Festival showcases composer's work

Berio

he Eastman School of Music will play host to a festival honoring internationally acclaimed composer Luciano Berio. The festival, May 1 to 2, will include two free concerts of chamber and orchestral music by a diverse combination of the school's ensembles, providing a musical tour of nearly 40 years of Berio's works. The festival will also feature presentations of professional papers on Berio's work by several music scholars.

Members of the new music ensemble Ossia will kick off the festival on May 1 at 8 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall with a performance of A-Ronne, an a cappella piece for eight singers. The Tarab Cello Ensemble, comprised of Eastman students and alumni, will give the New York premiere of Korot (1998) for eight cellos, under the direction of conductor Brad Lubman, assistant professor of conducting and ensembles.

The School received the composer's direct permission to perform the rarely heard Visage (1961), along with Sequenza IXa (1980) for solo clarinet, one of Berio's 17 virtuosic "Sequenzas" for a variety of solo instruments.

The Eastman Theatre concert at 8 p.m., Friday, May 2, centers around Sinfonia (1968), Berio's major work for large orchestra and eight voices. The Eastman Philharmonia, conducted by Lubman, will perform this piece, written to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein.

"This is truly an epic work," says Lubman, who first met Berio in 2000 at the "Music For Our Time" Festival in Germany. "It's all-encompassing, powerful, and poignant."

The first half of the concert features Musica Nova, Eastman's new music ensemble--also conducted by Lubman--performing Berio's Points on a Curve to Find . . . (1974) for piano and ensemble, with Margaret Kampmeier '85E as soloist.

Jackie LeClair '79E will perform in Chemins IV (1975) for oboe and ensemble, and Eastman graduate student Courtney Orlando will perform Corale (1981) for solo violin, two horns, and string orchestra.

A free, preconcert panel discussion at 7 p.m. in Eastman Theatre features special guest commentators, including Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bernard Rands from Harvard University; contemporary music writer and former New York Times music critic Paul Griffiths; Democrat and Chronicle music critic John Pitcher; and Ricardo Zohn Muldoon, associate professor of composition. Robert Morris, chair of the composition department, will moderate the discussion.

Maintained by University Public Relations
Please send your comments and suggestions to:
Public Relations.