# Luciano Berio (1925 – 2003)



## Bach

Very good.


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## Herzeleide

Agreed... eed... eed (ten characters yet?)


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## Lang

I like the Sinfonia, with its tribute to Martin Luther King.


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## Herzeleide

Coro, Laborintus II and all the Sequenzas are also very good.


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## starry

I like the Sequenza pieces he did for various instruments from the 50s through to the 90s.


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## Mirror Image

Nah...he's rubbish. No melody, no interesting harmonic content. Total nonsense that serves no purpose other than to induce headaches upon it's very small group of listeners.


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## bdelykleon

The curious thing about Mirror Image's opinion about new composers (by new I mean newer than Shostakovich) is that it is the same no matter the style and the work of each composer. Be Messiaen, Boulez or Ferneyhough the opinion is always the same: no melody or harmony (?!) of note, no thematic development, etc. I fancy if he has really heard any of them.

Not that I'm a great fan of Berio, his work is too uneven to me to gain my universal support, the Sinfonia is a great piece of music and Coro is even better, but he wrote a lot of not so inspired or inspiring music.


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## Mirror Image

bdelykleon said:


> The curious thing about Mirror Image's opinion about new composers (by new I mean newer than Shostakovich) is that it is the same no matter the style and the work of each composer. Be Messiaen, Boulez or Ferneyhough the opinion is always the same: no melody or harmony (?!) of note, no thematic development, etc. I fancy if he has really heard any of them.
> 
> Not that I'm a great fan of Berio, his work is too uneven to me to gain my universal support, the Sinfonia is a great piece of music and Coro is even better, but he wrote a lot of not so inspired or inspiring music.


Yeah...I'm just giving an opinion based on no prior listening experience.  No, you're wrong as usual.

The bottomline, bdelykleon, is Berio's music is not melodic. I actually heard "Sinfonia," thanks to AOL internet radio. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. My opinion will always be the same for composers who lack melody, harmony, rhythm, and structure.

Berio's music does nothing for me, in fact, most later 20th Century composers do nothing for me.

By the way, just because I don't share your views on composers, doesn't make me wrong and it doesn't make you right. It's just an opinion and that's all it is.


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## BuddhaBandit

bdelykleon said:


> The curious thing about Mirror Image's opinion about new composers (by new I mean newer than Shostakovich) is that it is the same no matter the style and the work of each composer. Be Messiaen, Boulez or Ferneyhough the opinion is always the same: no melody or harmony (?!) of note, no thematic development, etc. I fancy if he has really heard any of them.
> 
> Not that I'm a great fan of Berio, his work is too uneven to me to gain my universal support, the Sinfonia is a great piece of music and Coro is even better, but he wrote a lot of not so inspired or inspiring music.


I'll give MI points for consistency, though. At least he doesn't bash some modernists and merely degrade others- all get the same treatment.

Now, I'm not that into Berio myself and I'd say both the Sinfonia and Coro are good but not great pieces. But I like his Sequenzas quite a bit, as they very effectively show the enormous possibilities and colors of single instruments.


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## Edward Elgar

Does lack of melody and harmony equate to a bad composition?

My opinion is that originality and interest equate to good compositions. Berio's "Sequenzas" have no harmony as they are solo monotone instruments (except piano). The exploration into how different pitches create different timbres and moods is extraordinary. I've seen the voice sequenza performed live and it moved me deeply. 

He's a good composer, of course you're not going to hear Gershwin melodies, but you will hear highly original and inventive sounds that I find rather pleasing.


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## Mirror Image

Edward Elgar said:


> Does lack of melody and harmony equate to a bad composition?


It does in my opinion. These are the very elements, along with rhythm and structure, that make music what it is.


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## bdelykleon

BuddhaBandit said:


> I'll give MI points for consistency, though. At least he doesn't bash some modernists and merely degrade others- all get the same treatment.


Yes, but it is just a cliché on modern music, so cliché that "O King" from the sinfonia has the same level of melody of any bebob song. Surely it is not a Gershwin tune,but Berio as an Italian always had an ear to melody.


