SEQUENZA!
Eliot Fisk, Guitar
DOMENICO SCARLATTI (1685-1757)
Three Sonatas
[1] K. 175 Allegro
[2] K. 481 Cantabile
[3] K. 482 Allegrissimo LUCIANO BERIO (1925-)
[4] Brin
[5] Sequenza XI
[6] Aldo
Universal Editions
NICCOLO PAGANINI (1782-1840)
[7] Caprice d' Adieu Allegro moderato
[9] Op. 85, No. 2 Allegro agitato
[10] Op. 62, No. 4 Allegro con anima
[11] Op. 18, No. 4 Moderato
[12] Op. 38, No. 4 Andante
[13] Op. 18, No. 6 (Venetianisches
Gondellied) Andante sostenuto PAGANINI
[14]I Sonata No. 23 Menuetto detto il
Matto; Allegretto; Allegretto PAGANINI/LUDWIG VAN
BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
[15] Variations on a theme by Paisiello
FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Six Songs Without Words
[8] Op. 30, No. 3 Adagio non troppo
Eliot Fisk, Guitar
Little did I imagine when I first played in the little Italian town of Rovereto in 1981 that the enthusiasm of the audience would combine with the vision and generosity of Arnaldo Volani, President of the Societa Filarmonica of Rovereto, to produce a commission from Maestro Luciano Berio to compose what was to become the Sequenza XI for me. With the score I received a humorous note from Berio which read in part:
"Here it is, the 'maledetta' (accursed one). It will drive you to despair as it has me. Coraggio! (Berio has since said that the guitar Sequenza cost him as much work as all the other Sequenzas put together!) I don't consider it to be the final version as I would like to introduce many harmonics. You will have to help me in this as I otherwise risk making the piece even more difficult than it already is. Another thing that I will decide later is the overall dynamic shape of the piece. This I will also decide with you." (Translation: Eliot Fisk)
The work was premiered in Rovereto on April 20, 1988, and since then I have played it in every conceivable part of the world (including a London prison!).
went on stage. The Sequenza is a work that has taught me an infinite number of lessons. I continue to love and learn from it today. Berio's Sequenzas (as of this writing there are 13 works bearing this title) are virtuoso pieces for various solo instruments in which the multiple personalities of the instruments in question are brought to expression in novel and fascinating ways through Berio's unique 20th century language. The guitar Sequenza is inspired by the Spanish folk tradition of flamenco. Perhaps there is also a breath of the Bach Ciaconna, the first work I ever played for Berio when we met in 1987.
During the early performances Berio was usually present, and he would often ask me to make slight changes in the work just before I
Berio says that he does not like to write against the instrument, and indeed his Sequenza XI is remarkable particularly for a non-guitarist composer in that its considerable technical difficulties are somehow still idiomatic. The work begins quietly, "come preludiando" before all hell breaks loose ("improvisamente violento"). This starts the work on a magical mystery tour through the guitar's gamut of expressive possibilities. Considerable use is made of the drumlike "tambour," strumming "rasqueado" and of the bell-like harmonics mentioned in Berio's note cited above. The Sequenza concludes with a simple tritone, one of the elemental unifying elements of the work.
One of the many qualities which separates
Berio from other composers of his generation is his refusal to abandon the music of the past. He has been a superb transcriber and transformer of Mahler, Schubert and of many and various folk themes. Thus it seemed appropriate to frame the Sequenza XI with two of my own transcriptions of other Berio works: Brin (originally for solo piano) and Aldo (one of the 33 Duetti for two violins). Brin was suggested to me by Maestro Berio, and Aldo is simply a work I have always adored. It bears the name of the eminent Italian violist Aldo Benici , a great friend of Berio's (and more recently of mine as well!).
"Anyone worth calling a virtuoso these days has to be a musician capable of moving within a broad historical perspective and of resolving the tension between the creativity of yesterday and today," says Berio. Therefore it seemed fitting to set the Sequenza in the context of works from different centuries all of which could in some way either by contrast or similarity set the monumental Sequenza in bold relief.
Thus I begin with three Sonatas of Scarlatti, another great Italian inspired by the music of Spain. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Sonata K. 175 whose wild acciacatura chords and bold harmonic writing sound like Spain itself. The pair of Sonatas that follow show Scarlatti in his matchless maturity
recalling the poignancy of operatic aria and the sparkle of popular dance.
Felix Mendelssohn might seem a strange bedfellow for a disc oriented around an Italian theme, but I wanted to introduce the Italian-German connection. Again this is appropriate to Berio · whose admiration for Wagner and Schoenberg is legion. Mendelssohn was, of course, captivated by Venice as reflected in his Song of the Venetian Gondolier, Op. 18, Nr. 6. However, given Berio's fascination with the human voice and with language (Sequenza III Thema, Omaggio a Joyce, A-Ronne etc.) I also liked the symbolism of a group of songs without words. Since Mendelssohn himself organized his Lieder ohne Worte into sets of six, I followed that here choosing those I felt would complement the guitar and vice versa: I frame the Mendelssohn with two works of Paganini: a late Caprice (originally for solo violin) and an early Sonata for solo guitar. In the latter I have freely ornamented the repeats.
To conclude, I decided to bring together the Germanic and Italian once more in a pastiche of Paisiello variations on the famous Aria, "Nel car non piu mi sento." Paganini has two sets of variations on this theme: one for solo violin copied out by the violin pedagogue and Paganini fan Carl Guhr (Germany meets Italy
again!) and one for violin with piano accompaniment. (Paganini also wrote one simple setting for solo guitar, which I decided not to use.) The young Beethoven was also captivated by Paisiello's theme. His Variations WoO. 70 are well known to pianists. It occured to me to bring these three versions together selecting what would be suitable to the guitar and ordering the whole so as to make dramatic sense. Thus the Introduction is Paganini, the Theme, Beethoven, and the succeeding variations alternate Beethoven, Paganini, Beethoven, Paganini, Paganini, Beethoven, Paganini, Paganini. ***
Biography
II would like to dedicate this recording to Maestro Luciano Berio with love, admiration, and gratitude.
