,

X aum eine der in den letzten lahrzehnten entstandenen Kompositionen ist 50 beuhrnt geworden wie Luciano Berios ,.Sequenzen «, Seit nunmehr vierzig Jahren arbeitet Berio an diesem Zyklus von Solo-StOcken: ein unglaublich erfolgreiches »work in proqress«. Einige .Sequenzen. haben auf spatere Stucke Berios ein-

gewirkt, andere haben sich aus grOi3eren Werken gleichsam abgesplittert. Dlese st~ndige Vernetzung seiner Werke untere.nancer, das variative Fortspinnen und die unterschiedlichsten Spiege[ungen sind kennzeichnend tur Berios Komponieren - eigentlich laBt sich sein ge~amtes CEuvre als em groBes .work In proqresse begreifen. Und die .Sequenzen« sind das geheime Zentrum dieser Arbeit,

ln enger Kooperation zwischen dem Komponisten und narnbatten Interpreten sind dreizehn »Sequenzen« entstanden, die ein faszinierendes Panorama spieltechnischer Mbglichkeiten sehr unterschiedlicher Instrumente bieten: Von oer .Sequenz I. fUr FI6te aus dem Jahr 1958 brs zur vorerst letzten .Sequenz XIII. fur Akkordeon (1995) wird Virtuositat in diesen kurzen, meist fOnf- bis zehnminUtigen Miniaturen in einem qanz neuen, eigenen Sinne deliniert. Berio gehl es nicht um die vordergrundige Prasentation von bandwerkticv-technische-n Konnen, vielmehr mtlchte er technische und intellektuelle Virtuositat viel umfassender als das entscheidende Bindeglied zwischen der kompositorischen Idee und dem ausfut1renden KOnstler verstanden wissen. Diesen bestar.diqen, notwendigen • Dialog" zwischen dem Interpreten und seinem Instrument hat Beno mit Sitek auf seine .Sequenzen. sehr treffend so beschrieben: • Die besten Solisten unserer Zeit - modern in ihrer Intelligenz, ihrer Sensibilitilt, ihrer Teehnik - sind such fiihlg, sieh in einer weiten historischen Perspektive zu bewegen und die Spannungen zwischen den sch6pferischen Impulsen von gestern und heute aufzuheben sie setzen ihre Instrumente als Mittel zur Suche und zurn Ausdruck ein .•

,

~ arrni les Q?uvres. cornposees du.ra.r1t ces. derni.eres d.' eccnnies, rares sent celles qUI o.nl: connu Ie succes des Sequenzas de Lu iano Berio. Voici quarante ans que Beno travaitle sur ce cycle de pieces 50115tes, qUi forment une «oeuvre en devenir. excepuonnelle. Certaines SequenU5 nt influence d'autres pil!ces du compositeur, d'avtres se sent pour a.nsi dire dNachees d'ceuvres de plus grandes dimensions. L'Nabli~~cmcnt de liens o'une pertitio» a I'autre, Ie prolongement par la variation, ics effets de miroir les plus divers sent typiques du style de Berio, dent on peut concevoir toute la production comme une immense .CEuvre en deveni-», tcs SequenzCls representant Ie cceur de cette oeuvre. Las trerze Sequenzas presentees ici, dent la genese a ete marquee par une etroite cooperation entre Ie corr-posteur et les interpretes de renom auxquelles elle~ sont destinees. deploient. pour les instruments les plus divers, un panorama fascinant de possibilites techniques: de la 5equenza I pour flute, qui remonte a 1958, ~ la Sequenza XIII pour accordcon. de 1995 (provisoirernent la derruere). la virtuosite se VOlt redefinie de maniere oriqinale en "sequences. de cinq Il dix minutes. Lain de vouloir presenter, de fa~on superficielle, un simpl sevoir-Ia.re technique, Berio entend faire de la virtuosite technique er intelleduelle [e lien deCISil entre I'idee de 13 composition et l'artiste-interprete, Dans son texte de presentation, il a decrit ce .dialogue. necessaire et con ant entre l'interprete et son instrument de fa,on tres pertincnte «Les meilleurs solistes de notre epoque. modernes par l'intelligen e. la sens.tnhte ella technique, sent ceux qui savent evoluer dans une perspective historique tres large et resoucre res tensions entre la creativite d'hier et celle d'aujcurd'hui en utilisant leur instrument comme moyen de recherche et c'expression.»

3

,

Poche wmp05IZ.IO. I'll nate negli. ul\imi dl!.c .. en.III hanno.ra99.iunto. la ferne del~e 5E'q.U.Ii'r7ze di tuciano Bene. A euesto cido di peZ21 solistici, un "work In progress' dl incredi-

bile successo, il cornpositcre lavora ol"mal da quarantanni. Alcune 5eqUl'rliU! henno intluenzato altr brani eli Berio, altre appaiono. per cosl dire, corne "jrBmmen'tl" isolati da opere piu grandi. I continui nessi tra Ie sue opere e la tunica della veristiv« Fompinnung, ossia del prolungamento con variazions (con Ie sue PIU diver~e slaccettature), sor o (ar~t!eristlche s~llenti del lavcro cornpositivc dl Berio, al punto (he in ~ffetti il terrnine "work in progress" ~i potrebbe appllcare alia sua lrnera opera, dl cui Ie SequMi!e cost.tuiscortc una specie dl arcane nudeo centrale

Le tredlci Sequenz!', nate il1 SIrena collaborazione (on interpreti rinemati. offrono un affasciriar te nanora-na delle potemialita della tecnlca esecutiv<l ~egli strurnerm JDill eteroqsnei:

