Italian museums embrace live music: jazz at GNAM, electronics at Palazzo Madama

Italian museums are increasingly hosting live music performances. On October 4, 2016, Palazzo Madama in Turin opened exceptionally and for free on its weekly closing day for an electronic concert by the duo MCDM (Max Casacci of Subsonica and Daniele Mana, known as Vaghe Stelle) in the Camera di Vetro, a fragile room housing a major glass collection. The performance featured tracks from the album "Glasstress," inspired by sounds from a Murano furnace, commissioned by Adriano Berengo. On October 10, the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (GNAM) in Rome will host jazz by Paolo Fresu and Gianluca Petrella, a duo formed at the Muse in Trento, for the opening of the exhibition "Time is Out of Joint." Fresu describes their performance as a dialogue between acoustic and electronic sounds, using new technologies to create an orchestral effect. On October 19, Palazzo Grassi – Punta della Dogana in Venice renews its collaboration with the Helicotrema sound festival, hosting live sets in the Teatrino foyer. Additionally, a Sigmar Polke exhibition (until November 6) will feature curated playlists accessible via smartphones. Internationally, such events are regular: MoMA PS1's Warm Up festival (19 years running) featured Skrillex and Powell; the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao host Art After Dark parties since 2008; Tate's Late at Tate program offers bimonthly Friday events; and Fondation Beyeler hosted Patti Smith in 2015 and will host John Cale on October 22, 2016.