Composer and Psychologist, Michele Biasutti was awarded diplomas at the Padova Conservatory of music. A prize-winning composer (International Composer Competition L. Russolo, International Competition of Bourges, Concour International de Composition de la Societé de Musique Contemporaine du Québec, International Competition Pierre Schaeffer, ... ), his works were radio broadcast (rai, orf, rne 2, Radio Bratislava, rtsi, hrt, Radio Canada) and selected for International Festivals (isea 95 in Montreal, isea 96 in Rotterdam, Soundbox in Helsinki, vi bscm in Rio de Janeiro, jim99 in Paris, vii bscm in Curitiba). His music was performed in Festivals in Europe (Music Now in Dublin, Purcell Room in London, Musica Verticale in Rome, Aspekte in Salzburg, Society for new music in Prague, Neue Musik in Freiburg; Encuentros mùsica europea in Madrid,...) in North and South America (m.i.t. in Boston, smcq in Montreal, San Francisco State University, New York University, III Bienal Internacional de Música Elettroacustica in San Paulo,...), in Japan, Korea (Seul International Computer Music Festival 2003) and Australia (Interfaces, ACMC 2000 in Brisbane). He was composer in residence at the University of Massachusetts. He collaborated with international centers for electronic music and he is in the jury of international competitions of composition. His music was included in Ph.D. thesis in the USA.
As a researcher in psychology of music, he received a Ph.D. at Padova University. For reason of research and advanced study Biasutti spent time at Indiana University in Bloomington and at the University of California at Berkeley. Among his research topics there are the cognitive processes in composition and improvisation, online music learning and the education of music teachers. He is scientific director of research projects, he is a member of the editorial board of journals and he has published articles in international peer-reviewed journals such as Hearing Research (Elseiver), Psychology of Music (Sage), Music Education Research (Taylor & Francis), Computers and Education (Elseiver), Small Group Research (Sage), Creativity research journal (Taylor & Francis). He was the scientific director of the international conferences Psychology and Music education (PME04) and Training Music Teachers (TMT07) and author of seven books.
Michele Biasutti is Associate Professor at Padova University.
Michele Biasutti specializes in ecological music, music which seeks to return to the essential elements of human nature, re-evaluating the primary sphere of human auditory perception. He is interested in the relationship between scientific thought and the logic of music, applying the results to his composition and research.

Iridescent Figures is based on some perceptive phenomena studied in the field of psychology of music, such as masking, space-time perception and some perceptive illusions on rhythm. The aim is to apply in music composition the results of this research, experimenting new formal developments. The data of the psychological research are utilized for transforming the musical material. In this way we can obtain new semantic meanings. The sound figures presented are changing constantly: they deform, lengthen, transforming themselves in unexpected ways. The experimentation concerns the space-time organization using poly-rhythms, rhythms that are every time the same physically, but phenomenologically different, and the masking of simple rhythm’s figures that constitutes a more complex context. Are considered the abilities in discriminating chords in the high and low registers and the limits of tonal perception. The perceptive paradoxes are utilized for generating and dissolving structural tensions. Formally the piece is based on an ascending semi tone interval, using the tone G as tonal a center. The second interval expands itself gradually in a major third, creating perceptive games between minor and major third. The material develops gradually by rhythmic crescendos that at the end of the piece become sound clouds, composed of notes in a third interval. The piece is articulated in sections, each of which on a specific perceptive phenomenon: minor and major third, timbre masking, rhythmic deformation, and limits in the discrimination of minor and major third. The premiere performance of Iridescent Figures was given at the Teatro Accademico del Bibiena in Mantova during Mantova Musica Contemporanea on the 19th of October 2001 by Interensemble with Bernardino Beggio as conductor. is based on some perceptive phenomena studied in the field of psychology of music, such as masking, space-time perception and some perceptive illusions on rhythm. The aim is to apply in music composition the results of this research, experimenting new formal developments. The data of the psychological research are utilized for transforming the musical material. In this way we can obtain new semantic meanings. The sound figures presented are changing constantly: they deform, lengthen, transforming themselves in unexpected ways. The experimentation concerns the space-time organization using poly-rhythms, rhythms that are every time the same physically, but phenomenologically different, and the masking of simple rhythm’s figures that constitutes a more complex context. Are considered the abilities in discriminating chords in the high and low registers and the limits of tonal perception. The perceptive paradoxes are utilized for generating and dissolving structural tensions. Formally the piece is based on an ascending semi tone interval, using the tone G as tonal a center. The second interval expands itself gradually in a major third, creating perceptive games between minor and major third. The material develops gradually by rhythmic crescendos that at the end of the piece become sound clouds, composed of notes in a third interval. The piece is articulated in sections, each of which on a specific perceptive phenomenon: minor and major third, timbre masking, rhythmic deformation, and limits in the discrimination of minor and major third. The premiere performance of Iridescent Figures was given at the Teatro Accademico del Bibiena in Mantova during Mantova Musica Contemporanea on the 19th of October 2001 by Interensemble with Bernardino Beggio as conductor.

