Schoeck Treatment

[San Antone]

Yes, indeed! Really exquisite and sensual weave of notes. I really like it, and it's good to try other Swiss composers like Honegger, Martin, and Andreae, Hermann, Brun, Bloch, Gerber, Flury (some riveting 1st Symphony there!), and Raff, why not.

Worth mentioning are the Cello concerto. Penthesilea and Venus look like two ultra-romantic operas, a sonorities wallow.

Sommernacht is wonderful, as are Elegie, op. 36 (song cycle for baritone and chamber orchestra), and Notturno (song cycle for baritone and string quartet).  But also don't overlook the piano/vocal lieder: over 300 songs.  There is a complete set of recordings, the Jecklin Edition.

[SymphonicAddict]

Sommernacht is wonderful, as are Elegie, op. 36 (song cycle for baritone and chamber orchestra), and Notturno (song cycle for baritone and string quartet).  But also don't overlook the piano/vocal lieder: over 300 songs.  There is a complete set of recordings, the Jecklin Edition.

Interesting suggestions. Thank you.

I don't consider myself a big fan of Lieder/songs, but lately I've come to appreciate them more and more, and Schoeck appears a very promising composer about it.

[André]

This is something I've long wanted to do, and of course it took several OTHER projects that I should be working on right now for me to finally do that, namely the cleaning, updating, and generally sprucing-up of the Recommended Recordings Sections of the Surprised By Beauty website.

I've started with my favorite-among-favorites, Othmar Schoeck:


Othmar Schoeck - Recommended Recordings

https://surprisedbybeautyorg.wordpress.com/2017/01/07/othmar-schoeck-recommended-recordings/

Very informative, thanks Jens!

Between Schoeck, Schreker and Pfitzner I tread slowly, trying to find music - and recordings - that will stand the test of time (deep seated appreciation vs passing infatuation).

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Very informative, thanks Jens!

Between Schoeck, Schreker and Pfitzner I tread slowly, trying to find music - and recordings - that will stand the test of time (deep seated appreciation vs passing infatuation).

Thank you! I'm v. happy if any of this helps anyone else discovering - slowly - some unforeseen beauties!

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Schoeck: Buried Alive, Exhumed



Reading Chris Walton's biography of Othmar Schoeck is a fascinating trip into a different time, just a
century ago. But it's also an object lesson in "never meet your heroes". Although sympathetically
portrayed, Walton does not flinch from the fact that Schoeck was a real piece of work...

[André]

I just received the Denon disc with Notturno



I was surprised to see there's half a dozen recordings to choose from. Hopefully this will provide satisfaction.

A word about the work, Jens ? I always read your comments with keen interest 

[SurprisedByBeauty]

I just received the Denon disc with Notturno



I was surprised to see there's half a dozen recordings to choose from. Hopefully this will provide satisfaction.

A word about the work, Jens ? I always read your comments with keen interest 

A word? Do you have an hour? :-)

https://avemariaradio.net/oldsite/audio-archive/church-and-culture-july-28-2018-hour-1/

...and many more written ones, here: https://ionarts.blogspot.com/search/label/Othmar%20Schoeck

[André]

Goody, thanks ! 

[Mandryka]

Schoeck: Buried Alive, Exhumed



Reading Chris Walton's biography of Othmar Schoeck is a fascinating trip into a different time, just a
century ago. But it's also an object lesson in "never meet your heroes". Although sympathetically
portrayed, Walton does not flinch from the fact that Schoeck was a real piece of work...

It's a bit too expensive for me. Does the book talk about his  influence on his contemporaries? For example, on Wolfgang Rihm (who studied with him.)

Should I buy the Amar recording of the second quartet?  I mean, are there interesting enough ideas in there to make it stand out from the Minguet and the New Zurich?

The complete lieder (Jecklin label) is now streaming, 11 volumes, top singers and pianists. Listening now to Bostridge on exceptional form, in exceptional - timeless - songs (vol 11) The problem is that there are no texts online and that makes serious exploration a problem - you will be OK if you can understand the German.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

It's a bit too expensive for me. Does the book talk about his  influence on his contemporaries? For example, on Wolfgang Rihm (who studied with him.)

