Stefano Scodanibbio

Stefano Scodanibbio

Stefano Scodanibbio, contrabass soloist and composer, was born in Macerata, Italy, in 1956. In the 1980s and 1990s his name became prominently linked to the renaissance of the double bass, playing dozens of works written especially for him in major festivals throughout the world by composers such as Bussotti, Donatoni, Estrada, Ferneyhough, Frith, Globokar, Sciarrino, and Xenakis.

He has created new techniques extending the colors and range of the double bass heretofore thought impossible on this instrument. In 1987, in Rome, he performed a four hours non-stop marathon playing 28 pieces by 25 composers. He was a long time collaborator with Luigi Nono (“arco mobile à la Stefano Scodanibbio” is written on Prometeo’s score) and with Giacinto Scelsi. He regularly plays in Duos with Rohan de Saram and with Markus Stockhausen.

In June 2004 he premiered the Sequenza XIVb by Luciano Berio in his own version for contrabass, from the original for cello.

Since the 1990s, Stefano Scodanibbio has taught Master Classes and Seminars at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, University of California Berkeley, Stanford University, Oberlin Conservatory, Musikhochschule Stuttgart, Conservatoire de Paris, Conservatorio di Milano, etc. In 1996 he taught Contrabass at Darmstadt Ferienkurse.

Active as a composer, his catalogue consists of more than 50 works principally written for strings (Sei Studi for solo contrabass, Three String Quartets, Concertale for contrabass, strings and percussions, Six Duos for all possible combinations of the four strings, etc.) and he was chosen four times for the ISCM, International Society of Contemporary Music (Oslo 1990, Mexico City 1993, Hong Kong 2002, Stuttgart 2006). His Music Theatre work Il cielo sulla terra has been premiered in Stuttgart (June 2006) and Tolentino, Italy (July 2006) and performed again in Mexico City in August 2008.

Active in theatre and dance, he has worked with authors, choreographers and dancers including Rodrigo García, Virgilio Sieni, Hervé Diasnas and Patricia Kuypers. Of particular importance is his collaboration with Terry Riley and with Edoardo Sanguineti. In 1983 he founded the “Rassegna di Nuova Musica” New Music Festival held every year in Macerata, Italy.

He has recorded for Montaigne Auvidis, col legno, Mode, New Albion, Dischi di Angelica, Ricordi, Stradivarius, and Wergo.