Luciano Berio and Giacomo Manzoni

Luciano Berio, one of the great composers of the 20th century (here we see him in a picture with friend and colleague Giacomo Manzoni) was celebrated with a dinner in his honour in 1996, on the occasion of the world premiere of Outis. His first attendance at Amici della Scala dates back to the 9th of January 1986, during the event dedicated to his other opera A King Listens (based on Italo Calvino’s text). In 1989, he was the protagonist, along with Giacomo Manzoni, of a press conference for the festival “Dialogue with Maderna” (here is an audio extract, in which Berio expresses his wish for an editorial arrangement of Maderna’s music scores, since these were often written whilst he was travelling). Both composers are Amici della Scala Honorary Members. In his signed letter, Berio recommends two young performers. In the other letter, Manzoni expresses his thanks for the recognition and reminds us of how difficult the task of composers in Italy can be.