Sequenza II (author's note)

Sequenza II
for harp (1963)

In my Sequenzas I have tried to develop a musical commentary between the virtuoso and his instrument and I have often explored specific technical aspects in depth, challenging the conventional notion of the instrument.
French “impressionism” has left us with a rather limited vision of the harp, as if its most characteristic feature were that it could only be played by half-naked girls with long, blond hair, who confine themselves to drawing seductive glissandi from it. But the harp has another harder, louder and aggressive side to it. Sequenza II aims to bring out some of these characteristics, and to make them appear simultaneously: at certain moments it must sound like a forest with the wind blowing through it.
Sequenza II was written in 1963 for Francis Pierre.

Luciano Berio

Note d'autore: informazioni generali | Author's note: general info