In queste brevi miniature (in oenere tra i cinque e I dleci rnmut, di curata). dalla SeqUf'nl'd I per flauto (1958) alia sua ultima (alrneno per il memento) 5equerlza XIII per accoro.on (1995), il virtuosrsrno viene definlto in un sensa del tutto nuovo e particolare AI co-npositore non tnteressa 1<1 presentazicne pelese dr ~billt{l tecnl(o-artigianali: Berio vuole (he II virtuosismo teen-co e intelle!tuale Sid inteso in sensa ben piu ampio, come trel: d'union oeosivo ua t'idea cornposluva e l'interprete. Berio ha apprupriatarnsnte cescntto questo "dialoqo" costante e indispen5iltlll~ 'tril l'interprete e il suo strurneme In rBpporlll aile sue Sequenzii': "~I migliorr sol,s!i del nostro terrlPQ- modernl nell'lr1lelligenza, nella sen$ibilit~ e nella tecnica - sene quelh capaci di muoversi in un'arnpia prosnettiva storica e di ri50lve~ Ie tension! 'rra la creativits di ieri e di oggi, adoperando i lero strvrnenti cor-e ,new di "CerCd e di espressione".

LUCIANO BERIO ("1925)

Sequenzas

COMPACT DISC

[6'021

[53221

II] Sequenza I for flute (1 9S8) fur FIOte . pour flute ' per lldulo SOP"I" C H<~Rlt~

rn Sequenza II fo r harp (1 963) fiir Harte pout harpe per arpa Fe;W,RIQUE C AMa~ELI"IG

QJ sequenza III for woman's voice (1955)

fur Frauen~timme pour VOI~ de femme per voce femminile LUISA CASr,llANI, $OP"lno

rn Sequenza IV for piano (1966) lur Klavier . per pianoforte FtOR.'~l BOFFARO

III Seq uenza V for trembon e (1965) fUr Posaune

SoNN' SLUCHIN

lID Sequenz<! VI for viola (1967) fur Bratsche ' pour alto CHRI>TOPHl DE~IMDIN"

[8'1SI

18'16]

[11 '051

[6'581

[12·13J

3

---,--------------------~========~--~----------------------------------~

,

COMPACT DISC 2

[47'441

[iJ Sequenza VII for oboe (1969) pour hautbois

LASZLO HADADY

[6'541

III Sequenza XIII for accordion "Chanson"* (1995) fur Akkordeon . pour accordeon

TWDORO ANZELLCTII

m Sequenza IX b for alto saxophone (1981) [14'19]

fOr Alt-Saxcphon . pour saxophone alto· per sassofono contralto

[8'15J

~ Sequenza VIII for violin (1976) pour violon

JEANNE-MARIE CONOLJER

[12'57J

C HRI5TIAN WIRTH

G!l Sequenza IX a for clarinet (1980)

fur Klarinette . pour derinette per clarinetto ALAIN DAMIENS

[13'33]

• World Premiere Recording

o Sequenza X for trumpet in C and piano resonance (1984)

fur Trompete in C Lind Klavierresonanz pour trompette en ut et piano resonant per trornba in do e riscnanze di pianoforte GABRIELE CASSONE

[14'03J

,

'.'

COMPACT DISC 3

156'46J

[iJ Sequenza XI for guitar (1987-88) fiir Gitarre . pour guitare . per chitarra ELIOT FISK

115'191

III Sequenza XII for bassoon= (1995) fUr Fagott pour basson . per fagotto PAKAL GALLOIS

118'31)

4

5

,

Th~ verses for the individual Sequenzas were written by the Italian author Edoardo Sanguine!i in 1994 and 1995. In a performance, each verse can be recited before the respective S!?qvenZ<l. Luciano Serio and Edoardo Sanguineti enjoy a longsMnding working relallonship which has found its artistic expression In 'the (omllositions Epifanie {19S9-1961), Laborintus 1/ (1963-1965) and A-Ronne (1974/1975), The poet presen ted the texts to 11is composer friend with the following words: "Inopit sequentia sequenliarum, quae est lfiusicd mUSlcarum secundum lucianum," ("Here begins the sequence of sequences, which is the music of rnuslc according to Luciano.")

6

Recordings: Paris IRe AM Studi /E

Recording Producer and Tonme~st:;[~all0/1 9r' .6/1995, 12/1995, 7/199 , 7/1997

Recording E, nglneer,' Jurg~n B I (5 ance nglneer), Helmut Burk

"I B h . . , u grin equenzas I-IX' X XII)'

"a~s e rens (Sequenzas IX b, XIII) v, - ,

Editing: Helmut' Burk

Publishers: Universal Edition, Vienna

Ver>es by Edoardo Sanguineti: tr ·1 '

Explanatory texts to the Seq ans at.on by Stewart Spencer

translation by Da 'd 0 ueruos. LUCiano Berlo,

vr smond-Srnlth

DeL'.tsche Obersetzung der Verse van Ed '

~Infuhrungstextezu den .Sequenz ,oBrdo SangUln~ll: Christidn Kcrhnt

UbersetZUrl'J: Karl Dietrich Grdwe en e: LUCiano Beno.

