photo: Pirjo-Leena Bauer
"Cervetti showcases in all his compositions in a flawless synthesis of techniques pulled from wide-ranging time periods"
Sergio Cervetti left his native Uruguay in 1962 to study composition in the United States. In 1966 he attracted international attention when he won the chamber music prize at the Caracas, Venezuela Music Festival. After studying with Ernst Krenek and Stefan Grové and graduating from Peabody Conservatory, he was subsequently invited to be Composer-in-Residence in Berlin, Germany in 1969-70.
From 1972 to 1997 and 2007-08, Cervetti was Master Teacher of Music at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. During this time he composed over 150 works for the concert stage, dance, theater, and film, many of them commissioned, recorded, and performed in venues and festivals in the United States and abroad.
Cervetti’s works range from the acoustic to the electronic, and deftly blend folk elements, European tradition, and minimalist aesthetics. After an early brush with 12 tone and minimalism, imbuing minimalism with melody, for example, in early works such as Guitar Music (the bottom of the iceberg),Madrigal III and …from the earth…, his current approach is free and flexible. As much of a traditionalist as an innovator, he continues to straddle musical worlds with new works that showcase a post-modern synthesis of techniques from diverse periods as well as his rich South American heritage.
Albums
Sparks: Eye of London
Release Date: October 28, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6454
Catalog Number: NV6454
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Navona Records presents SPARKS: THE EYE OF LONDON, an assembly of original fanfares performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Drawing from the compositional strengths of today’s composers, the orchestra navigates chaos and order, isolation, and ascension towards triumph through passionate orchestral writing reminiscent of the fire that burns within us. A collection spanning thought-provoking narratives, scenic synesthesia, soothing passages, and the whimsically abstract, the London Symphony Orchestra explores a vast musical landscape of emotions, tackling each with precision and verve.
Mortal Dreams
Release Date: October 23, 2020
Catalog Number: NV6313
Catalog Number: NV6313
20th Century
21st Century
Vocal Music
Electronic
Piano
Voice
Uruguayan-born American Sergio Cervetti is sure to please listeners with MORTAL DREAMS, his ninth album with NAVONA. Cervetti, who, on previous releases, has firmly established himself as one of the most unique voices in contemporary serious music, again delivers electro-acoustic compositions that can be counted as some of his best in the genre.
Parallel Realms
Release Date: March 8, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6217
Catalog Number: NV6217
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Sergio Cervetti, born in Uruguay, immigrated to the United States in 1962 to study contemporary composition, and his work contains a certain cosmopolitan quality reflective of his past and present. Although essentially a minimalist since 1970, he has branched out to embrace and incorporate diverse elements from a variety of aesthetics. The versatile creator understands how to pull the virtually unimaginable from its metaphysical realm into the here and now, a sudden manifestation of spirituality transcending dissonance. Ever-present is the nexus of nature and science, of the mundane and the miraculous.
Triptych Revelation
Release Date: June 9, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6099
Catalog Number: NV6099
21st Century
Concertos
Orchestral
Electronic
Orchestra
Trumpet
TRIPTYCH REVELATION, composer Sergio Cervetti’s seventh album with Navona, presents works from across four decades of his extensive career. Though a fair bit of time separates these pieces, the album’s three works all feature unique explorations of apocalyptic themes, inspired by themes drawn from the New Testament, nineteenth century French literature, and Flemish art of the sixteenth century.
Passage
Release Date: May 12, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6094
Catalog Number: NV6094
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Though “passage” is a word of numerous meanings, they all point back to a singular idea – the transition between two disparate entities. Whether it’s a passage of prose which moves along a narrative, a physical passageway connecting two points, or the continuous passing of time, all these snapshots help define our crucial moments within life’s movements. This theme threads the works on PASSAGE, the latest orchestral compilation from Navona featuring compositions from Sergio Cervetti, Daniel Crozier, Craig Morris, and Betty Wishart.
Sunset at Noon
Release Date: February 10, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6072
Catalog Number: NV6072
21st Century
Chamber
Vocal Music
Choir
Clarinet
Piano
Sergio Cervetti returns with an exciting collection of works on his sixth Navona Records release, SUNSET AT NOON. A diverse composer, his works range from instrumental and vocal music to electronic compositions, often reflecting his South American, French and Italian heritage. His vocabulary draws from an early interest in twelve-tone and minimalism, and his current approach is flexible and free of constraint. With SUNSET AT NOON, Cervetti focuses on keyboard-based compositions for half of the album, with a foray into chamber music on the other half.
PARMA Music Festival Live 2014
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Catalog Number: NV6002
Catalog Number: NV6002
21st Century
Chamber
Orchestral
Cello
Orchestra
14 concerts, 12 venues, 4 days. The 2014 PARMA Music Festival featured a diverse range of events, from concert performances of orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, and jazz groups, to an outdoor presentation of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and panel discussions about music licensing and multimedia composition, as well as improvised collaborations between indie rockers and classical instrumentalists.
