• summer at MAXXI L'Aquila • musicaFeuerklavier

From Luciano Berio to Beethoven, from Liszt to Manuel de Falla, a musical journey in which the piano is constantly transformed.

Flowing water, heavy earth, a blazing flame, a singing voice: a dialogue between the 20th century and Romanticism, between sonic abstraction and narrative tension, where the substance of sound becomes image, emotion and inner landscape.

The evening opens with the ethereal soundscapes of Luciano Berio, featuring one of the six short pieces he dedicated to the elements, composed between 1965 and 1969, transforming the piano into a fluid, transparent substance made up of suspended resonances, silences and imperceptible vibrations. In contrast, Beethoven introduces a dramatic and restless dimension, marked by sudden tensions, unresolved questions and an incessant narrative energy inspired by the world of Shakespeare. Berio returns with a more sombre and compact style, where sound acquires weight and density, as if it were earthly matter.

At the heart of the programme, Liszt’s romantic lyricism which translates Petrarchan poetry into an intense and refined piano song, suspended between desire, memory and contemplation. Shortly before the conclusion, Berio’s composition flares up once more in a rapid and explosive gesture, made up of sudden tensions and flashes of sound that fade into silence. The evening concludes with the visionary world of Manuel de Falla: driving rhythms, percussive sounds and references to flamenco and Andalusian cante jondo.

programme
Luciano Berio, Wasserklavier
Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata Op. 31 n. 2 “La tempesta”
Luciano Berio, Erdenklavier
Franz Liszt, Tre sonetti del Petrarca
Luciano Berio, Feuerklavier
Manuel de Falla, Fantasia baetica

musicians
Federico Ciccioli piano

Under the patronage of the Municipality of L’Aquila and with the support of ALES. In collaboration with the “Alfredo Casella” Conservatory of Music.