Traduction fran~ilise des po~mes d'Edoal'd "

avec I'Jlm~ble autorrsdtion des tr d t a Sangulnetl: programme de I'IRCAM Deutsche Grammoplion GmbH (; uc eurs (Sequenzill- XII); ,

Les lextes de presentation' de~ Se e(uenza XIII). .

el tr"d~ils par Jean-Claude f'~ye/~l enzas ont l!t~ eCflts par Luciano Berio

CorOIl rio by Edoardo San,· . "". ,

Milano 1997 gUlnetl "'" GI nglacomo Feltrinelli Edltore

I tcsti Gli presen lazlone per Je St!q ., '

® uenze sono dl LUCIan Berio

1998 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

© 1998 Deut~che Gramrl1ophon GmbH H bur

C PI' , ' , am urg

A~~~r Ph~~~: ~ ~~lnYd~~~:/~~les, Cflris Thomildi~

Paola Agosti (LUisa Castellani. f'h,Jna Mulas (Gabnele Cassone); Private Collection (Eliot Fisk i' d I iope RaE'derstorff (Chri!.tlan W,rth);

Design: WAPS ' eo oro Anzellottr)

All Direction: Hartmut Pfeiffer

Pnnted In Germany by/lmpnme en RFA pat Neef, Wittrngen

Die Verse des Italieniscnen S hriftstcllers Edoardo 5anguineti fur iede eiozelne .Sequenza. entstanden 1994 und 1995 Sie konnen bel Autfllhrungen vor cler jeweiligen »Secuenza- reziuert werden. Luciano Berlo una Edoardo Sarrgulneli verblndet eme langjahrige Zusammenarbeit, die III den Kornpositionen .Eplfanie. (1959-1961), »Lsborntus II. ('1963-1955) und .A-Ronnl?« (1974/1975) ihren kunstlerischen Ausdruck land. Der Dichter uberqab seinern Komponistenfreund die Texte mit folgenden Worten: .In(ip,t sequentlil sequentiarurn, quae est mUSlCa musicarum secundum lucl~nurn.' (»Es ~eginnt h.er die Sequenz der Sequenzen. die nach Luciano die MU5i~ aller Musik ist.e)

I:~crivain italien Edoardo Sangulneti a ~crit en 1994-1995 un po~me pour chaque SequenZd de Serio. Au concert, ces poemes peuvent ~I're recites et farrf ainsi office d'introductions aUK pieces musicales, Berro et S nguinetl ant travaill~ ensemble depuis de lonques ann~es, dcnnant naissance a Epifanie (1959-1961), LaboriMus 1/ (1963-1965) et A-Rorrne (1974/1975). En remettant ses teJ(tes au cornpesitevr, Ie poste lui a confie: .Incipit sequentia sequentiarum, quae est musica mUSICdrum secundum luci nurn.s (.Ainsl commence la sequence dessequences, qui est la rnuslque des musiqueBelon Luei no.s)

I versi iotroduttrvi per Ie Sequenze S0l10 stati scntti da Edo~rdo Sanguineti ira il 1994 e il 1995, e possono essere recitii!i prima dell'e~e,uzlane del reldtivo brano Luciano Berio ed Edoardo Sanguine!i so no legali oa una lunga amiciz.a: dalld loro coltaborazrons sono nate Ie cernposizioni Epdanlf' (1959-1961), Laborintui /I (1963-1965) e A-Ronne (1974-1975) Con queste parole il poeta ha offerto al composito-e i testi per Ie Sequenze: "lncipit sequentia sequentiarurn. quae est rnusica muskaruin secundum lucianum" .

·'

Luciano Berio: .Sequenzas

The 'litle Sequenza underlines the fact that the constru ion 01 these pieces almost always takes as I pOint of departure a sequence of harmonic fields, from which spring, In all their ,nd,v,duailty, the other musical functions. In fact almost alllhc SequenLas have in common the intention of defining and developing through melody an essentially harmonic discourse and, above all when dealing with the monodic instruments (ilute. oboe, clarinet, bassoon trumpet, trombone), of suggesting a polyphoniC type of listening, based I~ part on the rapid transition between different characteristics, and their simultaneous iteration Here polyphony should be understood In a metaphorical sense, as the exposition and superposition of differing modes of action and instrumental charademtics. As well as Investigating «"rtaln speCifiC technical aspects III depth, in the Sequenzes I've also at times tried to develop a musical commentary on the rapport between virtuoso and instrument, disassociating elements of performing behaViour, so as to then reconstitute them, transformed, as musical unities. That's what happens in Sequenza 11/ for VOice and Sequenza v for trombone both of which can also be heard and, seen as a theatre of vocal and instrumental gestures.

Of the various elements tll,]t the Sequenzas have in common, v.rtuos.ty is the most obVIOUS and external. I've every respect tor virtuosity, even if . that word can give rise to scornful sniggers, and may even conjure up the Image of an elegant and rather diaphanous creature with agile fingers and an empty head. Virtuosity often springs from a conflict, d tension between the musical idea and the Instrument One all too familiar aspect of virtuosity corr ss about when tecnnical preoccupations and performance stereotypes prevail over the Idea, as IS the case with Pagilninl, whose works, much as I love them, did little to disturb the history of mUSIC,

but did contribute to the development of Violin technique. Another instance of tension arises when the novelty and complexity of musical thought - and with it equally compi x and innovative expressive dimensions - Impose altered relationships with the instrument. open up a path to new technical solutions (as In Bach's violin Partitas, Beethoven's last piano works, and then those of Debussy, Stravinsky, Boulez, Stocxhausen etc.). and demand of interpreters th t they function at the highest level of both technical and intellectual virtuosity. The best solo performers of our own time - modern in intelligence, sensibility and technique - are those who are capable of acting within a wide historical perspective, and of resolvrnq the tensions between the creative demands of past and present, employmg their instruments as means 01 research and expression. Their virtuosity is not confined to manual dexterity nor to philological specialization. Although they may operate at differing levels of understanding, they are able to commit themselves to the only type of virtuosity that is acceptable today, that of sensibility and intelligence So that, these days, writing for d virtuoso worthy of the name may also count as the celebration of a particular understanding between composer and performer, and bear witness to a human Situation.

