Sequenza! - Eliot Fisk

SEQUENZA! Eliot Fisk, Guitar liner notes

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!).