Live Electronics in Luciano Berio's Music

Abstract

Luciano Berio has made significant contributions to the development of electronic music, from the Studio di Fonologia Musicale of the RAI in Milan, to IRCAM in Paris, to the Italian Centro Tempo Reale, founded in Florence in 1987 with the objective of creating a structure in which to investigate the possibilities of real-time interaction between live performance and programmed digital systems. Tempo Reale is today a center of musical production, research, and education where many major Italian composers, in addition to Berio himself, create their works and where important works from the electroacoustic repertoire are performed. In this article, we focus on three compositions by Berio that are not only particularly significant in themselves but also represent an important testimonial to the production activity of the center in recent years: Outis, the azione musicale composed in 1996 for La Scala theater and then performed again in 1999; Ofanim (1988-1997) for female voice, two children's choirs, two instrumental groups, and live electronics; and finally, Altra voce (1999), a chamber music composition for mezzosoprano, flute, and live electronics. The electronic parts of these compositions were totally revised beginning in 1999, and various updated musicaltechnological contributions have been presented in their recent performances. They are in any case works that, ranging from musical theater to chamber music, clearly exemplify Berio's approach to composing for live electronics in different contexts. This article discusses the problems involved in this approach within the context of the musicaltechnological solutions designed and implemented by Tempo Reale for the live performance of the three works. The techniques adopted are first described in relation to their use in music; they are then viewed within their proper context in a more detailed description of the three specific works. The performances in question are the most recent ones for each composition, namely Outis in Milan (September 1999, La Scala Theater) and Paris (November 1999, Th6atre du Chatelet), Ofanim in Milan (October 2000, Sala Verdi), and Altra voce in New York (March 2001, Carnegie Hall), Tokyo (October 2002, Kajimoto Music), and Rome (March 2003, Renzo Piano's Auditorium).