Introduzione. Il suono delle cose

This paper introduces the book of the theoretical texts by the composer Federico Incardona (Palermo, 1958-2006), collected and put in order by his students, now stored in the musicological library of Palermo University; it draws a concept map to guide the reader into Incardona’s labyrinthine path. The fundamental concepts, highlighted and analyzed, are: the “inaudito” (what you never heard) as the result of a research in which the composer is involved even physically; the “sign”, as a tool to objectify the unheard; the “tone row” as the order of notes obtained by their bonds with the sensations and experiences: the epiphany of the sound of things: the “tradition” as “permanent revolution”, a R. Kolisch’s idea that Incardona learned from H.-K. Metzger ; the “work” as an utopian aspiration.