- Eliot Fisk December 8, 1994
Guitars used on this recording: Thomas Humphrey, 1988: Ignacio Fleta y hijos, 1986.
A born risk-taker and a restless, wildly imaginative virtuoso, Eliot Fisk has brought an entirely new dimension to classical guitar performance. He has also created a large body of guitar music through commissions of contemporary composers as well as his own transcriptions of works by Bach, D. Scarlatti, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Granados, Albeniz, and others. A highly visible recitalist and soloist with orchestras, he performs frequently in various chamber music combinations as well. In addition to his longtime partner, flutist Paula Robison, he has recently collaborated with jazz guitarist Joe Pass, flamenco guitarist Paco Pena, master of castanets Lucero Tena, Turkish music specialist Burhan Ocal, and the Shanghai String Quartet.
Among Mr. Fisk's achievements in the area of new music was his landmark premiere of Luciano Berio's "Sequenza XI" for solo guitar. Its success led to a further commission by Dennis Russell Davies and the Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn from Mr. Berio to create a concerto version, "Chemin," which was premiered in the fall of 1992. Other works written for Mr. Fisk include George Rochberg's "Muse of Fire," commissioned by Carnegie Hall and performed by Mr. Fisk and Paula Robison during the hall's centennial season;
Robert Beaser's "Mountain Songs" (also for the Fisk-Robison duo and available on a MusicMasters disc) which was nominated for a 1987 Grammy Award; and solo guitar works by Mr. Beaser, Mr. Rochberg and Nicholas Maw. At the recommendation of Andres Segovia, Fisk worked with Spanish composer Ernesto Halffter to revive that composer's Concierto for guitar and orchestra for a performance at the Teatro Nacional in Madrid.
A native of Philadelphia, Eliot Fisk earned his M.M.A. degree from Yale University, where he studied with harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick. Immediately after graduation, he was asked to found the Guitar Department at the Yale School of Music. In 1974 he was introduced to his idol, Andres Segovia, who coached him privately for several years. In 1981 Segovia wrote, "I consider Eliot Fisk one of the most brilliant, intelligent and gifted young musical artists of our time, not only among guitarists but in all the general field of instrumentalists. His clear and flexible technique, his noble style of interpreting the beauty of classic compositions as well as the colorful music of today, put him at the top line of our artistic world."
Mr. Fisk's numerous recordings have received exceptional acclaim. His 1992 MusicMasters release of Paganini's 24 Caprices, in his own transcription for guitar, climbed to 14th place
on the Billboard classical charts, and elicited praise from critics and colleagues around the country: "Has to be heard to be believed!" (Ruggiero Ricci); "This recording will dazzle violinists and daunt guitarists," (Time Magazine); "[Fisk] emulates the most intrepid gymnasts of the violin fingerboard with a technical authority that is nothing short of amazing." (Strad). His transcriptions and recording of George Rochberg's Caprice Variations, (MusicMasters, 1994) 51 variations on the 24th Caprice of Paganini, was welcomed by the composer as a "recomposition." In his notes accompanying Fisk's recording (MusicMasters 1994) the composer wrote: "Besides producing an unbelievable extension of guitar technique, [Fisk] has at the same time explored and utilized every conceivable expressive possibility of the instrument. No composer I can think of could have imagined these possibilities. One would have to be a guitarist/artist of Fisk's caliber to be able to imagine what he, in fact, did." In Europe, Mr. Fisk has recorded four solo recitals for EMI, two of which have received "Record of the Month" and "Top Ten" ratings in Germany and Holland respectively. Among his 1994 releases are a sampler titled The Best of Eliot Fisk, and Sequenza!, a disc structured around music by Luciano Berio.
In addition to his performing career, Eliot Fisk
has a deep commitment to teaching. He is Professor of Guitar at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where his class includes talented young guitarists from a dozen different countries. Mr. Fisk also conducts numerous master classes and residencies throughout the world. His transcriptions are published by Ricardi and Guitar Solo Publications (San Francisco); his twentiethcentury repertoire includes music by Beaser,
Balcom, Britten, Carter, Henze, Petrassi, Rorem, Takemitsu and Tippett, among others.
--December 1994
All artist information was provided at the time of the original release of this recording. Any references to their present status may not be accurate at this time.
Other Eliot Fisk recordings available from Musical Heritage Society
Guitar Fantasies
MHS #5125108
The 6 Trio Sonatas (arr. Fisk-Fuller)
MHS #6718225
The Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin Arranged for Guitar
MHS #5260819
Mountain Songs
MHS #5173217
The Guitar Music of Castelnuovo-Tedesco
MHS #5178301
24 Caprices with Eliot Fisk
MHS #5168581
Rochberg: Caprice Variations
MHS #5184081
Eliot Fisk Performs Bell' Italia
MHS #5133877
Eliot Fisk Performs His Own Transcriptions of Works by Baroque Composers
MHS #4193108
Segovia: Canciones Populares
MHS #5168652
Canciones Latinas
MHS #5169151
The Artistry of Eliot Fisk
MHS #5266591
Concertos Performed by Eliot Fisk
MHS #5135562
Eliot Fisk Performs Vivaldi Concertos
MHS #5179971
Latin American Guitar
MHS #5169777
