2023-05-04 06:09:59
“I had always felt a feeling of deep unease listening to popular songs (which are forms of spontaneous expression of the people) accompanied on the piano. It is therefore for this reason, but also, above all , to pay homage to the vocal intelligence of Cathy Berberian which, in 1964, I wrote Folk Songs for voice and seven instrumentalists”
A key figure in post-war Italian music, Luciano Berio is a composer of experimental and electronic music, and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His works question the musical, cultural and historical spheres at the same time.
Following his military service during the Second World War, Berio enrolled at the Milan Conservatory in 1946 to study composition with Giulio Cesare Paribeni and Giorgio Federico Ghedini. Berio also discovered the Second Vienna School and in particular composers such as Schoenberg, Berg and Webern. It was also at this time that Berio met his future wife, the singer Cathy Berberian, with which he will explore the musical possibilities of the voice. After studying at the conservatory, Berio left for the United States in 1952 to participate in the Berkshire Festival at Tanglewood and continue his composition studies with the composer Luigi Dallapiccola, with whom Berio deepened his knowledge of serialism. During this stay in the United States, Berio attended the first American concert of electronic music which opened a door to the world of electronic and electroacoustic music.
Berio met Bruno Maderna in 1953, with whom he founded the “Studio di Fonologia Musicale” in Milan in 1955, allowing him to deepen his passion for electronic music. He also met Pierre Boulez, Henri Pousseur and Mauricio Kagel during his stay in Darmstadt in 1954. Between 1965 and 1980, Berio joined several key institutions of avant-garde music, such as the Juilliard School in New York (1965-1971), the electroacoustic section of Ircam (1974-1980) and Harvard University (1994-2000).
Although Berio is surrounded by “serialist” composers, he considers this world closed in, addressing only a fraction of the public. He therefore refuses to associate himself with a single school of musical thought and says he is rather open to all styles of music that allow him to compose the music he is looking for.
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28 min
Musical programming
LOVE WHERE
Luciano Berio talks regarding the voice (broadcast January 31, 1993 on France Musique)
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Thema (Homage to Joyce) (1958)
Electronic music, tape produced by Luciano Berio
Sub Rosa SR300
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Four Popular Songs (1946-47) Dance
Thomas Blondelle, ténor, Daniel Blumenthal, piano
Free Escape FUG591
LOVE WHERE
Interview with Cathy Berberian on the radio (Au chat qui pouffe program on France Culture broadcast on November 30, 1969)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Pribaoutki (Pleasant Songs) (1914) III. Polkovnik (The Colonel)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester de la Columbia, directed by Igor Stravinsky
Sony 88875026162-51
LOVE WHERE
Interview with Cathy Berberian on the radio (Au chat qui pouffe program on France Culture broadcast on November 30, 1969)
John Cage (1912-1992)
Aria (Fontana Mix) (1958) for voice and tape
Cathy Berberian, voix
Times Records S 58003
LOVE WHERE
Interview with Cathy Berberian on the radio (Au chat qui pouffe program on France Culture broadcast on November 30, 1969)
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) I. Black is the color… (Etats-Unis)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) I wonder as I wander (Etats-Unis)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) III. Loosin Yelav (Armenia)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) IV. Wood Nightingale (France)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) V. A la feminisca (Sicile)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) VI. The ideal gift. VII. Ballo (Italy, two original songs by Berio)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) VIII. Motto of sadness (Sardaigne)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) IX. Malorous that one feels (Auvergne)
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) X. Lo fiolaire
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Folk Songs (1964) XI. Azerbaidjan Love Song
Cathy Berberian, mezzo-soprano, Orchester du Théâtre de la Fenice, directed by Luciano Berio
Stradivarius STR 10017
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