Luciano Berio
Sequenza IV
(1965)
for piano
Duration: 11'
Instrumentation details:
piano
Berio - Sequenza IV for piano
Audio preview
Work introduction
This is a restless piece of music; chords change constantly, tremolo-like passages flash by. The dynamics range from ppp to fff, either abruptly or achieved via crescendi or decrescendi, ranging from dolce to sffz (always to be played “as loudly as possible”), while the tempi (40, 50, 60, 72, 104) vary, as pauses (which can be very long) interrupt the pitches; some of the latter are played with the fingers, and others with the palm of the hand. The pedal has an important part, producing, in Berio’s words, “veiled harmonic sequences.”