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## BuddhaBandit

Mirror Image said:


> It does in my opinion. These are the very elements, along with rhythm and structure, that make music what it is.


How about sound quality? And Berio's music is very melodic- except his melodies rely more on motifs and short, rhythmic riffs than traditional phrases. It's just another side of the melodic coin.


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## Mirror Image

BuddhaBandit said:


> How about sound quality? And Berio's music is very melodic- except his melodies rely more on motifs and short, rhythmic riffs than traditional phrases. It's just another side of the melodic coin.


It goes against my own musical belief system, Buddha. I'm not listening to anything that doesn't exhibit: melody, rhythm, structure, and harmony. These are the very elements that make music mean something for me. These are the things I use to evaluate music. Most modern classical that I've heard does not exhibit any of this. It's just my opinion, so that within itself should be enough for anyone.


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## Edward Elgar

Mirror Image, you evaluate music by comparing it to other musics that tell you how to feel and what to remember. Humanity will always be hostile to that which is new, but I urge you, a fellow music lover, to try and find at least one post WWII modern piece that you find stimulating. Then you will have a valid piece of music with which to compare other modern works.

Does it not imply in your signature that music must speak for every aspect of the world? Music would be naive if it only showed us pleasure and nothing else. Art music should be more meaningful than that. Art is often a silent yet screaming witness to the horrors of human history. This stimulates me and also gives me consolation when questioning the nature of humanity.


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## Mirror Image

Edward Elgar said:


> Mirror Image, you evaluate music by comparing it to other musics that tell you how to feel and what to remember. Humanity will always be hostile to that which is new, but I urge you, a fellow music lover, to try and find at least one post WWII modern piece that you find stimulating. Then you will have a valid piece of music with which to compare other modern works.
> 
> Does it not imply in your signature that music must speak for every aspect of the world? Music would be naive if it only showed us pleasure and nothing else. Art music should be more meaningful than that. Art is often a silent yet screaming witness to the horrors of human history. This stimulates me and also gives me consolation when questioning the nature of humanity.


Let me know when there's post-WWII classical piece worth hearing and I'll get back with you.


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## Edward Elgar

Mirror Image said:


> Let me know when there's post-WWII classical piece worth hearing and I'll get back with you.


You say this as if they are difficult to find. It's true there is a lot of rubbish being written at the moment, but then again, Mozart wrote works that were rubbish. Here are some pieces you should definitly listen to. Give them a chance, even if they seem strange at first.

Here's one of my electroacoustic favourites by Ligeti





Here's a crazy but genius string quartet by Xenakis





You must listen to this awesome percussion concerto by MacMillan





I know this is off topic but it's for a good cause.


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## Mirror Image

Edward Elgar said:


> You say this as if they are difficult to find. It's true there is a lot of rubbish being written at the moment, but then again, Mozart wrote works that were rubbish. Here are some pieces you should definitly listen to. Give them a chance, even if they seem strange at first.
> 
> Here's one of my electroacoustic favourites by Ligeti
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here's a crazy but genius string quartet by Xenakis
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You must listen to this awesome percussion concerto by MacMillan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I know this is off topic but it's for a good cause.


Edward Elgar, I listened to those samples you provided and let me just say I never heard so much rubbish in my life. I'm sorry, but that's what it sounds like to me.

Bear in mind this is just my opinion. I think you had it right when you said "There's a lot of rubbish being written at the moment." There's certainly was during the time these pieces were conceived as well.

Nice try, but no cigar.


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## LvB

Mirror Image said:


> Let me know when there's post-WWII classical piece worth hearing and I'll get back with you.


I don't normally get involved in these sorts of controversies, as there is rarely much point, but I really have to ask if you can possibly mean this. Are you truly dismissing as valueless, chosen at random from among many others, Britten's _War Requiem_, Shostakovitch's 13th Symphony and 8th String Quartet, Adams's Violin Concerto and _Nixon in China_, Gorecki's 3rd Symphony, Glass's _Akhenaten_, Hindemith's _When Lilacs Last in the Dooryards Bloomed_, Pettersson's 7th Symphony, Goldschmidt's _Beatrice Cenci_, Hanson's 6th Symphony, Lutoslawski's _Concerto for Orchestra_, Bernstein's _Chichester Psalms_, Strauss's _Four Last Songs_, and Kabalevsky's _Colas Breugnon_ Overture? I'd love to know what definitions of melody, harmony, and rhythm you're working with....


