Death of hurdy-gurdy pioneer René Zosso
The Geneva hurdy-gurdy player René Zosso, who explored the possibilities of the instrument with Pierre Schaeffer as well as with Jordi Savall and René Clemencic, has died at the age of 85.
Born in Geneva in 1935, René Zosso is considered a pioneer in the rediscovery of the hurdy-gurdy. He gave his first concerts with the instrument in 1962 and was less interested in the hurdy-gurdy's original repertoire than in its general tonal possibilities. In the 1960s and 1970s, he therefore worked with the founder of musique concrète, Pierre Schaeffer, as well as with medieval ensembles.
He collaborated with the Austrian René Clemencic, another specialist in medieval music. He enriched his research into early music thanks to his knowledge of the prosody of French, Latin and old Mediterranean dialects. Around the turn of the millennium, he also participated in numerous projects by Jordi Savall.