Another element that unifies the Sequenzas is my own sense that musical instruments cannot really be changed, nor can they be destroyed, nor ind~ed invented. A musical instrument is in itself a piece of the music Ilangu ge. Trying to Invent a new one is as futile and pathetic as might be any attempt t invent a new grammatical rule in our language. The composer can contribute to the evolution of musical instruments only by using them, and by trying to understand, often oosr factum, the complex nature of that evolution, reflecting as it does social, technological and economic conditions, and not merely musical and acoustic ones. At the end of the 18th century the growmg number of listeners - and the ever-larger spaces needed to accommodate them - profoundly influenced the construction and the techniques of all Instruments. I'm much attracted by the slow and dignified transformation of instruments and of instrumental ( nd vocal) techniques across the centuries Perhaps that's another reason why, in

8

9

,

all my Sequenzas, I've never 'tried to change the genetic il1~eri!~nce of the Inslrurnen't, nor sough! 10 use it "against" its own ('dture.

Sequenza II for harp

I have heard chains of colours, musc;ularly .:J9gressM~. I I1av(> felt y ur (OU9h .'jnd rigid noises:

Sequenza I for flute

and here beginS your desire, which is the de/mum of my desire music; is the desire of desires:

I've tned In my Sequenzi1s to prOVide d commentary on the relation between the vlrtuoso dnd hiS instrument, and I h ve often explored cert In specil.c tecbnkal asoccts \0 the p inl of chdllenglng, as In Sequenza /I 'for harp, the conventional notlcn of the instrurnen:

French "impressionism" h,15 left iJS with a rather limited vision of the Ilarp, as if its most obvious characteristic were that of lending itself to the attentions of loosely rob.ed girls with long blond tresses, capable of drawinq from it nothmg more than seductive glls~ sandI. But the harp also has another harder, stronger, more aggressive tace. Sequenza 1/ seeks to Illuminate certain of these f.ces, even making them appear simultaneously: ~ometllT1es It must sound like a forest With the wind blowing through it. Sf'quenzclll was written in 1963 'IOf Francis Pierre.

Sequenz,) I h,n as Its starting po-nt a sequence of harmonic fields Illat generate, ill the most strongly charsctenzed ways, other musical functions, Within the work an essentially hdrrnonic discourse, in COnstant evolution, is developed melodically. II was my mtent.on to suggeSt, through the maximum Speed 01 transformation, co(l(entration and alfernation of differing sOlmd charilcters and differing figures, a polyphonic type of listening The code5 governing the Baroque era allowed one to write a fiJgue In two parts 'fol a solo flute. Nowadays, when writing for monodic instruments, the reld~ tion~hip between expllf.l[ and lrnplidt red I and virtual polyphony has 'to be invented anew, and stands at the crux 01 musical creativity.

Sf!quenziJ I was written In '1958 for Severino Gazzelloni

FreeJerique'Cilmbreling studied the harp under Pierre J~mer at rhe PariS Conservatwe

nd, armed wlrh two premiers prix. Joined the O"npsUe National oe France, only subsequently dec:Jding co pursue a i)(et!r as a salois 1', Among rhe many leadmg orchestras witI'! whom she bes appeared both 1 h me and abroJd are rhe Orchesrre Ph"h~1 ~ mOl1lque de Radio trsrce. Ihp Orchp5Ife NaflOn.J1 de Lyon and the Ensemble Orchestral dp Paris. She has been {J member of tbe Ensemble InterConremporiJin since 1993,

The fiautisl Sophie Cherrier studied at the Paris Conse('ll.3loirt!, winning plemler~ prix for flute and chamber music and becoming iJ member of the Ensemble Inrer~

onrempor,1in immediately otter graduating In 1979. Since then she has given the lirs; performiJllCeS of an impressive number of works, including Pierre Boulpz's Memoria Ie, Uliott Caner's Esprit rude/Esprit deux and Ion-tbet Ti~l's Chu Ky V for flute and tape. As iJ reacher, too, she specializes In conremporary music ,md nor only /lO/os a chair at the Paris Co()servamire but hes given mastercl«sses er the Cenlre AcanthI'S ano else where, fOCUsing in osrticuter on rhe WOrks of LUCldllO Serio and Pierre BOlJlez.

Sequenza III for woman's voice

I WJn! your words' and I want to de51roy them, in haste, your words: and I want to destroy myself, me, finally, truly

10

The voice alwJy~ carries wiih It an excess of connotations Frorn the most insolent

l'

13

•

noise to 'the most exquiSite song, the voice always signifies something, alw<lY~ refers to something other than itself and creates a vast range of associations. In Sequenza 11/ I fried 'to assimilate into a mu,ical process many aspects of everyday vocal behaViour, trivial ones included, though without allowing this to distance me from certain inlermediate aspects and indeed real singing. To exercise cOrltrol over so vast a hinge of vocal behaviour I had to bre~~ up and seemingly to lay waste to the text. so as to be able to recovsr fragments from it on different expressive levels, dnd to recompOse them Into units that are no longer discursive but mUsical. In other words, I had to make the text homogeneous and able to lend Itself to a project that essentially (OnsiSled of eXorcisin the excess of connotations by composing them into a musical unity. Here IS Markus Kutter's short, "modular" text for SequenZd III:

S I MiliJn and many other

r'ng at the Opera Basrille, Paris, La ca it, , ..

halls, as well as appea I

leading opera houses.

Give me to sing

to build a house

a few words a truth

without WOrrying

fora woman allowing us

before n ig ht Comes

Sequenza IV for piano . I transform myself witli my veins,

I draw myself against all your many tiwrots.

with my teet: I shut myself up ioslde all your eyes

of exploration through diversely cher acterized

Seouetu» IV can be Viewed as a voyage hordal developm nt and linear

. d as a dialogue between c .

instrumental articulations, an . d t harmonic sequences are cevel-

h material Two indepen en h

development of 1 e same -' . f them real and assigned to t e

d 1 times interpenetrate one a

oped simultaneously on a . . . d ned to the sustaining pedal.

d d the other in a certain sense VIrtual, an assig

keyboar ,an I h

. 1966 for Joey de Corva o.

