n.
born Jan. 29, 1924, Venice, Italy
died May 8, 1990, Venice
Italian composer.
A law student, he also studied music with Gian Francesco Malipiero (18821973), Bruno Maderna (192073), and Hermann Scherchen (18911966). He came to public attention in 1950 with his work Variazioni Canoniche , orchestral variations on a 12-tone theme of Arnold Schoenberg , whose daughter Nuria he married in 1955. An avowed communist, Nono often produced works of political substance, many of which sparked controversy and reaction. He employed aleatory (chance) techniques and serialism , sometimes fragmenting language and using electronically manipulated sounds. His best-known work is the opera Intolleranza (1961).