Anemos is a breath, is wind, is empty, is unknown force. People does not have any idea of his shape, but he has the feeling of the force. Man tries to fill it, to give him temporal meaning with pictures, ephemeral, forgetting its real and too simple substance. Anemos, entering into the “time” the substance takes shape and remains the only conscious sound image. To recreate the suggestions mentioned by the text, in the musical piece the voice is used with particular sounds as spoken sounds, unvoiced tones, whispered in a constant search for onomatopoeia sound that recall the primordial elements such as blow and breathing. The instruments are echoing the voice addressing the wind sounds and producing rustles and aeolian sounds towards stamping and hissing sound, with a particular semantic connotation. Some vowel sounds are amplified and resonate in the performers. Overall, the musical instruments are used with “electronic mentality,” as if they were frequency generators rather than producers of notes, with the aim to produce electronic music from acoustical instruments. Formally, the piece develops in a rhapsodic way: a static and dreamy moment, in which the voice is detached from the cluster and repetitions performed with the intention of creating hypnotic effects that influence the space-time auditory perception, are alternated by virtuoso events, snappy pulse, giving the feeling of a sudden flow of life and of the natural events. The premiere performance of the piece was given at the “Madrassi Hall” in Udine on the 22nd of December 2001 by Interensemble and Pamela Hebert, soprano.

Tavola III is one of a series of pieces called Tavole in which the timbre and dynamic possibilities of the musical instruments were studied. Tavola III, dedicated to the flute and nicknamed of “the polyphony,” utilizes the sound possibilities that the wind instrument allows. The flute has a tradition as monophonic instrument, but in this piece it becomes a polyphonic instrument. The timbre has a very important part. The original idea was to point out on a sound universe that usually is difficult to hear and made up of attack transitory, rustles and multi-phonics. The aim is to work into the sound, directly modeling the acoustic material. The polyphony is evoked with the alternation of fast musical phrases. The impression is of a Carnival of Venice obtained with contemporary mentality. The flute express the need to go over the spatial dimensions of the hall, launching sounds in the space. The formal organization of the piece is developed starting from single notes that were articulated following timbre principles. The sound material was composed by cells of timbre trills, irregular tremolos, trills with glissando, multi-phonic sounds, and trills between multi-phonics. The sound discovery and the hypnotic movement were realized with the purpose of extending the perception of space-time. The premiere performance of Tavola III was given at the Museum Mimara, during the 21st Festival of Croatian Music, in Zagreb (Croatia), on 24 April 1994.

Tayara is intended to bring to mind a concession of oriental sound in which meditative and mystic aspects take up a position of particular distinction and importance. This excerpt, which might be considered a journey through the interior of sound, begins with a single note which, launched into space, stratifies itself slowly, enlarges and expands, re-composes itself, dissipates and gradually thins to nothing. The formal development maintains a continual yet gradual timbre transformation followed by interaction and enrichment by the instruments. They are used with reduced dynamics in which breathes and rustles have a musical meaning. The perceptive thresholds increase the edge and the attention began very sensitive for minimum changes. In this context silence has a particular meaning and the general aim is open mind to infinite and ancestral distances. The premiere performance of Tayara was given at the 27th Concert Series Amici della musica in Pordenone on the 18th of December 1989.

Tavola V is one of a series of pieces called Tavole in which the timbre and dynamic possibilities of the musical instruments were studied. Tavola V is dedicated to the piano and it was inspired by research on the transcription of improvised music with traditional notation. In many experimental sessions of improvisation was given great importance to the asymmetry, looking for a condition in which the performer can demonstrate his creativity freely, without any rhythmical constraints. Tavola V is nicknamed “of the independence” because it stresses the performance possibilities of independence between the two hands. At the beginning it is proposed a traditional concept of piano, developing gradually to a new concept based on the idea that the piano can also produce concrete sounds. In this way the piano becomes generator of sounds instead of notes, and the intervals loose their semantic meanings. The formal organization of the piece is based on the notes comprised in a major third interval, in the lower rage of the musical space. Sometimes one can distinguish the notes and the interval easily, sometimes no, such as when the notes are produced in the critical bandwidth or masked by other notes. Minor and major third intervals are the basic elements for developing the musical meaning, which is based on acoustical principles, rather than a tonal semantic. Melodic and rhythmic fragments are appearing for few moments and then dissolve immediately, developing an articulated polyphonic texture. The overall aim is to propose different listening paths to the listener: he should be attracted by different stimuli that allows him to take creative journeys with the fantasy. The premiere performance of Tavola V was given by Per Rundberg, piano, at the Liviano Hall, Padova, during the University Concert season, on the 30th of March 2004.