Seouetv» IV was written ,n

In Sequenza III the emphaSIS is placed on the sound symbolism of Vocal gestures. on the "shadows of meaning" that accomp~ny them, on the associatiOns and conflicts to which they give rise. Because of this, Sequenza III can al~o be seen O3S a study In mUSIcal dramaturgy whose prime concern is, in cl eerrair1 sense, the relationship between the interpreter ond her own voice.

SequenZil/l1 was written ,n 1965 for Cathy Berberian.

'A J and Germaine

ied with Yvonne Loriod, GeneVl"ve oy .

The pianist f/orent Boffard stud. , 'or his work both as a sotoet

. - ,. nmg premiers priX I'

Mounter at the Pans Conservatolfe, wm - h' career as a soloist he has per-

.. S' I' embarkmg on IS

and as iJ chamber musrClan. rnc k d w'th conductors of the stature 01

' oi orchestras ilnd wer I' I I

(armed with many lea 109 .' H has been iI member of tne

. B I and Hemz Holilger. e

Sir Simon Rattle, Pierre au ez . I . h time he has given tlie first per-

. '. e 1 988 durmg w lIC. ,

Ensemble Intl!rContemporam smc '. ts /fIc/uding Franco Donotonl,

b rneny contemporilry compose,

formallces of works y'. . d M hal'l jarfl?lI Since 1997 Florent

Gydrgy Ligeti. Klaus Hubli!r, PhiliPPI? Fenelon O3n IC.

sottoro has taught at the Paris Conservstoire.

12

The Iraftan Soprano Luisa Castellani is Bena:S preferred interpreter" r performances of his own vocal works, It was for her that he created thl? role of Ada in hiS most recent Opera, Outis, arid she has pedormed Sequema III, together with Calmo and ins folksong arrangements, all over the world. Luisa Cdstellanl etten works with the Ensemble InterContemporilln ,]nd EIl5r:mble Modem and also teaches contemporary music on bebet! of the European Community She is equally at horne, howevec in the Clos51cal repertory and is 0 frequent visitor to many of the world's foremost concert

•

Sequenlla V for trombone

I say to you: why? why? and I am o clowns wry face why do you wanr to know. I say, why do I say why?

his audience with a disarming look, and asked "warurn?" (why?). I didn't know whether to laugh or cry and I wanted to do ~oth. Afler that, I didn't steal any more oranges from his garden,

Seq tenz« V. wntten in 1965 for Stuart Dempster, IS intended as a homage to Greek and lO The Englisl1 version of hi~ wdl'ulri-why - which is the generative nucleus 01 the piece. The lSI dell rrombonlst Benny Sluchin slIJdif!d.n the ConserviJ(ory in hiS home rown of Tel Aviv .mti ill the Academy 01 MUSIC In JeruS<Jiem. After engagemenrs wilh a numbcr of Israelt olchrmro'Js, he was warded " bursary co srudy with Vinko Globo!;ar in Cologne and since rilen hus made a specialism of contemporary. experimental mUSIC, As d founder member of the Ensemble InrerConremporain he has given lhe first performances of many works for solt» trombone, prominem i1mong which have been pieces by Xenakis, Globokal; Grisey, DUjapin and Carter Ar IRCAM he has elsa undertdken research in the field of ecoostics and has published severe' prizewinning books on the techniques if'IVolved in performing conlemporary music Of) the trombone.

14

SequelUd V. lor trombone cen be uno

(algestures dnd dctlons' the perf" erstood a~a sludy 111 the 5Upl'rpOSllion of rnU\I-

or his VOice and 'rile ~alJ~d prapA °rrm,er combln~ and mutually tr~nsrorn1S the $o~nd

er 11S 111 trument' In orh r word h

take two actlems simultaneously: playing and sin I', 5,t;! h~s to under-

these two (lions and for the ' n9· 11 ~ 110 easy matter co rdindting

men! must be cr~pulOlJSIY res~~:~:;~'L~:tr~~ :~: :~~rv:IS bp[ween voice nl1d inst.u

transformation required (vo(~lilatlon of til . l Y ay ~~ achieve the (lege!'e of h . . e inS rument and Instrument lizali " f t e VOice) and to establish a material that lends itself to furth _ d I on 0

neous levels of transformaCion. er, an a ways SIlTiulld-

As In Sequeru« /1/ for voice, I tried in se uenz« V - .

the relations between the virtuoso and~.. _ 10 develop a mUSical COmmen!dry on

haviour in order to reconstitute them, in ~5t;:~~f~~;:t, sepalatlng out elements of oo-

Zil V can thus also be h~a·d d d Slale, iii mUSical urn Is. sequen-

~ , an seen a, a ltIe t ' I '

Wll,n weaves tare or VOC<l and Ins1rwnentalg!'sture

I s way In and out of 5equenzd V IS lh

Wenaeh), the last of the great downs Gro e memory of Groc~ (Adriar!

in a strange and COmplicated vl/la on t;11' hi~~i:as~:tll,~ :e~9h:o~'r 111 Oneglla: he Ilvet! little pagod<ls pols streams and _ ' 0 0 011 en tal garden With

