DANZE PAZZE

In the euphoric composition Crazy Dances, an “insane” composer entertains himself by portraying four improbable dances through the curious eyes of a child. Children are free from the many constructions, conventions, and habits that constrain adults, and they can fully enjoy the present with their hearts and minds without feeling the need to adjust their emotions to strict and predetermined paths. With this reality in mind, the composer describes the four dances walking with candid and childish eyes through a world of fantasy and wonders, where everything is new and unexplored. The first dance, "Danza delle palle pazze" (Dance of the crazy balls), describes a myriad of balls frantically bouncing and jumping. Every section of the wind band has some solo parts, starting from marimba and vibraphone, and introduces captivating and unusual themes. The second dance, "Danza ubriaca" (Drunken dance), describes the typical unbalanced and uncertain walk of a drunkard. The slow dance features trombone and oboe solos. In the third dance, "Samba-dance in un pazzo stato confusionale" (Samba-dance in a confused state of mind), the percussion instruments rule the roost with an overpowering samba rhythm. This movement introduces many special sound effects achieved with unusual uses of mouthpieces, vuvuzelas, and air balloons. The fourth and last dance, "Danza dei Sette Nani esauriti (che saltano dietro alle palle pazze)" (Dance of the Seven Stressed Dwarfs … who run after the crazy balls), connects to the first dance. With the use of funny melodies and harmonies, it describes the Seven Dwarfs (those of Snow White) who, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, start running after the crazy balls creating an absurd moment of delirium. This amusing and humorous composition, which has a very effective sonorous and scenic impact, can be better described with a famous sentence by H. Matisse: "Learn to look at life with the eyes of a child."