UNIVERSAL EDS/WIENER/PRESSER - 864872
Berio Sequenza VIII
Luciano Berio
Violin
Berio Sequenza VIII
Juilliard Store
144 West 66th Street
New York NY 10023
United States
Beside the drama created between the soloist and his instrument, the sequenza for violin is permeated with two other dramatic opposites: the tension between a central tone, "A", which is the germ or pivot point for all the material in the first part of the piece, and the "rival central tone", "B", which for a while appears to be taking over the roll of "A". There is also a contrast between the chromatic, "atonal" clusters, chords and leaping or winding melodies on the one hand, and the tonal-sounding intervals and chords on the other: a play with and against the expectations of the listener, a musical suspense story.