Julia Werthimer wrote:

>During my recent visit to London my eldest son (who is always seeking to
>improve his mother's mind) suggested we attend a concert of Berio's music
>at the Festival Hall.

And Ian Crisp commented:>

>I took great pleasure in reading Julia Werthimer's review of her recent
>London encounter with Berio.  It made me want to go and dig out some
>recordings I haven't listened to in years, and I hope it's reminded a lot
>of people of something I often try to get across - that modern music can be
>just as involving, exciting, passionate and committed as any other kind.
>It's not just an intellectual crossword puzzle.

To which I would like to add that I also very much enjoyed Julia's review.
I hope to find recordings of the Berio pieces she heard, and see what else
is around as well.  In the meantime, I would like to most enthusiastically
recommend toJulia, Ian and the rest of the list, a Berio work entitled
>Visage.< It is also a thrilling, riveting piece.  The recording I have
has his former wife Kathy Berberian as vocal soloist, in a tour-de-force of
virtuosity.  (I believe she passed away a few years ago.) I am completely
uncertain if the words and sounds she makes are based on text (in Italian,
if intelligible--often it is more like gibberish, plus laughter and
sobbing, coming at you in distorted whispers so rapidly and intensely
that no translation is really necessary.  There is one word that comes
through clearly:  "Parole" (definitely the Italian word, not the English.
Pronounced pah-ROLL-ay) Which, as I recall looking up, means simple "word"
but I don't know the context:  it could mean "promise." In any case, I
promise all of you that once you hear this work, you will be very glad
you did.

Dave Wolf
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