Transits
Release Date: May 1, 2015
Catalog Number: NV6001
Catalog Number: NV6001
21st Century
Chamber
Clarinet
Flute
TRANSITS: Minimal to Mayhem, his fifth full Navona Records release, is an abridged sequence of five works from a set time and concrete place that maps composer Sergio Cervetti's creative progression over four decades of composing.
Unbridled
Release Date: June 1, 2014
Catalog Number: NV5958
Catalog Number: NV5958
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Large Ensemble
String Quartet
Violin
Wall Street. Salvador Dali. Gustav Mahler. Some of the sources of inspiration for composer Sergio Cervetti on his fourth solo Navona release, UNBRIDLED. Spanning over forty years of his career, the works represent Cervetti's continued aesthetic of combining traditional and postmodern techniques and instrumentation.
PARMA Music Festival Live 2013
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Catalog Number: NV5950
Catalog Number: NV5950
21st Century
Jazz
Orchestral
Cello
Electronic
Orchestra
10 concerts, 7 venues, 3 days. The inaugural PARMA Music Festival in 2013 featured more than 100 composers and performers in works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, and jazz groups, as well as improvised collaborations between indie rockers and classical instrumentalists. This release collects some of the finest performances from the Festival, as recorded by the PARMA Recordings production team.
Foundations
Release Date: February 1, 2014
Catalog Number: NV5939
Catalog Number: NV5939
21st Century
Liturgical
Orchestral
Vocal Music
Choir
Orchestra
Excerpts from the Bible, text from the Middle Ages, and traditional instrumentation (organ, orchestral, and choral) form the basis of six composers' inspired works on FOUNDATIONS to create stirring, new contemporary classical music. By connecting to the roots of historical texts and musical conventions - in some cases the foundations of our collective cultures - these pieces present a modern spin on traditional materials, sounds, and forms.
Wind Devil & Co.
Release Date: September 1, 2013
Catalog Number: NV5930
Catalog Number: NV5930
20th Century
Stage Works
Electroacoustic
Electronic
WIND DEVIL & CO. is a selection of sound scores commissioned by choreographers and dance companies that were performed nationally and internationally at venues such as Berlin's Akademie der Kunste and three Next Wave Festivals at Brooklyn Academy of Music. WIND DEVIL & CO. was created, composed, and performed by Sergio Cervetti, and is his third Navona release.
The PARMA Sessions: Karolina Rojahn
Release Date: August 1, 2013
Catalog Number: NV5925
Catalog Number: NV5925
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Orchestra
Piano
Piano Trio
THE PARMA SESSIONS: KAROLINA ROJAHN presents a series of recordings featuring longtime PARMA collaborator and pianist Karolina Rojahn. Showcasing the artist's skill, adaptability, and dedication, this digital compilation features Rojahn performing works by a diverse set of composers with myriad influences and styles.
Keyboard3
Release Date: January 1, 2013
Catalog Number: NV5900
Catalog Number: NV5900
21st Century
Solo Instrumental
Piano
KEYBOARD3 Navona's second all-Sergio Cervetti album takes the listener to a world of kinetic and emotionally charged sound forged from three keyboard instruments. Sometimes it is the pianoforte, the king of instruments or the double keyboard of the harpsichord.
Nazca
Release Date: April 1, 2012
Catalog Number: NV5872
Catalog Number: NV5872
20th Century
Orchestral
Vocal Music
Orchestra
Voice
Composer Sergio Cervetti has cemented himself into the contemporary classical scene, earning notoriety for his ability to present orchestral, opera, chamber, vocal, and electronic under a single classical umbrella that is distinctly individualistic. With works lauded as "truly novel and genuinely intriguing" (Washington Post), "noteworthy in the sea of fluff that passes for electronic music" (Option Magazine), and "a listener's joy" (New York Times), Cervetti has proven himself a worthy contender in the world of contemporary classical.
Fine Music, Vol. 3
Release Date: January 1, 2012
Catalog Number: NV5868
Catalog Number: NV5868
21st Century
Chamber
Orchestral
Electronic
Orchestra
Piano Trio
FINE MUSIC, VOL. III is the third compilation of the Navona Records Fine Music digital series. This installment features the works of Lawrence Siegel, Sergio Cervetti, Tony Piccolo, Adrienne Albert, Daniel Perttu, Gerhard Stabler, Jane O'Leary, Jim Scully, Meira Warshauer, Piffaro, John Carollo, William Vollinger, Peter Van Zandt Lane, Lawrence Ball, and Benjamin Yusupov. This collection both highlights some of Navona's choicest tracks and offers a preview of things to come.
