Berio: Cinque Variazioni (1952/1953 – revised 1966)

The pianist Vanessa Wagner put together the programme for this recording in successive stages. The idea first began to form in concert when she began playing two of the pieces in a number of recitals, Rachmaninov’s Corelli Variations and the Berio Cinque Variazione. As time went on, she read through and listened to many different works, from all periods. Some pieces automatically disqualified themselves because of their duration, but in the end she initially decided in favour of Haydn’s highly unconventional Variations in F minor and Brahms’ Variations on a theme from Bunte Blätter by his friend Robert Schumann, a work hardly ever played. Although the music of Rameau was not at first considered, when the pianist came across his Gavotte Variée the music seemed to fit in perfectly and create a natural balance with the rest of the programme.

Vanessa Wagner’s career itinerary has been meteoric. After obtaining a Premier Prix at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris at the age of seventeen (in Dominique Merlet’s class), she entered the postgraduate cycle (class of Jean-François Heisser) as top student of her year. She came to the attention of Leon Fleisher and was admitted to the Cadenabbia Academy, where she was taught by several great masters of the keyboard. She was named ‘solo instrumental discovery of the year’ at the Victoires de la Musique in 1999. To date she has recorded five CDs devoted respectively to Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Mozart, Schumann, and Debussy, all of which have received numerous awards. She also participated in the Arte broadcast and Naïve DVD Les Pianos de la Nuit de La Roque-d’Anthéron, which won the award ‘Recommandé par Classica’.

Andrea Lucchesini, associated as no other with the piano works of Luciano Berio, presents the most comprehensive collection of the great Italian composer’s solo keyboard oeuvre, including the seminal Sequenza IV, the monumental Sonata, and two works written specially for him. Berio first heard Lucchesini in the 1980s and, captivated by his “pure” pianism, asked him to perform his Concerto II at the Proms in London. From that point their association flourished, Lucchesini continued to add Berio’s works to his repertoire, and gave the world-premiere of the Sonata in 2001. Working relationship turned to friendship and on the occasion of Luccesini’s marriage, Berio presented to him and his wife Valentina Touch, a divertimento for piano four hands. On the same occasion Berio offered another duet as a gift to Valentina’s parents, Canzonetta. Valentina joins her husband in both works on this CD. The comprehensiveness of this album is complemented by the booklet annotation, including a personal note by Lucchesini, a note by Berio on his Sonata, a note by the Sonata’s dedicatee Reinhold Brinkmann, and a note of appreciation by Berio’s widow, Talia. All in all, a unique document of an exceptional collaboration and remarkable friendship.