events

© Jacqueline Salmon

The 27th of May is the eleventh anniversary of Luciano Berio’s death. We would like to honor this date by posting a selection of salient moments from the last interview with the composer, from the video, Omaggio. The interview was recorded on April 8th, 2003, and conducted by Gillian Moore and Shân MacLennan for the Southbank Centre in London, which presented a festival dedicated entirely to the composer in 2004 entitled «Omaggio: A Celebration of Luciano Berio.»
In the interview, responding to questions by the two interviewers, Luciano Berio relates some essential moments in his personal and artistic development: his experience as a composer, his connection to popular music and culture, a reflection on technology. The testimony ends with an intense reflection on the future of music, on ways of listening, and to the unity of musical experience within interactions between the classical, pop and jazz traditions: «There are certain deep, solid roots in what we do that cannot be changed or destroyed».

To listen to excerpts from the interview, click here.

The 2014 concert season around the world features many outstanding events with Luciano Berio's music (for the full program see the Concert Calendar). The following is a selection of performances scheduled from April to July 2014.

On April 13 Bruno Mantovani conducts the Ensemble Intercontemporain and oboist Philippe Grauvogel in Chemins IV; in program also Sequenza VII performed by Didier Pateau (Cité de la Musique, Paris).
The Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, conducted by Roberto Abbado, will perform Rendering in Pavia (April 16) and Turin (April 17 and 18). Roberto Abbado will conduct again Rendering in Naples (Florida), with the Naples Philharmonic (May 8 and 9).
On April 17 Sir Simon Rattle conducts members of Berliner Philharmoniker and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená in Folk Songs in the frame of Musikfest 2014 (Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden).
Peter Eötvös with the Sinfonietta de la Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía will perform Concertino in Madrid (April 24, Auditorio Nacional).

The 2014 concert season around the world is particularly rich of outstanding events featuring Luciano Berio's music (for the full program see the Concert Calendar). The following is a selection of performances scheduled for the first trimester of the new year.

The year starts with five performances of Folk Songs: January 31 in Rome, with mezzo-soprano Cristina Zavalloni and the Orchestra da Camera di Santa Cecilia conducted by Marcello Panni; February 13 in Bologna, with Francesco La Licata conducting Valentina Coladonato and Fontanamix Ensemble; March 10 in Copenhagen, with Maja Ratkje and the Royal Danish Academy of Music; last but not least, March 21 and 23 in Den Haag, with Ryan Wigglesworth, mezzo-soprano Karin Strobos and the Residentie Orkest.
On February 15, in Miami, Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the Synergy Vocals and the New World Symphony in Sinfonia; the concert includes also the performance of Linea.
At the end of March, Alain Altinoglu conducts Kim Kashkashian and the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg in Voci; two concerts are scheduled in Mannheim (March 28) and Freiburg (March 29).

The homages to Luciano Berio on the tenth anniversary of his death go on with many tributes and appointments during summer and autumn 2013.
Following is a selection of the most outstanding events (for a complete list see the Concert calendar).
On 13 and 14 December the Conservatorio "A. Boito" of Parma, in collaboration with the Centro Studi Luciano Berio devotes to Luciano Berio two days of concerts and a study day coordinated by Giordano Montecchi. On December 13 Pierpaolo Maurizzi conducts the soprano Dženana Mustafić with the chamber ensemble of Conservatorio "A. Boito" in Folk Songs, Quattro canzoni popolari, O King, Linea and Beatles Songs (Auditorium del Carmine, Conservatorio "A. Boito", Parma). On December 14 Danilo Grassi will conduct the GMC (Gruppo Musica Contemporanea at Conservatorio "A. Boito", Parma) in Différences, Naturale and Laborintus II, with the participation of Tempo Reale (Teatro Due, Parma).

We are very sad to bid farewell to Fabio Vanni, who departed this life on the 12th of April in Rome at the age of 56.

An honorary member of the Centro Studi Luciano Berio and a valued member of its directing Board, Fabio participated in the life of the Association with extraordinary dedication, passion and professionalism right from the start. For all of us, this is an irremediable personal and professional loss. His rigour, humanity and remarkable strength in coping with life's most onerous obstacles will remain with us and inspire us.

Our most heartfelt condolences go to the family and to the Vanni Tani Ianiro studio.

Farewell, dear Fabio.

On 13 November 1973 Bruno Maderna passed away in Darmstadt. Both as composer and conductor, he was one of the foremost protagonists of the history of music in the 20th century. The Centro Studi Luciano Berio wishes to mark this anniversary by recalling, through documents, photos and an outstanding audio recording, the fraternal friendship that bound the two musicians and the affection and profound sense of human and professional gratitude that Berio felt for "Bruno". The biography of every artist is marked by encounters which lead to turning points and open up new horizons: the meeting between Maderna and Berio was perhaps unique in being nurtured by a common passion for music and for life, for research and avant-garde experimentation (working together, for example, to set up the Studio di Fonologia Musicale at the Rai in Milan) and their constant participation in the human and professional experiences of the other, even when living at a distance and in the later stages of their friendship.

We are pleased to add a new space to our website entitled Read more, which will feature a variety of document types (texts, images, audio files) and is designed to be in continuous expansion. It will be organized in four macro-sections: the first is devoted to C'è musica & musica, containing materials that complement the boxed set issued by Feltrinelli-Rai. The second section, Writings of Berio, is intended as a showcase for some of the written material he left behind. The section Contributions features a range of reflections concerning Berio's output (the first to appear wil be contributions by Antonio Prete, Paul Griffiths and Amy Luckenbach). It will be followed by a section of Debates (currently under construction), which will host discussion topics focusing on Berio's output and other related subjects.

The 24th October was the birthday of Luciano Berio, and it has become a custom for us in the Centro Studi Luciano Berio to celebrate the anniversary by giving you news of the main events and initiatives coming up between now and the end of 2013. We would also urge you once again to visit the web page Per Luciano, which continues to acquire new contributions.
The Venice Biennale has paid tribute to Berio with two monographic concerts one featuring Rendering and Epiphanies, performed by Roberto Abbado, l'Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna and Valentina Coladonato; and the other Sequenza VI by Christophe Desjardins; Altra voce with Monica Bacelli, Michele Marasco and Tempo Reale; Ofaním with Danilo Grassi, l'Orchestra della Toscana, the Maitrise de Radio France and Esti Kenan Ofri. The latter work will also be performed in Florence to open the festival Play-it!, directed by Marco Angius.
The Romaeuropa Festival is dedicating three concerts to Berio in October and November, featuring performances of Laborintus II, Chants parallèles, Thema (Omaggio a Joyce), Visage, A-Ronne, Momenti and Perspectives.
Among the scientific initiatives organized in collaboration with the Centro Studi Luciano Berio we can mention the study day entitled Poetica implicita vs poetica esplicita: gli scritti di Luciano Berio (24 October, Siena), and two days at the Conservatorio "A. Boito" di Parma on 13 and 14 December, organized by Giordano Montecchi.
In addition, 26 November 2013 is publication day for the volume Luciano Berio. Scritti sulla musica, edited by Angela Ida De Benedictis (Einaudi, PBE).

To listen to the podcast of Radio 3 Suite, aired on May 27, 2013, click here.