5 Winners. 5) Brian Eno
Brian Eno "Golden Hours"
To celebrate the centenary of Futurism, Alemanno and his administration thought it wise to commission a work from our Brian. Some applauded the bold foresight, others wrinkled their noses, some chuckled under their breath, and some were silent, unsure of what to say. Our Brian arrived with a piece titled "Presentismo. Time and space in a stretched time," and as he wandered around Palazzo Ruspoli dressed like a sociology professor, someone remembered that in the '70s he would go around covered in feathers and rhinestones like a drag queen. But no one mentioned this to Alemanno.
Yet many wondered, and continue to wonder: who is Brian Eno really?
A genius, a sly fox, a skilled manipulator, a brilliant reworker of others' ideas, a visionary, a calculative mind...
Non-musician, non-singer, non-technician, non-composer: he has redefined the very concept of composer (and musician, and technician...), turning almost everything he touched into gold.
Who is really Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno?
Certainly, the good Alemanno never knew, nor did he ever care to know (nor did it seem to bother him to know) and I suppose our Brian felt the same way, having greeted everyone and left Palazzo Ruspoli, pocketing a substantial (and very little publicized) reward.
But what was "Presentismo" like, in the end?
Beautiful... although, in the end, as always with Brian, I can never quite tell if—deep down—he’s just pulling our leg...