Loosely out of the sleeve

Luciano Berio was an exceptional composer. As early as the 1960s, he caused a sensation with his "open aesthetics", which led to such key works as the quotation composition Sinfonia (1968/69). "I borrow quotes from the museum," he once said, "and mix them with my own music." The CD recorded by the Basel Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ivor Bolton with the simple title Transformation now offers special insights. Berio is indeed "open" - open to Johann Sebastian Bach, to Gustav Mahler, but also to Beatles classics such as Michelle, Ticket to Ride or Yesterday.

One could argue for a long time about the terms arrangement, orchestration or instrumentation. In any case, Berio does not engage in the deconstruction typical of the avant-garde in his rearrangements. Bach's Contrapunctus XIX from the Art of the fugue he embeds in a warm woodwind arrangement. The voices now come across elegantly, not with the "X-ray vision" that was still dear to the structurally oriented Schönberg school. In other adaptations, Berio also shows himself from an undogmatic, completely joyful musical side. Fiery Spain is reflected in the transcriptions of Manuel de Falla's Siete Canciones populares Españolas echoes. He orchestrates the sometimes brash, sometimes very intimate songs with tremendous sensitivity to sound, leaving the mezzo-soprano part untouched.

The Sonata op. 120 No. 1 for clarinet (or viola) and piano, written by Johannes Brahms in 1894, sounds like it was written off the cuff. In 1986, Berio orchestrated the five-movement chamber music into a veritable romantic symphony. The Beatles adaptations must be classified as quirky and funny occasional works. However, the strangely baroque, very much in the spirit of the Brandenburg Concertvalues Beatles classics. It is probably more of a private matter than a special contribution to the noble history of music. Cathy Berberian, the American singer and then wife of Luciano Berio, was "crazy about the Beatles" - so why not a baroque love greeting with "I love you, I love you, I love you" from Michelle? Well, all in all an enjoyable double CD, which incidentally also tastes good while cooking.