OCTET for Chamber Winds by ALESSIO ELIA (Italy, 1979)
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[#336] Dec 29, 2025
Italy | 2016 | Octet | Grade 6 | 13’ | Chamber Winds
Premiered by I solisti della Scal conducted by Andrea Vitello
Octet, by Italian composer Alessio Elia is our Composition of the Week.
Octet was written and dedicated to I Solisti della Scala in 2016, who commissioned the work for the recording project “octet” conceived by conductor Andrea Vitello.
Octet follows Stravinsky’s famous octet instrumentation of 1923, with 1 flute, 1 clarinet, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets and 2 trombones.
The utilization of different scales - a technique defined by the composer as ''polysystemism'' - further emphasizes his concept of sound as a phenomenal entity.
Elias’ Octet is cast in two movements and has a duration of around 13 minutes.
Alessio Elia, described as “a unicum in the compositional landscape of our times” (Il Corriere Musicale), Alessio Elia is internationally recognized for developing Polysystemism, a technique based on the simultaneous use of different tuning systems. His work has been discussed in conferences and publications by institutions such as the Cité de la Musique–Paris, the University of Strasbourg, the Hungarian Academy of Arts, and the University of Prague.
Elia has received major commissions from I Solisti del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Radio Bartók, Alter Ego, UMZE Ensemble, Wiener Collage, Stuttgart Kammerchor, and festivals such as Nuova Consonanza and Oggimusica. His music has been performed in leading venues across Europe, including the Auditorium Parco della Musica (Rome), Liszt Academy (Budapest), Schoenberg Center (Vienna), LAC Lugano, Palace of Arts (Budapest), and Yamaha Concert Hall (Vienna). Ten portrait concerts of his works have been presented in Budapest, Oslo, Mannheim, and Rome.
He is the recipient of several awards, including the Chigiana Merit Award and the 1st Prize at the UMZF 2013 (Hungarian Forum for New Music) in the orchestral category. His works are published by Universal Edition, Universal Music Publishing Editio Musica Budapest, and Edition Impronta, with recordings released by Warner Classics.
Studies:
Elia trained in Italy, Hungary, Germany, and at Darmstadt, studying with Giovanni Piazza, Brian Ferneyhough, Toshio Hosokawa, Georg Friedrich Haas, Zoltán Jeney, and Sidney Corbett. He also worked closely with Lasse Thoresen. He received a post-master’s degree summa cum laude from the Hochschule für Musik Mannheim and earned a PhD with highest honors from the University of Rome Tor Vergata with the first comprehensive monograph on Ligeti’s Hamburgisches Konzert.
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