-André Valade.
mdi is regularly invited to perform by many of the most important musical institutions, in Italy: Festival Milano Musica, MiTo-Settembre Musica, Biennale di Venezia, Teatro Bibiena in Mantova, PAC and Teatro Filodrammatici in Milano, Mittelfest, Lingotto Musica Torino, Japanese Institute of Roma, Festival Traiettorie in Parma, Amici della Musica di Palermo. In 2010 mdi was the “ensemble in residence” at the first edition of Koiné, the festival of contemporary music created and organized by the Dal Verme Theatre in Milano under the artistic direction of the composer Ivan Fedele. In the same theatre mdi performed Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire in a stage version with costumes and scenes designed by Sylvano Bussotti in key collaboration with the Accademia della Scala. With the support of the Fondazione Cariplo, mdi ensemble is artist in residence at Milano Musica - association for the contemporary music – for the 2012-2014 period.
mdi ensemble has toured extensively around Europe, performing at the Tonhalle in Dusseldorf, Konzerthaus in Dortmund, Japanese Institute and Italian Institute in Köln, SWR in Stuttgard, ORF in Innsbruck, Societé de Musique Contemporaine in Lausanne, Festival MusicAperta in Winterthur, Teatro Forteza in Maiorca. In January 2008, the ensemble made its debut in Tokyo together with Sylvano Bussotti, thanks to the collaboration and support of Cemat, playing in concerts scores of Italian composers. In 2006 mdi performed at Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA) and in June 2013 was invited by Ken-David Masur as artist-in-residence at the Chelsea Music Festival, New York City. mdi concerts have been broadcasted by Rai RadioTre and Rai International, Limen and SWR.
The first cd, with the music of Stefano Gervasoni, was published by Aeon Paris and was awarded by Academy Charles Cros the prestigious recognition “Coup de coeur - musique contemporaine 2009”. A monographic CD dedicated to Sylvano Bussotti was recorded in 2008 during the Japanese tournée and has been published by Stradivarius. mdi last CD has been released in September 2013: a monographic CD dedicated to the composer Marco Momi (distributed by Stradivarius).
Since 2008, the strings of mdi work on RepertorioZero, a project in which musicians make only use of electric, computerized, amplified and concrete instruments. R0 presented concerts for Festival MiTo, Conservatory of Lugano, Tonhalle in Zurigo, Biennale di Venezia and Festival Milano Musica. mdi ensemble and RepertorioZero just released their last CD, “Dulle Griet”, a monographic album dedicated to the composer Giovanni Verrando (CD AEON, AECD 1328 – conductor: Pierre-André Valade). In 2011 RepertorioZero received the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale “for the own innovative line of research – in the way to work with the music of today – which tends to go beyond the experience of the traditional avant-garde, which confronts itself with a totally new repertoire and with the necessity to find solutions to the numerous variables of the contemporary music.”