'. weeping Willows Often I d

friends would clamoer Over the a an s me f I'ny school

When I was a child lh f . g tes to ~tl'al oranges ,md mandanns Irom 1115 garden

, e act that he WdS l'ny ne 91 b I -

f millar, dnd Iharthe grow _ I lOur, nill hi, name was all too

und(>~andillg lus genius. ~~:Sl:::~:lt:nr~~~~t~~ notice of him, prevented me !rorn tunity 10 attend one of hiS performan(e~ . h c out eleven) did I have the Opporthen I did understand DUling one of h' ., In 1 e eatro (avow at Porto M"UfIlIO, and jU51 once in the course of th . IS complicated and eminEntly muslC<J1 numbers,

e evening, he unexpectedly interrupted his routine, fi~ed

Sequeriza VI for viola

my capriCIOUS fvry Wdf once your livid calm my song will be your very slow silence

Seqwenzil VI 'for viola, written lor a modern perlormfr 111 the broadest anu most responsible sense of tl'131 term, is a work of considerable difficulty (an Indirect ,md perhaps r' ther uncouth homage to Pag runrs Capr;w) which continuoLlsly repeats, deveteps ~nd transtorms the same basic her-non.c sequence, It's a formal study on reperirlon, on the relationship between modules that lire repeated frequently, and others wlliet! appe r only once. Although the piece is prevalently harrncnic 1/1 nature, It ends with the unexpected and alien formation of a melody.

In the years that followed, Sequenza VI also became a sort of mould for other works such as Chemins /I (for viola and runs instruments) and Chemins 11/ (for viola and orches-

15

'.

tra): these further develop the harmoniC characteristics and the significant articulations of the original work, while leaving the solo part intact. So one can consider Sequenza VI as the Central element of an idea with three faces.

Sequenza VI was written in 1957 tar Serge Collot.

. .. b yother instrument off stage.

a B natural, that may be played, piarussrno. y en

Sequenza VII was written in 1969 for Heinz Holl.qer.

• dad studied the oboe. piano iJnd chamber music

The Hungarian ObOISf Laszlo Ha y . B d est Following his gradu~tion

K <l r tre Franz Liszt Academy In U ap .

with Gyorgy urI 9 a . . . ith the Hungarian State Symphony in 1979, he worked il1lfliJily as solo obOist w. . .h E ble InterContem-

. P. i in 1980 and 10lnlng f e nsem

Orchestra, before movmg to ar s rked with many international orches-

poreir. fven at that early date, he had already wo d the Chicago Symphony

h . Orchestra of London an_

rres such as the Phil armO/lliJ .. Ulszl6 Hadady

Orchestra. In addition fa tvs professorship at the Pans Conserv.Horre, .

gives regul,)'r masterclasses ali over the world

The music of the second half of the 20th century is cenrral (0 the artistic concerns of the French violist Christophe Desjardins, who has been a member of the Ensemble In tercor. temporam and of the Ensemble '5 string quartet since 1990, durrrig which time he has premif.red solo works by Ivan Fedele, Denis Cohen. Patrick Marcland and others, In 7990 Philippe Boesmans dedicated to him his Surfing for Viola and chamber ensemble. Christophe Desjardins studied with Serge ColIO!' in Paris ilnd With Bruno GlUranna in Berlin HIS work with LUCiano Berio led to the composition of Alternatim for clarinet, v/Ola dnd orchestra, d piece tiis t received its first performance a t the Amsterdam Concertgebouw III 7997

Sequenza VIII for violin

. y words my vowels

for you I have multiplred my VOices, m. ' .

ilnd now I oy auf that you sre my vocative

- . like a iru a personal debt to the violin, which

Composing Sequenz,) v:. 111 W3S for me I p YI 9 struments in existence. If almost all t d ring and camp ex In

I see as one of the mos en u . d' . e of instrumental possibilities and

d I ~ very restrrcte CrlOK

my other 5cquenzi!s eve op . nze VIII presents a broader and more

of sol rstic bchav.our as far as they will go, Seque

historical image of the instrument. (A aoo B) WhICh, as in a chaconne. proSequenza VIII leans constantly upon two notesf. d 'nd elaborate progress, in which

I k's rather divers: Ie g

vide a compass for t le wor .. b 'real And it's through this that

• . I 'n other Sequenzas, ut .

polyphonv i~ no longer virtue , as I . h e to that hiqh-pomt of music, the

I b omes inevitably a . omag

Sequenza VIII if so ec . ' . . 'Johann Sebastian Bach, in which violin tech-

Chilconne of the Partit In D minor by

f the past present and future coexist

nlques 0, .

VIII was written in 1976 tor Carlo Chlarappa Sequcnza

Sequenza VII for oboe

your profile is one of my frenZied landscapes, held at a distance it is a false fire of love that is insignificant: it is dead

16

Sequenza VII is inhabited by a sort of permanent conllict - for me a very expressive and sometimes dramatic one - between 'the extreme velocity of the instrumental articulations and the slowness of the mUSical processes that sustain the work's progress: such as a certain fixedness of registers, the prolonged ~bsence of certam notes and the increaSingly insistent presence of cerldin intervals (the perfect fifth, for example, whiCh is not without memones of the cor anglais in Tristan)

With Sequenza VII (as with the Sequenzas for flute, trombone, clarinet, trumpet, bassoon) I continue my search for a virtual polyphony. In this Sequenza the solo part IS placed In perspective, IS as it were "analyzed" by the constant presence of a "ton« ",

17

I,

leanne-Marie Conq ...

. uer stUuled the violin at the A (

awarded a premier prix, Shejoined Ih E arts onsl;!rvatoire, where she was

ensemble ImerConre '

a member of the Ensemble'ssrr'n mporam In I 985 and ISdlso

I 9 qUiJrtI!!t

Sequenza IX b for alto saxophone

my frilglle form, you ere unstable and imm bile:

ic is you, thiS fracrured fracral of mine rhalll'Cul'f15 .}no uc>mbles'

Sequenza IX a for clarinet

YOu are unstable and immobile rnv ~ .. " 'I' I , ' , '"yl (' ,r"cra

Ir IS yOII. rillS fraClured form of mine that trembles

Sequenz a IX a for clarinet (and IX b tor alto saxo h .

likE' dlmost all melodies I p n~) IS In e~SClice a long melody and

, , Imp les redwndancy symm' .

