Description
Luciano Berio: Sequenzas I-XIV (3-CD Set) – Naxos
- UPC: 747313266128
- Product Type: Music CD (3-Disc Box Set)
- Brand Name: Naxos
- MPN: 8.557661-63
- Genre: Classical / Contemporary / Avant-Garde
- Style: Modern Classical, Solo Instrumental
- Composer: Luciano Berio (1925–2003)
- Release Year: 2006
- Recording Dates: June 1998 – May 2004
Product Features
- Format: 3 CDs in a slimline multi-disc jewel case.
- Total Playing Time: 3:01:59.
- Recording Type: DDD (Digital Recording, Digital Mixing, Digital Mastering).
- Booklet: Includes detailed notes in English and German by Richard Whitehouse.
- Performers: Featuring world-class soloists including Nora Shulman (Flute), Tony Arnold (Soprano), Boris Berman (Piano), and more.
Overview
This comprehensive three-disc collection from Naxos presents the complete Sequenza cycle by the visionary Italian composer Luciano Berio. Spanning 34 years of his creative life, these pieces represent a monumental achievement in 20th-century music. Each Sequenza is designed to push the technical and expressive limits of a specific solo instrument, ranging from the flute and harp to the accordion and cello.
The music of Luciano Berio is encapsulated in the Sequenza series, running through 34 years of his creativity. Not only have many of them set standards for performance prowess and stamina, each embodies a redefining of the technical limits of the instrument. They range from the abstract music theatre of Sequenza III, written for the vocalist Cathy Berberian, to the humorous yet soulful Sequenza XII for bassoon. The eventful last piece in the series, Sequenza XIV for cello, was inspired by the Kandyan drum from Sri Lanka and here receives its world première recording.
Interesting Facts
- World Première: This set includes the world première recording of Sequenza XIV for cello, which was Berio's final entry in the series before his death in 2003.
- Sri Lankan Influence: Sequenza XIV was significantly influenced by the rhythms and techniques of the Kandyan drum from Sri Lanka.
- Cathy Berberian: Sequenza III for voice was famously written for Berio's first wife, the legendary mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian, and requires the performer to use a vast array of vocal techniques including whispering, laughing, and gasping.
- The Art of the Solo: Berio viewed these works not just as virtuoso displays, but as "musical explorations" of the relationship between the performer and their instrument.
- Cover Art: The evocative cover image, titled Bodega, is by photographer Juan Hitters.
Track Listing
CD 1 (63:02)
- Sequenza I (Flute) – Nora Shulman
- Sequenza II (Harp) – Erica Goodman
- Sequenza III (Soprano) – Tony Arnold
- Sequenza IV (Piano) – Boris Berman
- Sequenza V (Trombone) – Alain Trudel
- Sequenza VI (Viola) – Steven Dann
- Sequenza VII (Oboe) – Matej Šarc
CD 2 (60:09)
- Sequenza VIII (Violin) – Jasper Wood
- Sequenza IXa (Clarinet) – Joaquin Valdepeñas
- Sequenza X (Trumpet in C and Piano Resonance) – Guy Few
- Sequenza XI (Guitar) – Pablo Sáinz Villegas
CD 3 (58:48)
- Sequenza XII (Bassoon) – Ken Munday
- Sequenza XIII (Chanson) (Accordion) – Joseph Petric
- Sequenza XIV (Cello) – Darrett Adkins
- Sequenza VIIb (Soprano Saxophone) – Wallace Halladay
- Sequenza IXb (Alto Saxophone) – Wallace Halladay
Publishers
- Label: Naxos Rights International Ltd.
- Production and Editing: Bonnie Silver and Norbert Kraft.
- Engineering: Norbert Kraft.
- Made in: EU.
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