THERE may be three centuries between composers Heinrich von Biber and Luciano Berio but their intent, when it comes to exploring and pushing the boundaries of the violin's soundworld, are really quite similar. Biber's Passacaglia for solo violin is a
series of elaborations over a hypnotic four-note repeated sequence. Rudiger Lotter's eloquent reading was technically and musically superb, entrancing the audience with this hypnotic meditation.
Berio is more demanding of his soloist and listeners in Sequenza VIII, played commandingly by violinist Irvine Arditti. The strident angularity of the phrases sounded as if Berio wanted to tear the instrument apart and put it back together again in a slightly different shape. His personal portraits of friends – 34 Duetti for two violins – were similarly sparsely written, yet brimming with ideas. Just six were played, including Bartók and Stravinsky, and it would have been intriguing to hear all 34 miniatures.
Biber's Partitas 3 and 6 for two violins, harpsichord and lute (ensemble Lyriarte) were more of a mixed bag. The continuo writing in No6 was quite monotonous but fared better in No3 with the scordatura tuning adding luminosity.
The full article contains 202 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
