This event celebrates the work of two extraordinary creative minds, mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian (1925-1983), whose vocal versatility and imagination had an enormous impact on twentieth-century avant-garde art music and music theater, and composer Luciano Berio (1925-2003), who broke new ground in serialism, the concept of the open work, and the application of linguistic principles in musical composition. Focusing on their collaborations as well as on their individual artistic activities, the workshops aim to advance fresh knowledge about Berberian and Berio through the lens of new primary sources from the Berberian and Berio archives at the Paul Sacher Stiftung in Basel, Switzerland, that illuminate the context and inner dynamics of their creative worlds and performance practice. Also discussed will be sources from the McGill Archives pertaining to the collaboration between Berberian and Canadian composer Harry Somers (1925-1999), who wrote one work for her.
Held at McGill University and a few other venues in Montreal, Canada, to mark the centenary of the births of Berberian and Berio, as well as Somers, the event is co-organized by the Paul Sacher Stiftung and the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in collaboration with the Centro Studi Luciano Berio, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura (Italian Cultural Institute of Montreal), the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT), and Paramirabo, with support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We are pleased to feature interactive scholarly sessions and lectures held by an international group of performers and scholars, three concerts, and other activities.
All events are free and open to the public, except for the concerts of Paramirabo (October 2) and the McGill Symphony Orchestra (October 5), for which tickets may be purchased.
For more info, please, visit : “Gestures, Words, Sounds”: The Creative Worlds of Cathy Berberian and Luciano Berio | Music – McGill University
