We are pleased to announce the workshop “Gestures, Words, Sounds: The Creative Worlds of Cathy Berberian and Luciano Berio” to be held at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, October 2-6, 2025. Co-organized by the Paul Sacher Stiftung (Basel, Switzerland) and the Schulich School of Music in collaboration with the Centro Studi Luciano Berio, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Montreal, the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT), and Paramirabo on the occasion of the centenary of the births of Berberian and Berio, the workshop includes concerts, interactive scholarly sessions, lectures, and an exhibit. Most events are free and open to the public. Free registration (recommended) will open online September 1, 2025. The program can be viewed here: https://www.mcgill.ca/music/channels/event/gestures-words-sounds-creative-worlds-cathy-berberian-and-luciano-berio-366385
The aim of the workshop is to advance new knowledge about mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian (1925-1983) and composer Luciano Berio (1925-2003), who set innovative paradigms for artistic creation that have served as models for other artists since the 1960s. The focus of the sessions is on new primary sources from the Berberian and Berio archives at the Paul Sacher Stiftung that illuminate the context and inner dynamics of Berberian’s and Berio’s compositional work and performance practice. Also discussed will be sources from the McGill Archives pertaining to the collaboration between Berberian and Canadian composer Harry Somers (1925-1999), who wrote one work for her and whose centennial we are also celebrating. We are pleased to feature workshop sessions and lectures held by an international group of performers and scholars, several concerts, the exhibit “Berio Bambino, Berio Papà: Family Drawings, Letters, and Music” curated by Marina Berio, and other activities.
For questions please reach out to Angela Ida De Benedictis (angelaida.debenedictis@unibas.ch) and/or Christoph Neidhöfer (christoph.neidhofer@mcgill.ca).