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## Mirror Image

LvB said:


> I don't normally get involved in these sorts of controversies, as there is rarely much point, but I really have to ask if you can possibly mean this. Are you truly dismissing as valueless, chosen at random from among many others, Britten's _War Requiem_, Shostakovitch's 13th Symphony and 8th String Quartet, Adams's Violin Concerto and _Nixon in China_, Gorecki's 3rd Symphony, Glass's _Akhenaten_, Hindemith's _When Lilacs Last in the Dooryards Bloomed_, Pettersson's 7th Symphony, Goldschmidt's _Beatrice Cenci_, Hanson's 6th Symphony, Lutoslawski's _Concerto for Orchestra_, Bernstein's _Chichester Psalms_, Strauss's _Four Last Songs_, and Kabalevsky's _Colas Breugnon_ Overture? I'd love to know what definitions of melody, harmony, and rhythm you're working with....


I like Britten's War Requiem and Hindemith's "When The Lilacs Last in the Dooryards Bloom'd" are both great pieces as are Strauss' "Four Last Songs."

You do realize that these three composers wrote a lot of prior to and during WWII, right?

I guess I'm talking about composers born between 1920 and up.

If you don't normally get involved with these sorts of controversies, then why start now?

This is hardly a controversial topic, LvB. This is simply me giving my opinion and some people not being able to deal with it.


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## bdelykleon

Ok you hate modern music, we all know that, so leave modern music threads to us and do not disvirtuate them to show how you hate them.


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## LvB

Mirror Image said:


> If you don't normally get involved with these sorts of controversies, then why start now?


Because your original statement, which I took to be an accurate expression of your views, was so startling. But since you've modified that original phrasing, I understand more clearly; you find no melody, harmony, or rhythm in Adams, Aho, Penderecki, Gorecki, Argento, Rorem, Rzewski, Sallinen, Chihara, etc. Now I see.


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## Edward Elgar

Mirror Image said:


> This is simply me giving my opinion and some people not being able to deal with it.


Oh, I can deal with it! I'll leave it very much alone! Subjective experience coupled with a lack of knowledge is not what judges music to be good or bad. If you think new music is rubbish that's your loss, just don't generalise in an opiniated rampage on a thread for people to intelligently discuss the works of perhaps the most prodigal and encyclopedic composer of his generation.


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## World Violist

I've found much of Berio's music that I've heard to be fascinating so far, and, in some cases, outright genius. Listening to the Sinfonia over Youtube right now. It's some of the weirdest and yet most stimulating music I've ever heard.


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## Lukecash12

Here's my play list of him: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D6905BFDCA9E1050

Enjoy, folks...


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## World Violist

Lukecash12 said:


> Here's my play list of him: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D6905BFDCA9E1050
> 
> Enjoy, folks...


Wow, that playlist is great. I couldn't find the Boulez recording of Sinfonia on Youtube, just some bad transfer of a Rattle video... thanks!


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## Lukecash12

No problem. I'm constantly perfecting and expanding those lists, and I'm glad you enjoyed that one.


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## starthrower

Hmm? I resurrected this thread hoping to learn something about Berio's music and maybe some recommended recordings. Instead I got a page an a half of bickering.


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## powerbooks

Recycle this thread.

Exploring human voice:


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## millionrainbows

Berio's "Folk Songs" is a good piece of music, and very tonal in places. His "Sequentias" I find interesting because of their "super-tonality," as excursions to and from a central note are extrapolated upon. Heinz Holliger's oboe rendition is well-worth a listening.


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## Vaneyes

Berio Mahler transcriptions.

View attachment 6196


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## neoshredder

Here is a playlist for Berio's Sequenzas.


