Egisto Macchi

This volume traces Egisto Macchi's creative process for the soundtrack of The Assassination of Trotsky directed by Joseph Losey (1972). Through a close reading of the sources preserved at the Egisto Macchi Collection at the Institute of Music, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, (Venice) and at the Joseph Losey Collection at the British Film Institute (London), the book sheds light on the first collaboration between Losey and Macchi, which continued in the following years for the film Mr. Klein (1976). Why did Losey choose this apparently unknown composer? How did an avant-garde composer approach the cinematic system? What kind of audio-visual experience did Macchi and Losey explore through this film? To answer these questions, the volume deals with different aspects of the creative process, combining letters, notes, drafts, sketches, and the final orchestral scores. The introductory essay presents Egisto Macchi within the context of the Roman avant-garde and the cinematic environments of the Sixties and early-Seventies. The volume is complemented by a wide selection of sources reproduced in facsimile.