Two Fragments of ‘The Music of Luciano Berio’

Abstract

AbstractAt the time of his death in 2007 David Osmond-Smith had begun work on his second book on Luciano Berio. Planned as a more substantial volume than the earlier one (Oxford University Press, 1991), it aimed to combine what he termed ‘creative biography’ with a multidimensional view of the composer's output, seen through the lens of such categories as text and commentary, density and harmony, voice, and theatre. Published here is the only written-up chapter, covering the early part of the composer's life (1925–53), followed by the outline of the projected book. Preceding these fragments is an introductory note by Talia Pecker Berio. (CW)