Canon
Where to start with Berio
Essential works to know this composer by — spread across their styles-
VocalSinfonia, for 8 amplified voices and orchestra
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Chamber2 Pieces, for violin and piano
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Keyboard5 Variations
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OrchestralBoccherini, Ritirata notturna di madrid
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StageLinea, ballet for 2 pianos, vibraphone and marimba
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VocalSequenza I, for flute
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VocalSequenza III, for solo voice
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Chamber34 Duetti, for 2 violins
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Vocal4 Canzoni popolari, for voice and piano
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Keyboard5 Variazioni, for piano
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VocalA Ronne
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KeyboardBrin
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ChamberCall, for brass quintet
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KeyboardCanzonetta for Piano 4-Hands
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VocalChamber Music, for soprano, clarinet, cello, and harp
Listening guide
Hand-curated paths into Berio's catalogueMost Popular
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Sinfoniaorchestra + 8 voices — third movement is a collage of 200+ musical quotations
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Sequenza VII (oboe)
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Sequenza III (female voice)
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Folk Songs (mezzo + ensemble)
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RenderingSchubert sketches completed in Berio’s own style
Most Acclaimed
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Sinfonia
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Laborintus IItext, voices, instruments, tape — Dante as collage
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Sequenzas I–XIV (complete)
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O Kingvocal sounds for Martin Luther King before the name is revealed
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Corochorus + instruments — folk texts from around the world
Most Weird
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Sequenza IIIfemale voice — laughing, crying, whispering, trembling; the most extreme vocal writing of the 20th century
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Visageelectronic tape made entirely from a woman’s voice — no words, only phonemes and emotion
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Chemins IIamplification of Sequenza VI — the viola part surrounded by orchestra that reacts to it
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A-Ronnedocumentary for five actors — Sanguineti text spoken, whispered, sung, distorted
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Ofanimchildren’s choir + electronics + ensemble — texts from Ezekiel
Similar composers
Same era, overlapping styles — by genre & period affinityWorks 65
- Vocal
- ● Sinfonia, for 8 amplified voices and orchestra
- Sequenza I, for flute
- Sequenza III, for solo voice
- 4 Canzoni popolari, for voice and piano
- A Ronne
- Chamber Music, for soprano, clarinet, cello, and harp
- Coro, for 40 voices and 40 instruments
- Folk Songs, for soprano and chamber ensemble
- O King, for voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
- Prologue, for soloists, chorus and orchestra
- Sequenza II, for harp
- Sequenza IV, for piano
- Sequenza IXa, for clarinet
- Sequenza IXb, for alto saxophone
- Sequenza V, for trombone
- Sequenza VI, for viola
- Sequenza VII, for oboe
- Sequenza VIII, for violin
- Sequenza VIII, for violin
- Sequenza VIIb, for soprano saxophone
- Sequenza X, for trumpet in C and piano resonance
- Sequenza XI, for guitar
- Sequenza XII, for bassoon
- Sequenza XII, for bassoon
- Sequenza XIII, for accordion
- Sequenza XIV, for cello
- Chamber
- 2 Pieces, for violin and piano
- 34 Duetti, for 2 violins
- Call, for brass quintet
- Corale on Sequenza VIII, for violin, strings, and 2 horns
- Good Night, for trumpet solo
- Les Mots sont allés, for cello solo
- Lied, for clarinet solo
- Naturale, for viola, marimba, tam-tam and tape
- Opus Number Zoo, for speaker and wind quintet
- Keyboard
- 5 Variations
- 5 Variazioni, for piano
- Brin
- Canzonetta for Piano 4-Hands
- Erdenklavier
- Feuerklavier
- Leaf
- Luftklavier
- Petite Suite
- Rounds, for harpsichord
- Rounds, for harpsichord or piano
- Sonata
- Touch, for piano 4-hands
- Wasserklavier
- Orchestral
- Boccherini, Ritirata notturna di madrid
- Chemins II on Sequenza VI, for viola and 9 instruments
- Chemins IV on Sequenza VII, for oboe and strings
- Corale on Sequenza VIII, for violin, strings, and 2 horns
- Ekphrasis
- Formazioni
- Il ritorno degli snovidenia, for cello and 30 instruments
- Points on the Curve to Find. . .,for piano and 23 instruments
- Purcell, Hornpipe, "The Modification and Instrumentation of a Famous Hornpipe as a Merry and Altogether Sincere Homage to Uncle Alfred"
- Rendering — Based on Schubert's sketches for the Symphony no. 10
- Récit, for alto sax and orchestra
- Serenata I, for flute and 14 instruments
- Solo, for trombone and orchestra
- Variazioni 'Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen', for 2 bassett horns and strings
- Voci, for viola and 2 instrumental groups
- Stage
- Linea, ballet for 2 pianos, vibraphone and marimba