Harrison Birtwistle’s Silbury Air for chamber ensemble was given its world première on 9 March 1977 by the London Sinfonietta.

“Silbury Air is named after Silbury Hill, a prehistoric mound in Wiltshire, the biggest artificial mound in Europe, being 125 feet high and covering more than five acres. Its use and purpose, after centuries of speculation, still remain a mystery.”

(Harrison Birtwistle)

“A vigorous and eventful fifteen minute piece, full of sharp motoric rhythms that (until the very end) tend to accelerate.

The result is dramatic and immediately exciting, contradicting in its vitality the idea of static blocks of sound on which Birtwistle has usually relied, but equally showing the firmest possible architectural sense, with each section relating naturally and satisfyingly to the rest. With so much argument crammed into so relatively short a span, it is a work that cries out for early repetition.”

(Edward Greenfield, The Guardian 10.03.1977)

Luciano Berio’s La vera storia (Azione musicale in 2 parti) was given its world première on 9 March 1982 at the Scala in Milan.

“To say what happens in La Vera Storia is not easy, and I don’t know that it’s all that useful, granted that this is a work which tells its own story … If I weren’t afraid of being misunderstood or appearing rude, I wouldn’t even have written these lines.“

(Luciano Berio)

Wolfgang Schreiber said of the première: “Berio’s theme is tension, and the violent conflict between individual and state or society, of people and power, of freedom and authority.”

Luciano Berio’s Stage Works:
Opera and La Vera Storia

The Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine in Paris is hosting a two-day symposium on Luciano Berio and his stage works.

Read more on the Cdmc website.

Visit also the Centro Studi Luciano Berio.

While the Wien Modern festival is raging here in Vienna, here’s a quick look at some other performances around the world this week.

Cornelius Cardew: Autumn 60 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester

Luciano Berio: Linea for 2 pianos, vibraphone and marimba, performed by musikFabrik in Cologne.

Morton Feldman: Rothko Chapel at the esplanade in Singapore

Alexander Zemlinsky: Der Zwerg continues at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, together with Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges (see videos)

Julian Yu: Philopentatonia at the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo

You can see a full list of all forthcoming performances in our calendar.

Eight years after Luciano Berio’s death, the Centro Studi Luciano Berio has published new photographs and four unpublished manuscripts related to his favourite Sicilian folksong, E si fussi pisci.

You can even listening to a unique recording of Berio singing the song.

Buy the choral version of E si fussi pisci in our online shop.

The Centro also pays tribute to Edoardo Sanguineti, who died last year, with previously unpublished photographs and manuscripts.

Something for our French-speaking readers:

As part of their autour d’une œuvre series, the ensemble intercontemporain has published Pierre-Yve Macé’s essay on Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia.

See also his article on Berio’s Recital for Cathy (with video).

Ensemble intercontemporain next performs UE works at its Scène ouverte concert on 28 April, including Kagel’s Ludwig van, Stockhausen’s Klavierstücke and Boulez’ Domaines.

Measha Brueggergosman and Ensemble Intercontemporain revive their 2008 production of Luciano Berio’s Recital for Cathy this March. Peter Eötvös conducts.

Performances start today in Barcelona, followed by Cologne, Lisbon, Antwerp and Amsterdam. See the Ensemble Intercontemporain website for details, as well as a video excerpt of the 2008 performance. 

In a break from rehearsals in Paris, Measha Brueggergosman gave us her impression of Berio’s work.

(View on Vimeo)