Heir to the great classical symphonic tradition, enriched with the teachings of serialism and the latest developments in the field of electronic music, Ivan Fedele is unique among the composers of his generation thanks to his remarkable capacity for synthesis which gives a rare degree of quality to his works.

As opposed to the majority of his colleagues who concentrate solely on problems to do with the creation of the sound material, often through the use of the most advanced techniques, Fedele does not neglect the technical side of this aspect of composition: the construction of the overall form.

Without a doubt the demise of tonality and of harmonic and formal functionalism, has led macro-formal construction in the Western musical tradition to something of an impasse. Arnold Schönberg, at the time of Blauer Reiter , attributed the main onus of formal elaboration to the text.

Several very different 20th century composers have attempted to integrate the relics of the classical structure with the new musical context: the main theoretical works of the 60's - Penser la musique aujourd'hui by Pierre Boulez and Musiques formelles by Iannis Xenakis - do not consider macro-formal problems at all, or only briefly. Today's theoretical works on musical-scientific research, attribute far greater importance to the technical procedures for sound analysis or synthesis than to the macro-formal aspects of composition.

With his great gift for synthesis, Fedele's musical research aims at the very heart of the eternal problems common to composition: the elaboration of historically established compositional principles in the light of the latest musical developments: the integration of the most vital traditional aspects with the most radical innovations. It is Fedele's unique ability to distinguish - in an age of pervasive indiscrimination - that gives Fedele's music such seductive power. It is his capacity to conceive his inventions with the listeners in mind - and to mediate so delicately between the classical tradition and a new age - that enable Fedele's works to lead us on a voyage of discovery of a music that belongs to all of us.

Ivanka Stoianova
(translation Alex Tesei)