Dancing House: Deconstructivism in the language of Nicola Monopoli

The concept of deconstruction spread throughout the twentieth century thanks to the critical thought of philosopher Jacques Derrida, who sought to respond to the need for a linguistic and semantic translation of Heidegger’s call for the Destruktion of metaphysical concepts. Derrida’s deconstructionist vision decisively influenced the artistic movements that emerged over the course of the twentieth century, giving rise - among various art forms - to architectural Deconstructivism. In the field of music, the philosopher’s perspective manifested in various approaches to dismantling the essential components of musical language; however, unlike in architecture, it did not culminate in the establishment of a fully-fledged deconstructivist current. It is within this state of the art that the creative output of composer Nicola Monopoli is situated: he consciously and faithfully adopts the principles of architectural deconstructivism, drawing inspiration from one of its most emblematic structures, Prague’s Dancing House. The composition for alto saxophone and electronics under examination—bearing the same name as the building— represents the first work by the composer from Barletta based explicitly on the principles of architectural deconstructivism.