Voyage to Cythera, Luciano Berio
On the third movement of Mahler's "Sinfonia"
Cast
Program notes
By talking about the Sinfonia, his tribute to Gustav Mahler, Luciano Berio takes us on a journey through the history of music.
"For me, Mahler is a ship plying the ocean, a ship filled with fine things, magnificent people and gifts," says Luciano Berio. It's a sort of voyage to Cythera. I decided to go on an harmonic journey marked with references to more or less famous musical elements.
With Luciano Berio (1925-2003) we penetrate the inner process of composition: by dissecting for us the third movement of his "Sinfonia," he takes us on multiple musical paths, since this piece is first of all a tribute to Gustav Mahler. The framework of this third movement is the scherzo of the "Second Symphony" by Mahler, from which emerge many references to other composers, including Stravinsky Schoenberg, Berg, Ravel, Brahms, Bach and Beethoven...
Interspersed with interviews with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly and Riccardo Muti who shed light for us on Mahler, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Berio, the film also shows the Italian composer working on his Sinfonia with the Concertgebouw orchestra. Bon voyage!