SU Studio Talk 78: Eugene Ughetti – Arriving at a philosophy of musical instruments

Eugene Ughetti is the co-artistic director of Speak Percussion. Eugene is known for tackling complex and ambitious art music projects whether as director, composer, performer or conductor. He has worked with some of the world’s guiding lights in new music including Pierre Boulez, Liza Lim, Steve Reich and John Zorn.Eugene’s works have been presented at Darmstadt (Germany), Roulette (New York), SONICA (UK), Ruhrtriennale (Germany), Mona Foma (Hobart), Arts Centre Melbourne, Sydney Festival, RISING, Transart (Italy), Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), Noordezon Festival (The Netherlands), PICA (Perth), SIPFest (Jakarta), National Museum (Singapore), George Town Festival (Malaysia) among others.

Eugene’s Sounds Unheard Studio Talk series, “What is a musical instrument?”, looks at his philosophy of musical instruments. Over 4 episodes Eugene explores how any object can be rendered a musical instrument through an inseparable combination of materials, semiotics, and practices, Where material refers to physical substance, including its form and structure; semiotics encompasses all the things an instrument refers to, points to, or symbolizes and practice refers to the physical actions and manipulations involved in producing sound.

In this episode, Eugene discusses his 25-year journey and evolving view of musical instruments. He explains how he moved from seeing them as mere objects to understanding them as entities that come alive through action, carry cultural and historical weight, and even exhibit agency. Previewing the next episode, Eugene introduces his idea that a musical instrument is an inseparable combination of its material, its semiotics (the meanings it carries), and the practice of playing it, suggesting this framework can inspire new ways of working with instruments for all musicians.

Thank you for joining us for Eugene Ughetti’s Studio Talks Series, ‘What is a musical instrument?’. For more information on Eugene, please visit www.speakpercussion.com

[Photo © Jeff Busby]