Luciano Berio

[pokeythepenguin]

[ryguillian]

Is anyone even remotely interested in discussion his piano works?

I like the Sinfonia which has some little piano stuff in it... I don't really know his piano output much, though. Worth a damn is it?

[retrouvailles]

The Berio Piano Sonata is his best piano work, I think. The concertos (Echoing Curves, 2 pianos) are also great. The encores are nice, but not particularly profound. I like the Sequenza, but I am not crazy about it. It is one of those pieces that just works so much better live (I saw Gloria Cheng play it once).

[pokeythepenguin]

[thalbergmad]

I only mentioned his name as i was rummaging around a 2nd hard bookstore and came across this item that was about 2 foot wide, weighed 3 tonnes and was titled concerto per due pianoforti e orchestra by Luciano Berio.

Being a concerto collector i bought it out of curiosity as it looked pretty "weird". I had also never seen a score where the composer had drawn a diagram as to how he wanted the orchestra positioned.

What is a "tone group"?

Thal

[ryguillian]

Being a concerto collector i bought it out of curiosity as it looked pretty "weird". I had also never seen a score where the composer had drawn a diagram as to how he wanted the orchestra positioned.

Elliott Carter's Piano Concerto does the same thing; it actually gives three different layouts, including one for a "very large auditorium".

What is a "tone group"?

I don't mean to be a smartass, but it's a group of tones. Some people (e.g., Carter) use the term "chord" to mean the same thing. But do not think of it in terms of diatonic harmonic spelling.

Best,

Ry

[thalbergmad]

I have another idiotic question.

On the first couple of pages, there are lots of +, - and 0 symbols used. I cannot find an explanation of what this is supposed to indicate..

Ta in advance.

Thal

[retrouvailles]

I only mentioned his name as i was rummaging around a 2nd hard bookstore and came across this item that was about 2 foot wide, weighed 3 tonnes and was titled concerto per due pianoforti e orchestra by Luciano Berio.

Being a concerto collector i bought it out of curiosity as it looked pretty "weird". I had also never seen a score where the composer had drawn a diagram as to how he wanted the orchestra positioned.

I've seen that score and it is quite large, but all of that stuff in the beginning is necessary. Berio cared much about the acoustic nature of his works, so the positioning of the instruments is important, and this applies to many works of recent times, actually. I think the Concerto for 2 pianos is one of my favorite works of his. I honestly don't think you would like it very much though, because you are rooted pretty firmly in the romantics, and Berio is obviously not one, nor does he carry any vestige of that style.

And Skep, the recording I have of the sonata is by Elizabeth Klein. The performance isn't great (I would much rather have Lucchesini), but I can hear and see the piece's merit in the score and the recording.

On the first couple of pages, there are lots of +, - and 0 symbols used. I cannot find an explanation of what this is supposed to indicate..

I really don't feel like running to the library to look at it. Is there any way you can post a brief snapshot or scan of said section? I think I might have seen something like that before.

[pokeythepenguin]

[retrouvailles]

Oh btw thal, you might want to start at the Cinq Variazioni.  Would probably be the most agreeable to your ears.

Really? I don't think he'd like the Cinque Variazioni. I would suggest to him the 6 Encores. Yeah, go after the 6 Encores.

[pies]

Aren't the +, -, o, etc. for pizzicato and harmonics?

[retrouvailles]

Aren't the +, -, o, etc. for pizzicato and harmonics?

I will check in the library tomorrow. I am quite curious to know, personally. I don't remember hearing anything with harmonics in the piece, but I think I do remember something with pizzicato. I would suspect that there is some muting also.

[ahinton]

I like the Sinfonia

It's one of the best things he ever wrote, I think and accordingly performed far too infrequently.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Really?  I actually dislike the Sonata in comparison to the rest of his output; it feels somehow labored to me, although I'm not sure the recording I have is particularly good.  Which recording do you suggest?

I can't recommend a particular recording as such but I can say that I heard a very fine performance of it by the English pianist Sarah Nicolls which sounded pretty convincing to me. I think that, like so many other works, it can stand or fall by the performance; I have heard some pretty depressingly laboured accounts of Elliott Carter's much earlier sonata, for example - another wonderful (albeit obviously very different) piece that deserves far more than I've so far heard it get. I should get the new Oppens CD of his so far complete piano music, i guess; perhaps the performance of it on that will be the one I'm hoping for. Anyway, sorry for the digression into Carter, but there is a point here, methinks.

The Six Encores are actually my favorite piece.  While I agree that they're not necessarily overly substantive, I think the writing is extremely concise.  Nothing superfluous, and the pieces manage to maintain attention fairly well.  Particularly Wasserklavier, which I find to be harmonically captivating.

Agreed - and quite appealing, I think, even to some who might find some of the composer's other work less so. Pithy and to the point.

Best,

Alistair