Berio: Sequenzas

MUSIC
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2020
12:00 – 4:00 PM

YouTube

Free
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNFxkai9pBg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0E_eYVxrSvDy-IYkPf33CsMylHZitpWmmzLtZaH_vitdVKyRfJcrVlIC0

Berio's Sequenzas — a set of 14 pieces, each for a different solo instrument — is a cornucopia, a cabinet of sonic wonders.  It will be played this afternoon by young musicians around the world (including, in the very first Sequenza, for flute, our own Louna Dekker-Vargas).  It's often observed nowadays how great and amazing it is that music like this, at (or beyond) the very edges of playability at the time it was composed, can now be dispatched by young musicians (who don't know it's unplayable) as if it's Brahms or Mozart or something.  What's less often observed is that while music like this, in its time (1958-2002), was considered hard to listen to, it's now enjoyed by even fairly mainstream audiences (and certainly non-classical Alt audiences) for its pure aural piquancy, its constant ear-tickling surprise.  This will be both inspiring and enjoyable.

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT:  Morning Cocktail:  pour 1 oz. each of Brandy and dry Vermouth, and 1 teaspoon each of Curaçao, Maraschino liqueur, and Absinthe, with 2 dashes of orange bitters, into an ice-filled cocktail shaker.  Stir.  Strain into a chilled Martini glass or coupe.  Squeeze a lemon peel into it and garnish with a cocktail cherry.