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## KenOC

neoshredder said:


> Here is a playlist for Berio's Sequenzas.


I don't know Berio -- tried some of Sequenzas a while ago and it didn't click. Glad this thread was resurrected, time to try some more! Thanks to all.


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## joen_cph

The "Sequenzas" are among his most thorny works; for a softer introduction, a path could be

"Folk Songs", already mentioned 



 ->

"Voci", Viola Concerto 



 ->

Piano Concerto "Echoing Curves" 



 ->

"Rendering", Schubert Fantasy 



 ->

"Sinfonia", already mentioned, 



 ; 




 (apparently a 1980 discoteque performance ... )


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## millionrainbows

This is a very good disc of his chamber works. "Differences" is especially good, a mixture of real instruments and taped transformations of those same instruments.









Some of Berio's most interesting tape pieces are on this disc. The cover is obviously a reference to his great love of Cathy Berberian. She died before her time; she was an important singer and proponent of modern music. I always think of this great love, every time I see a picture of Luciano Berio.

There is a tribute CD, "Songs Cathy Sang." I also have a disc of her singing Monteverdi.









What an interesting figure! His piano music is great listening as well.

I like his "folk songs" and the Sequenzas on the MODE label.


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## millionrainbows

For a good overview of Luciano Berio's piano music, these are essential:


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## Vaneyes

joen_cph said:


> The "Sequenzas" are among his most thorny works; for a softer introduction, a path could be
> 
> "Folk Songs", already mentioned
> 
> 
> 
> ->
> 
> "Voci", Viola Concerto
> 
> 
> 
> ->
> 
> Piano Concerto "Echoing Curves"
> 
> 
> 
> ->
> 
> "Rendering", Schubert Fantasy
> 
> 
> 
> ->
> 
> "Sinfonia", already mentioned,
> 
> 
> 
> ;
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (apparently a 1980 discoteque performance ... )


I like 'em all.

However, I have two professional musician friends who detest them. Their blockage is two-fold. A dislike for all things atonal, and having to study them at Indiana U. Prior to displaying their strong anti-Berio feelings (after I offered post-dinner to CD play Sequenzas one evening), I did not know pros harbored such biases. But that shall not restrain me from such reofferings. :lol:


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## millionrainbows

Vaneyes said:


> I like 'em all.
> 
> However, I have two professional musician friends who detest them. Their blockage is two-fold. A dislike for all things atonal, and having to study them at Indiana U. Prior to displaying their strong anti-Berio feelings (after I offered post-dinner to CD play Sequenzas one evening), I did not know pros harbored such biases. But that shall not restrain me from such reofferings. :lol:


They sound like symphony orchestra drones; I would be very surprised if they are composers.


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## Vaneyes

A guide to Luciano Berio's music (The Guardian, 12/10/12)...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/tomserviceblog/2012/dec/10/contemporary-music-guide-luciano-berio


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## quack

I can't berio Berio's music.

(actually I really like his solo instrument Sequenzas, I'm mainly here for the pun.)


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## Mahlerian

I enjoy what I've heard of Berio's music, but I'd like to explore further. I've heard many of the Sequenzas, Sinfonia, Coro, and the disc Boulez did for Sony with the BBC Philharmonic. Any more recommendations?


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## Vaneyes

Mahlerian said:


> I enjoy what I've heard of Berio's music, but I'd like to explore further. I've heard many of the Sequenzas, Sinfonia, Coro, and the disc Boulez did for Sony with the BBC Philharmonic. Any more recommendations?


Continuo w. CSO/Barenboim (Teldec), a compilation disc Berio/Takemitsu/Carter.

Mahler lieder transcriptions w. Hampson/Philharmonia O./Berio (Teldec)

String Quartets w. Arditti Qt. (naive)

Piano Works w. Schlime (Sisyphe, or Piano Classics)


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## Mahlerian

I've heard his transcriptions of the early Mahler lieder. It's an excellent disc. I'll be looking into your other recommendations. Unfortunately it looks like the String Quartets disc isn't available, except at absurd prices on the used market.


