Roberto Paci Dalò's Sonic Installation for Timișoara 2023 European Capital of Culture

Roberto Paci Dalò (Rimini, 1962) created a site-specific sound installation titled "Temeswarer Nachrichten" for the first edition of Sonic Narratives, a two-day event (October 30-31) of sound installations and live performances along the Bega Canal in Timișoara, Romania. Timișoara was designated European Capital of Culture 2023 (originally 2021, postponed due to the pandemic). The city holds several historical firsts: first in Europe with an electrical grid, first in the Habsburg Empire with street lighting, first to convert to gas lighting in 1855, first in the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a navigable canal (Bega), and home to the Temeswarer Nachrichten, the first newspaper in Romania and the first German newspaper in Southeast Europe. Paci Dalò's installation draws on these pioneering inventions, incorporating sounds of water, electricity, trams, printing presses, electronic sounds, and Timișoara soundscapes. He also performed "Doyne," a live piece blending traditional doina (Romanian folk song) with live electronics, dedicated to the late Romica Puceanu. Sonic Narratives was organized by the Romanian association Simultan, known for its annual festival of music and digital arts, aiming to expand artistic production in Timișoara using the city as a platform for exploration and research into urban transition, memory, and temporality.