Sequenza IX a develap~ a consta I ,etfles, tlililsformations, returns.

n eXCl1ange and a consr t t f

two different pitch fields' one of < an reins ormation bet\NI~en

. "even notes that are al I . . .

register, and the other f f .' . . most a ways fixed In the same

o .ve notes that are Instead char '

Sequenza IX a was wntten in 1980 f' . aetenzed by great mobility.

S . Or Michel Amgnon.

equenzalX b was written in 198 I for (laude Delangle

The clarinettist Alain Damiens has b

. . E'en a member of the E

temporalf'! sino: i~ formation in r 976 A _. . nsemble InterCon-

..J' . • mong the lrIany pieces th h I

uurmg tbet time IS P,erre Bou,ez's D'~I at e las premiered

1m ogue de lornb d b

work that he first performed' FI re au II' for clarinet and rape .J

. . Ifl orence m 798S all rile' , '

60th birthday ilnd that he has r _'~..J occasIon of LUCliinO Berio's

E'Ql, v",", for Deutsche Gramm h .

also the soloJ5( in Elliott Carr '. op on. Alam Damlens was

er s new C/prmer Concer/o wi» hh

sioned I celebrete irs 20th a ' ' If 1 e Ensemble commlS-

, . nfl/versary. He IIiJ5 ldughUJUI " .

gil/f!S regular miuterclilues '1/0' til ie rens (Onserv<1toire and

aver e world.

Ch,inian Wirth stodteo th« $dJlophone with Claude Delangle dl the Paris Conservstoire <'lf1d since Ih~r time has been v commit ted exponent of con ten !porilry music NUmCl'()llS composers hiM! wmter. new pieces for 11/5 award· wmnm9 5C~opl1one cuerlet Habanera He frequently works with rhe Ensemble InlerContemporain ilnd oil me I&)ding French orchestras and also [ell hes ill the Conservatoire in Colmar

Sequenza X for trumpet in C and piano resonance describe my /irllliations and c/ilSP me if! echoes, in reflecrions at length, dnd c.Jsually. become me for me, you for me

As~lm"ilting, transforming ond overcoming Idiomatic aspects of an instrument (or v ice) are sometimes intrinsic 10 he musical development of my preceding Sequenzas. But seqvenzd Xfor trumpet' and piano resonance instead dispenses Wit" them almost entirely (if cne sets Jside a fleeting refelence to the Israeli national anthem HiJTikviJ). In thiS S .qlJenza there aren't even any tirnb-e 'tr~mform3tions, or "cosrneuc adjustment~", The trumpet IS u~ed in a dlfect dnd natur I way, and pel haps it is preciselv this nudl'lY which rnake5 Sequenzd X the most labOriOUS of all mv Seq~lenlJs.

sequerlza x was written In 1984 for Thomas Stevens.

18

Gabriele Cassone srudied the trumpe: in hiS l1.Jt,ve Uriine and composirlon In Mllall. dnd began hi, ceree: as an orchestral m~ljiCl~n, He has won numerous nile,onJI and International competitions. Since his debul at tne 1988 Salzburg Festival he has iiJppeared as il SO/Olst all over rhe world, performing 011 born the ruture! trumpet and tbe modern veive trumpet. Equallyal horne in chamber music and concerto repetto-

19

Sequenza XI for guitar

I find you again, my unnarural ouente pseudo~ddn e

I enclose you witiur; a circle: and I inrerrupT you, I disrupt you

Sequenza XII is a kind of "meditation" on the tact that, perhaps more than dny other wmd instrument, the bassoon presents itself - above all in the extreme registers of its range - as possessing contrasting personalitie~: with differing morphologies, differing articulatory possibilities and differing timbre and dynamic characters. Seouenze XII has if circular structure: it runs beck and lorth in a glissando between the extreme registers of the instrument, With continuously diversified tempo relations. Recurrent figures signal the alternation between the differing ambits of register and of tempo Although the insistently Idiomatic image of the Instrument is frequently transformed, this is always accomplished With limited number of articulatory procedures that form an organic part of the music's progress. For example. the rapid alternation (real trernolandi) between distant registers produ es at times a new and complex timbre generated by ti1e fusion of all the coustic and harrnonk characteristics active at that moment Sequenza XII was written in 1995 f r Pascal Gallais.

,

ry his programmes feature both c/dssical and comemporary works. Gabriele Cassone teaches ar the conservatory In NOVara dnd the Milan School of MUSIC. and also tuns seminars throughout Europe and the United Stiltes.

Sequenza XII for bassoon

I move very slowly, J look at you from all sides, I explore your facets, I touch you, pensively:

I rum you this way and that. transforming you, trembling: I torment you, terrifying:

Idn. Sequenza XI for guitar I was concerned to develop d dialogue between the heavily

I lomatlc harmony that IS bound U . h '. .

" P Wit the tuninq at the instrurr-snr and a "d'ff _

ent harmony' the pass rt b . I er

. .. pc etween these two far-flung harmonic territories being th

Interval of the augmented f rth I . . e

. ou n5equenza XI two InStrumental and gestural st les

tahretalSfo hPresent, one haVing its roots In the flamenco guitar tradition, and the oth; in

at o t e classrca: qUllar' the b

. - .. passage etween these two "histories" being my more

experimental VISion of the instrument The dialogue betwe the h .

siam on the h d . en 1e two armonlC dlmen-

one an . and the two technical and gestural ones on the other .

sued through ' IS pur-

. a continUOUs process of exchange and "transcription" of cI I

nlzable figures. ear y recoq-

Sequenza XI was written between 1987 and 1988 for Eliot Fisk.