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## oogabooha

Studying the score for Sequenza VII and I haven't been more astounded in a while (and i'd be lying if i didn't say confused as well)


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## Vaneyes

'A Decade without Berio'

http://operachic.typepad.com/opera_chic/2013/05/a-decade-without-berio.html


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## Vaneyes

You-know-who plays with Berio's Sinfonia this week, but I wish he'd quit calling it Symphony.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/to.../05/symphony-guide-berio-sinfonia-tom-service

Too bad BBC never released Pappano's Sinfonia. Here's a Proms 4 review way back in 2007...

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/concerts/prom-4-0707.htm

Just ordered Eotvos'. Boulez' has been gathering dust....never liked the sonics on that one. Interp is maybe a wee-dated, also.


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## Birdsong88

Berio is a very interesting composer. Since he was an Italian he was very good composing for the voice. His Sequenzas are also most definitely repertoire pieces. I haven't heard much of his works for keyboard instruments or that much of his chamber works. So what should I try out?


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## joen_cph

The 2nd piano concerto Echoing Curves is quite accessible, IMO.


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## ptr

Birdsong88 said:


> Berio is a very interesting composer. Since he was an Italian he was very good composing for the voice. His Sequenzas are also most definitely repertoire pieces. I haven't heard much of his works for keyboard instruments or that much of his chamber works. So what should I try out?


Visage, and the Sinfonia, Coro, Bewegung, Eindrücke and the String Quartets!

I especially like his electro acoustic works!

/ptr


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## Guest

Birdsong88 said:


> *Berio is a very interesting composer*. Since he was an *Italian* he was very good composing *for the voice*. His S*equenzas* are also most definitely repertoire pieces. I haven't heard much of his works for keyboard instruments or that much of his chamber works. So what should I try out?


I certainly couldn't agree more with you, Birdsong, about *Berio* being a very interesting composer! I'm not so sure I see the connection with him being Italian and being good at composing for the voice, though. Only one of his _*Sequenzas*_ is actually for voice, and I do believe other composers have an equally interesting approach (*Stockhausen*, *Wishart*, *Viñao* ...). Anyway, nice to see _Luciano_ getting a positive mention on this forum. Keep it up!


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## Art Rock

Also check out his Folk songs, and his orchestrations of other composer's works, e.g. the clarinet concerto he created from one of Brahms' clarinet sonatas.


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## elgar's ghost

I love the Sequenzas. He arranged some of them for different instrumentation which only adds to their interest for me.


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## Guest

elgars ghost said:


> I love the Sequenzas. *He arranged some of them for different instrumentation* which only adds to their interest for me.


I'm sorry if I seem to be "picky", EG, but it's news to me that he arranged some of them for different instrumentation. As far as I know, he wrote completely different "sequenzas" for different instruments. Are you saying, for example, that he arranged _Sequenza III_ (for voice) for another instrument? I would find that hard to imagine.


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## elgar's ghost

I was perhaps getting a little excited. In fact, I think he only arranged two of them himself. On my recording there are alternative arrangements of VII (oboe) and IX (clarinet) for soprano sax and alto sax respectively. On top of that (but not on my recording), there is an extra arrangement of IX for bass clarinet and there was also an arrangement of XIV ('cello) for double bass, albeit by somebody else, which I remember seeing on youtube.


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## Guest

I've finally listened to SOLO (I'm on a bit of a trombone fetish/kick/thing). Love at first listen!


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## Lukecash12

Ah, this thread is a good old blast from the past. Reading Mirror Image's posts and remembering how silly he could be... it's like applying some nice, bracing aftershave.


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## millionrainbows

Lukecash12 said:


> Ah, this thread is a good old blast from the past. Reading Mirror Image's posts and remembering how silly he could be... it's like applying some nice, bracing aftershave.


But would you invite him to dinner?