En proximidad del infinito deals with the difficulty of perceiving the tonal qualities of sounds at the limits of musical space. The piece, a challenge to the perceptibility of the tonal quality of the notes, explores the limits of listening in the far-out regions of musical space where sounds lose their semantic content. The idea is to realize a music that goes beyond the ability to perceive the sounds, in a boundary range in which there is ambiguity between a creative listening and a real ability to hear the music. “On reaching that upper stratosphere, in a zone of transition approaching the infinite, the misty boundaries fade and fuse. The harmonies dissolve, becoming ethereal in a continuous search for the essence of sound”. En proximidad del infinito, dedicated to Interensemble, was premiered at the Auditorio Nacional de Mùsica of Madrid on the 26th of March 1996 during the festival Encuentros Mùsica Europea. The piece obtained the third prize at the International Competition Societé de Musique Contemporaine of Montreal and was finalist at the 20th International Competition Irino of Tokyo.

Quartetto Elettronico would propose a particular musical conception, in which the traditional instruments are used with electronic meaning, like if they were generators of frequencies instead of notes. In this context they are considered producers of sound instead of phrases of melodic lines. The formal development of the piece is conceived starting from single tones. The sound material used is composed by timbre trills, irregular tremolos, trills with glissando, multi-phonic sounds, and trills between multi-phonics. The sound material develops gradually: some harmonic rustles became step by step sinusoid, following waves movement. The sine waives became harmonic trills and tremolos generating a definite polyphony. The piece ends with a transformation of the tremolos in glissandi in the tonal center of C sharp. The premiere performance of Quartetto Elettronico was given at the city Hall, in Udine, on the 7th of December 1991.

Tavola I is one of a series of pieces called Tavole in which the timbre and dynamic possibilities of the musical instruments were studied. Tavola I, nicknamed of the “virtuosity,” utilizes the sound possibilities that the string instruments allow. The timbre has a very important part. The original idea was to point out on a sound universe that usually is very difficult to hear and made up of attack transitory, rustles and infra-sound. These kinds of sounds are normally not utilized in music. The aim is to work into the sound, directly modeling the acoustic material. The formal organization of the piece is developed starting from single notes that were articulated following timbre principles. These sections are opposed others with many fast notes. The sound discovery and the hypnotic movement were realized with the aim of extending the space-time perception. The premiere performance of Tavola I was given at the New York University concert series, on the 14th of October 2002 with Valentina Migliozzi, cello.

Foto di mare (sea picture) was commissioned by Roberta Silvestrini (which is dedicated). It is a piece that compares two musical frameworks, one slow and relaxed, and the other tight and hectic. Some perceptual phenomena studied in the psychology of music, are used in the piece experimenting various formal solutions. These phenomena are used to transform the musical material for developing new semantic meanings. The figures presented are constantly evolving: they deform, stretch, swell, becoming unexpected and unforeseen factors. The experimentation regards the time and space organization with the use of polyrhythms, and masking of simple rhythmic figures that become part of other, more complex, so that aggregated are not identified as individual elements. The paradoxes of perception are used to create and dissolve the structural tensions. Formally, the piece is based on a range of ascending semitone, using as the key C tonal center. The second interval extends up to that major third, by proposing perceptual games between major and minor third. The material is developed gradually, with rhythmic crescendos that lead to swarming clouds of notes, in which the individual tones lose importance in the light of the overall structure. In this context, independence is pursued by the asymmetry between the entries. The premiere performance of Foto di mare was given at the Auditorium S. Rocco, Senigallia, for the Musica Nuova Festival, the 15th of July 2004 with Guido Arbonelli, bass clarinet, and Germano Scurti, bajan.

Ecological Music II

1. Iridescent Figures (2001)
for flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello and piano
Fabio Bacelle, flute; Luigi Marasca, bass clarinet; Stefano Antonello, violin;
Andrea Musto, cello; Alessia Toffanin, piano; Bernardino Beggio conductor.

2. Anemos (1996)
for soprano, viola, bass clarinet
Pamela Hebert, soprano, Alberto Belli, viola; Alessandro Bisello, bass clarinet

3. Tavola III (1990)
for flute
Michele Biasutti, flute

4. Tayara (1989)
for contralto flute, bass clarinet, vibraphone and piano
Pierluigi Tabachin, contralto flute; Alessandro Bisello, bass clarinet;
Antonio Segafreddo, vibraphone, Bernardino Beggio, piano

5. Tavola V (2000)
for piano
Per Rundberg, piano

6. En proximidad del infinito (1996)
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
Fabio Bacelle, flute; Alessandro Bisello, clarinet; Stefano Antonello, violin;
Luca Paccagnella, cello; Bernardino Beggio, piano

7. Quartetto elettronico (1989)
for flute quartet
Silvia Di Marino, Ksenija Kos, Elena Molinari, Bruna Perraro, flutes

8. Tavola I (1999)
for cello
Valentina Migliozzi, cello

9. Foto di mare (2004)
for bass clarinet and bajan
Guido Arbonelli, bass clarinet; Germano Scurti, bajan