Starter Packs

Complete your collection with these curated titles, grouped at a special discount.

Shop Now
Naxos

Berio: Sequenzas I - XIV

$35.99 Only 1 left

Details

Composer
BERIO
Artist
Various
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
May 16, 2006
Catalog #
8557661-63
UPC
747313266128

About

Between 1958 and 2002 Luciano Berio completed his 14 solo Sequenzas, a series of pieces that push not only each instrument's technical, textural, and expressive possibilities, but also those of the performer. Each work demands the utmost in technique, musicianship, tonal resources, theatricality, and stamina. Small wonder that the Sequenzas loom large in the active contemporary repertoire, while conservatories and competitions often assign them as test pieces. In 1998 Deutsche Grammophon brought out a three-disc set containing stunning interpretations of all 13 extant Sequenzas, plus the alto saxophone transcription of Sequenza IX for clarinet. Now Naxos enters the Sequenza playing field with equally world-class performances of the cycle, including the Cello Sequenza (No. XIV) written in 2002 (the year before Berio's death) plus the soprano saxophone version of the Oboe Sequenza (No. VII).


It might be helpful to describe some of the ways in which the DG and Naxos performances differ. In Sequenza XII for Bassoon, Pascal Gallois' rapid leaps and piercing multiphonics convey a sharper impact through DG's close microphone placement. By contrast, Naxos' more distantly miked Ken Munday sounds relatively less incisive yet fuller bodied in longer, sustained passages. DG's violist Christophe Desjardins plays Sequenza VI's cyclonic opening chordal section with lacerating intensity, whereas Naxos' Steven Dunn's slightly slower tempo allows the pitches and cross rhythms a little more room to breathe.


Naxos' Jaspar Wood does a fine job with Sequenza VIII, but DG's Jeanne-Marie Conquer's double stops boast more variety and tonal differentiation. Regarding Sequenza II, it's a toss-up between Frédérique Cambreling's pronounced dynamic contrasts (DG) and Erica Goodman's greater clarity in the scurrying, ethereal passages (Naxos). While Naxos' Tony Arnold's playful soprano makes the most of Sequenza III's madcap mood shifts, DG's Luisa Castellani's suppler voice employs wider register extremes (she was Berio's preferred singer in later years).


Had pianist Boris Berman's extraordinary marksmanship in Sequenza IV been captured in more colorful sonic splendor, his interpretation easily would hold its own next to Florent Boffard's elegant insouciance. In Sequenza X for C Trumpet Berio uses piano resonance to create continuity between phrases. On DG, Gabriele Cassone's fat, flügelhorn-like sonority and immaculate repeated-note technique have no peer, yet I like the jazziness with which Naxos' Guy Few leans into the beginnings of certain phrases. In all, this release stands as a viable alternative to the DG set, if not necessarily a replacement as we await Mode's forthcoming Sequenza cycle.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 16 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 Sequenza I 05:17
    Track
    1
    Title
    Sequenza I
    Duration
    05:17
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Nora Shulman
  3. 2 Sequenza II 09:23
    Track
    2
    Title
    Sequenza II
    Duration
    09:23
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Erica Goodman
  4. 3 Sequenza III 07:43
    Track
    3
    Title
    Sequenza III
    Duration
    07:43
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Tony Arnold
  5. 4 Sequenza IV 10:58
    Track
    4
    Title
    Sequenza IV
    Duration
    10:58
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Boris Berman
  6. 5 Sequenza V 05:33
    Track
    5
    Title
    Sequenza V
    Duration
    05:33
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Alain Trudel
  7. 6 Sequenza VI 14:56
    Track
    6
    Title
    Sequenza VI
    Duration
    14:56
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Steven Dann
  8. 7 Sequenza VII 09:04
    Track
    7
    Title
    Sequenza VII
    Duration
    09:04
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Matej Sarc
  9. Disc 2
  10. 1 Sequenza VIII 12:35
    Track
    1
    Title
    Sequenza VIII
    Duration
    12:35
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Jasper Wood
  11. 2 Sequenza IX 14:01
    Track
    2
    Title
    Sequenza IX
    Duration
    14:01
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Joaquin Valdepeñas
  12. 3 Sequenza X 17:10
    Track
    3
    Title
    Sequenza X
    Duration
    17:10
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Guy Few
  13. 4 Sequenza XI 16:17
    Track
    4
    Title
    Sequenza XI
    Duration
    16:17
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Pablo Sáinz Villegas
  14. Disc 3
  15. 1 Sequenza XII 16:26
    Track
    1
    Title
    Sequenza XII
    Duration
    16:26
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Kenneth Munday
  16. 2 Sequenza XIII 08:15
    Track
    2
    Title
    Sequenza XIII
    Duration
    08:15
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Joseph Petric
  17. 3 Sequenza XIV 13:06
    Track
    3
    Title
    Sequenza XIV
    Duration
    13:06
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Darrett Adkins
  18. 4 Sequenza VIIb 07:15
    Track
    4
    Title
    Sequenza VIIb
    Duration
    07:15
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Wallace Halladay
  19. 5 Sequenza IXb 13:40
    Track
    5
    Title
    Sequenza IXb
    Duration
    13:40
    Composer
    Luciano Berio
    Performer
    Wallace Halladay