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## Federico

TalkingHead said:


> I certainly couldn't agree more with you, Birdsong, about *Berio* being a very interesting composer! I'm not so sure I see the connection with him being Italian and being good at composing for the voice, though. Only one of his _*Sequenzas*_ is actually for voice, and I do believe other composers have an equally interesting approach (*Stockhausen*, *Wishart*, *Viñao* ...). Anyway, nice to see _Luciano_ getting a positive mention on this forum. Keep it up!


Berio's use of voice is pretty interesting. I'm Italian but I'm not defending him because of that  He was an expert of phonetics: to get pleasure, his voice pieces must be heard also taking in account of that. Anyway, I've come here to link this video:






you can't say he is not able to write melodies and create taking atmospheres.


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## Blancrocher

Luciano Berio Documentary: Voyage to Cythera (dir. Frank Scheffer﻿)

A profile of Berio. It includes interesting interviews with the composer, as well as cameos by other distinguished musicians. Its main focus is on Sinfonia, which it presents as an interpretation of the revolution in music inaugurated by Mahler.


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## Lukecash12

Blancrocher said:


> Luciano Berio Documentary: Voyage to Cythera (dir. Frank Scheffer﻿)
> 
> A profile of Berio. It includes interesting interviews with the composer, as well as cameos by other distinguished musicians. Its main focus is on Sinfonia, which it presents as an interpretation of the revolution in music inaugurated by Mahler.


I just *have* to watch this when I get some more time!


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## PeterFromLA

A brilliant and inventive composer, one of my favorites. A little known fact about Mr. Berio: he introduced Umberto Eco to semiotics. I recommend the book, Two Interviews, for insights into how the composer thought about music, both his own and that of others.









My favorite pieces by Berio:

1. Circles. Check out the performance featuring his then wife, Cathy Berberian. On Mainstream records.

2. Sinfonia. The debut recording, featuring the Swingle Singers (without the fifth movement, which was added by the composer after a recommendation that he add a finale, courtesy of the conductor of the premiere: Leonard Bernstein). If you must have the version of the score with the fifth movement included, I recommend Boulez on Erato.

3. Recital I (for Cathy): Cathy Berberian's RCA recording of her tour of the literature for soprano, as heard through the mind of a performer slowly going mad.

4. Sequenza III. The text for this piece is brilliantly composed. The dramaturgy of the work is notable (e.g., the solo soprano walks in, muttering to herself: the piece has begun).

5. Concerto for Two Pianos. The Labeque sisters performed this one for RCA, under the composer

6. Laborintus II. The composer's version is the one to get; the text was written by the Italian poet, Edoardo Sanguineti. He can be heard in the narrator's voice in the composer's recording.

7. Voci (Folk Songs II), for viola, chamber ensemble, and featuring percussion. Kim Kashkashian on ECM. Another essential Berio piece.

8. Thema (Omaggio a Joyce): Another work testifying to the rich relationship between Berio and Berberian. In this piece she records one of the classics of elector-acoustic music, featuring her reading of passages from Joyce's Ulysses.

9. Sequenza VI for Viola, one of the more startling of the sequenza works. I like Walter Trampler's version.

10. Epifanie: Berio's great work for orchestra and female voice. Again, try to find the version featuring Berberian.

Berio's music is very Italian in two senses: it's dramatic and it's lyrical. The lyricism is not obvious, but it is definitely there.


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## millionrainbows

Berio: Points On The Curve To Find, for piano and 23 instruments (1974). PeterFromLA is right, of course; try to find the Cathy Barbarian versions.

Here she is on Folk Songs, also directed by Berio himself. Also contains Laborintus II.


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## flamencosketches

Reading through this thread after having listened to some works by Luciano Berio for the first time, I think, in my life. I picked up the Philips "Silver Line Classics" disc with various Berio pieces including: Différences, Sequenza III and VII, Due Pezzi, and one called "Chamber Music". Cathy Berberian is mesmerizing on Sequenza III; it was written for her, no?

I wonder if Steely Dan had that piece in mind when they wrote "Your Gold Teeth": _"Even Cathy Berberian knows there's one roulade she can't sing_. 

