Frammenti is a composition written in 2016 by Andrea Ravizza, with a duration of approximately seven minutes, for prepared piano, and dedicated to pianist Umberto Beccaria. The preparation of the instrument is a crucial element of the work and consists of detuning selected pitches, an intervention that shifts the sound of the chords away from the conventional intonation of the tempered system. This allows for the creation of new sonorities through an extensive exploration of extended techniques.

In the first section, the performer is required to employ pizzicato with the fingernails, percussive gestures using the palms of the hands, and scraping the copper winding of the low strings. These unconventional sounds are interspersed with chords of a calm, almost suspended character, played piano or pianissimo. Yet even in these moments of apparent stillness, the non-tempered tuning introduces a subtle tension, imparting a sense of continuous “motion”.

A distinctive feature of the piece is the use of phase shifting: once the new sounds have been perceived by the listener, they are reintroduced with slight temporal delays in relation to one another. This process generates “almost accidental encounters, like waves breaking against one another”. Toward the end of the piece, this mechanism gradually slows down and fades, creating the impression of sound progressively receding, before concluding with a sustained yet “slightly uneasy” chord.

Ravizza’s compositional approach—also evident in works such as I colori di α for symphony orchestra—is characterized by a constant search for new and personal sonorities. In Frammenti, this research was supported by technological tools: custom applications were developed in Max-MSP to audition different tuning systems and to precisely evaluate the detuning of pitches. This testifies to his interest in an interaction between “instinct and rules”, where calculated systems and aesthetic sensitivity converge to forge new musical expressions.

In this work, a balance clearly emerges between structural rigor and creative instinct, in which digital simulation is regarded not only as a tool for control, but also as a means of discovery and creation.