20

The outstanding American guitaflst Eliot Fisk was privately taught for m'n b

Andres S . h . a y years :y

. eg~VtiJ, 1M 0 des(nbed turn as one of the worlds greatest enists. But it is not

only m clessicet works that Eliot Fisk has made a name for hims If

comem . . e . among the many

porary (omposers who have been impressed by his pi . L .

who wrote both Se ucnza XI ,n . .... aymg IS ucrdno Beuo,

, q , d Chemin VI for him. In order to increase flls instru-

ment s repertory, he has a/so trdnswbed a number of w k ~ .

8ach, Haydn Mozart and Pa ... or s or gUitar, notably by tf N 'I gcnmr He reaches dl the Mozarteum 111 Salzburg and at

)1' ew Eng and Conservatory at Boston.

Among the principal enist«: con ems of the Fren(h bassoonist Pascal tJa/lois are the crea tio« of a new repertory for his chosen instrument and, at the Sdme time, the desire to pass this new repertory on to his students at the Paris Conservetoire. where he teaches the bassoon He has been d member of the Ensemble InterConremporain since 1981 and has already given the firs t oeriormences of many new works, including 5tockhau5en's In Freundschaft for solo bassoon and the bassoon version of Boulez's Dialogue de l'ornbre double.

'~-

21

Der Tirel »Sequenzen. unterstrekbt die Tat:s<lci1e, dal) die Anldge oer StucKe fast il"Hl1~1 yon einer Foige harmonisch r Felder ihren Ausg n9 rurnmt, sus denen mil einem Hocilstmai3 n Chartlkteristl~( aueh die anderen musrkallschen Funktlonen nervcrqahen. Fast dllt' .Sequenleno folgen tatsachllch dem gememsamen Zlel, einen dem Wesen nach hdrmonlkalen Verlauf auf melodi$chen Wegen zu verdeuthchen und zu entwlckeln. Dabei 501" vor allem beim Eimatz der einstrmrmqen lnstrurnente (Flote, Posaune, Oboe, Klarinette, AllSaxonhon: Trompete, Fagott), em Eindruck polyphonen Horens entstehen, der teilwelse auf dern rascnen We{hsel unterschiechcber Charektere und ihrem gleichzeltlgen Zusammenspiel beruht. .Polyphonie. wlrd hier un ubertraqenen Sinn verslanden, als vorfuhrunq und Oberl~gefung von Aktlonsweisen und von verschiedenen Instrumentel1-CharaKleren

In den .Sequenzen. habe ich zunachst versucht, einlgen spezifischen techllischen Aspekten auf den Grund IU gehen. rnanchrna' aber ~uch, zwischen dern Vlrtuosen wnd seinern tnstrurnent cinen musikalischen Kommenlar entstehen zu la~sen, indem kh Splelwei~en isolierte. urn sle dann, transtormiert, III musikalrscher Einheit (lufs neue zur Erschelnung zu bringen. Dies lst der Fall in .Sequenz III fur Sumrne« und -Sequenz V fOr Pos une., die qehort und gesetl!'n seln wollen dis ein Theater der stirnmlichen und der instlumentalen Gesten.

Von den verschiedenen Merkmalen, die den .Sequenzen. gemeinsam sind, 1St die Virtuositat das hervorstecnende und offensichthchste. I(h !labe eine hohe Mrimmg vam virtuoser-tum. auen werm dieses Wort ern abschatzlqes laeheln hervorrufen mag und vlel'elcht sogar das Sild eines eleganten und etwas blilfliichen Mannes mit flinken

,

Sequenza XIII for accordion "Chanson"

and so a (hard consoles us. gently enclosmg IJS, commonly:

the cardstrophe is wnivn, In our beerts. but it lemains confined. entrenched:

tuciano Berio: Sequenze

I had already used tile accordion on d Vdr,ety of occasions, "hioden" Within rnWIImental groups and as a timbre mediator b tween different 1'<Imihe~ f instrum nts. SUi the encounter With Teodoro Anzellolll persua ed me to 3ppr ad1 th iJ cordi n as a s 10 1I1s1rumerH, and therefore to come to terms wltllll!e popular experience in which i'l' IS rooted, and whose identl1y i~ (Jeterrnined by the way rr is made: I'm ti11nklng of the accompaniment to 50ngs ~ung dUring trips to the country, and to the songs of tIll' working classes, of night clubs, Argentinian tangos, and jazz - which. more rhan <lny other experience, ha~ contributed to ~ reci€tinltlon of the IrI~trurrl€nt during recent decades. But with SeQuen,a XlIII certainly didn't pose 111ys121f the problem of paying a unifying homage to all till'S!' precedents. "(hans n" only aspir~ to a spontaneous expression (an irnprovuauon, a rondo) of my reliltionship with the accordion: Hi) rnern-

Iy looking to the future" (as ttalo Calvino would say) of tl'\f~ instrument ,n continuous growth.

In ti'e f;)ce of the ccorolon '5 somewhat populist teautenon. Teodoro An:tellorti /la, helperi rhe instrument to find a place for I{self /11 rile concert 11il1l end, in doing so, has msplfed countless compOSers to Wflfe for it Among the 100 or so wor~s lh,,lt he himself hilS already premiered are pieces dedi(<Jted 10 111m by Serio, Globollar; I-Iotliger. Kagel, Rihm. Siockhausen (llld lender. Ieodoro Anzellotr/ WiiS born 111 Apulia dnd studled In Karlsruhe and Tt'ossingen. He now reaches <H rhe Biehl Conservatory and regularly gives international masterclasses.

23