Anyway, I think his music is the last word in avant-garde. Forget Boulez, Stockhausen etc, let alone anything like Schoenberg, Webern etc. It's all child's play compared to Berio. Of course, this is probably just the novelty of his music speaking, and maybe it's really not all that far out there. I respect him for how much he pushed the envelope.


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## Mandryka

The sequenzas are very good, well worth exploring IMO, even the later ones.


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## Mandryka

There is also Corale, a sort of “episode 2” of Sequenza viii. I don’t know if there are any other examples like this.


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## flamencosketches

Is there any album out there, a collab between many soloists, that compiles all of the Sequenzas on one (or two, or however many it takes) disc?


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## Mandryka

There are at least three, one on Naxos, one with ensemble Intercomporaine, and this which may well be the one to get, whether you can understand Italian or not -- Italian spoken sounds like music anyway!


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## flamencosketches

millionrainbows said:


> Berio: Points On The Curve To Find, for piano and 23 instruments (1974). PeterFromLA is right, of course; try to find the Cathy Barbarian versions.
> 
> Here she is on Folk Songs, also directed by Berio himself. Also contains Laborintus II.
> 
> View attachment 120626


I just picked up this CD on your good word, MillionR. Will report back here in a week or so with some thoughts.


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## flamencosketches

First impression: It's really, really good. The titular work "Points on the Curve to Find..." is a damn masterpiece. I'm going to listen to it again now. The performance of Sequenza VII on here is raw, quicker, more unhinged than the other recording I have (also by the legendary Heinz Holliger, whom it was written for) - it's a live cut, and I think I prefer the studio take I have on that Philips CD, but it is still good to have. Still working through the Folk Songs; does this song cycle really count as a "serious" composition by this "serious" avant-garde composer? It's so accessible. Plenty of catchy tunes. I haven't even started on Laborintus II; frankly, it's intimidating.


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## millionrainbows

The "Folk Songs" are somewhat anomalous for Berio, but I find them endearing.

This recording is Berio's manipulation of sounds on tape, and it is a trip! I'm sure Frank Zappa was influenced by this. It contains _Thema (Omaggio a Joyce), _an homage to James Joyce's_ Finnegan's Wake.

_


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## flamencosketches

millionrainbows said:


> The "Folk Songs" are somewhat anomalous for Berio, but I find them endearing.
> 
> This recording is Berio's manipulation of sounds on tape, and it is a trip! I'm sure Frank Zappa was influenced by this. It contains _Thema (Omaggio a Joyce), _an homage to James Joyce's_ Finnegan's Wake.
> 
> _
> View attachment 123002


That looks great. Unfortunately, it's going for $75+ on Amazon, not available at all on Discogs. I'll have to hold off for now. Anyway, I still need to get into some of the big pieces like Sinfonia, so that is priority for now.


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## millionrainbows

flamencosketches said:


> That looks great. Unfortunately, it's going for $75+ on Amazon, not available at all on Discogs. I'll have to hold off for now. Anyway, I still need to get into some of the big pieces like Sinfonia, so that is priority for now.


Wow, I did not know it had gone up in price! That's ridiculous! I saw one on E-bay for $20...


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## starthrower

flamencosketches said:


> Is there any album out there, a collab between many soloists, that compiles all of the Sequenzas on one (or two, or however many it takes) disc?


I have the 3 disc set on Naxos.

https://www.amazon.com/Berio-Sequen...s=music&sprefix=berio+sequ,popular,346&sr=1-3


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## tdc

Apparently Berio had some interesting thoughts on improvisation, because there is a book called _Luciano Berio and Conscious Composing_ that I haven't read but believe discusses some of those ideas.

I came across another book by a different author called _Improvisation, Creativity and Consciousness_ that appears to refute some of Berio's ideas because in the description under the book there is a sentence that says:

_"One reason to define improvisation as sped-up composition might be to counter the idea that "Improvisation," according to the composer Luciano Berio..."_

https://www.getbookfast.com/now/luciano-berio-and-conscious-composing/

Then the sentence cuts off! (so frustrating) and I can't find anymore information on it though I've tried my search engine. Just curious if anyone here knows roughly what Berio's views were on improvisation?


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