Luciano Berio
Fifty years ago, in January of 1972, our founders Robert Aitken and Norma Beecroft welcomed the renowned Italian composer Luciano Berio to Toronto. It boggles the mind to think of Berio, a figure that looms so significantly in our field today, as a relatively new voice on the international scene. To this day, Berio is celebrated for many achievements, but his Sequenza series for solo instruments is particularly cherished by composers. These pieces, completed over several decades, explore what seems to be every possibility of each prominent Western instrument in turn.
This year, NMC launches a two-part celebration of the 1972 concert:
Part I: Sequencing Berio
In Spring of 2022, NMC launches a video series of three of Berio’s iconic Sequenzas as performed by outstanding NMC players:
Sequenza III(1965) for female voice as performed by Xin Wang
Sequenza XIV (2002) for cello as performed by Amahl Arulanadam
Sequenza X (1984) for trumpet and piano resonance as performed by Guy Few
Part II: Re-Sequencing Berio
In Fall of 2022, NMC launches a companion video series where three exceptional Canadian composers create new works that respond to the Berio classics:
New Work for solo voice (with or without electronics), 6-8 minutes, by Gabriel Dharmoo
New Work for solo cello (with or without electronics), 6-8 minutes, by Émilie Girard-Charest
New Work for solo trumpet (with or without electronics), 6-8 minutes, by our Composer in Residence Juro Kim Feliz
Finally, we have invited three accomplished directors to visualize these works. We have asked them to create links between the Berio Sequences and Re-Sequences in compelling locations throughout Toronto:
Amanda Smith – Sequenza III and New Work for Voice
Patrick Hagarty – Sequenza XIV and New Work for Cello
Christene E. Browne – Sequenza X and New Work for Trumpet
NMC is proud to collaborate with these outstanding artists. We look forward to celebrating with you, our audience, as we commemorate our first concert from fifty years ago and look forward to our exciting future. Thank you for being part of it!
Brian Current
NMC Artistic Director