Should I buy the Amar recording of the second quartet?  I mean, are there interesting enough ideas in there to make it stand out from the Minguet and the New Zurich?

The book does talk about it -- but only to the extent that there were personal interactions. It doesn't, if I recall correctly, zoom out and spend time on how composers picked up on Schoeck beydond direct, personal influence.

Re: Second Quartet: If you already have Minguet AND New Zurich, I think you're pretty much set. :-) But do you want the Brun or not? 

[springrite]

Schoeck: Buried Alive, Exhumed



...Walton does not flinch from the fact that Schoeck was a real piece of work...

Well, so many of them are (were) just that! As I grow older I've been able to overlook that and mostly just listen to the music.

[San Antone]

Schoeck: Buried Alive, Exhumed



Reading Chris Walton's biography of Othmar Schoeck is a fascinating trip into a different time, just a
century ago. But it's also an object lesson in "never meet your heroes". Although sympathetically
portrayed, Walton does not flinch from the fact that Schoeck was a real piece of work...

The link you posted only brings up the same image of your review.  Is this the book?

Othmar Schoeck: Life and Works by Chris Walton (2009)

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Is this the book?

Othmar Schoeck: Life and Works by Chris Walton (2009)

That's the book. Although you'll be much cheaper off, if you read German.
I can vouch for the translation, too. Not, for once, because it's my own, but because I accidentally bought the German version, thinking that that's the language it had been written in. (Walton teachers at a Swiss university.) I had to congratulate Walton on the translation (not just the book), because it was that well done.

[Mandryka]

The book does talk about it -- but only to the extent that there were personal interactions. It doesn't, if I recall correctly, zoom out and spend time on how composers picked up on Schoeck beydond direct, personal influence.

Re: Second Quartet: If you already have Minguet AND New Zurich, I think you're pretty much set. :-) But do you want the Brun or not? 

I think I was confusing Killmayer with Schoeck (is that an understandable confusion?!) Killmayer taught Rihm, not Schoeck (as far as I remember.)

By the way, I'd already ordered the Amar  before you commented, so that's that. It has arrived, it has been listened to, it is fine, and I can say no more than that about it at the moment.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

By the way, I'd already ordered the Amar  before you commented, so that's that. It has arrived, it has been listened to, it is fine, and I can say no more than that about it at the moment.

Well, I don't think one can have too much Schoeck, so I approve. 

[fred2bern]

Hello everyone,


An internet search led me to this forum and this subject, which is maintained by Othmar Schoeck enthusiasts.


I allow myself to inform you about the release of a new recording of 'Nachhall' cycle Op.70 with Stephan Genz, as well as two cycles of orchestrated early lieder (Op.4 & Op.17), performed by soprano Olena Tokar. The Bern Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Graziella Contratto. The label is Schweizer Fonogramm.

[Mandryka]

Hello everyone,


An internet search led me to this forum and this subject, which is maintained by Othmar Schoeck enthusiasts.


I allow myself to inform you about the release of a new recording of 'Nachhall' cycle Op.70 with Stephan Genz, as well as two cycles of orchestrated early lieder (Op.4 & Op.17), performed by soprano Olena Tokar. The Bern Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Graziella Contratto. The label is Schweizer Fonogramm.

Thanks, I'm listening to the Genz now, with great pleasure. There's a comment Richard Barrett made about the elegy which seems to apply to this cycle too -- he said that Schoeck creates a strange and unique feeling, Richard called it "unearthly", maybe because so many consecutive songs in the cycle are similar in mood and tempo, while at the same time being subtly differentiated in colour and melodic shape.


Schoeck is a great composer who should be more widely known -- maybe he is in Germanophone countries.

[Mandryka]

Three composers (at least) set substantial cycles of poems by Mörike - Hugo Wolf and Othmar Schoeck and Wilhelm Killmayer.  The Schoeck was recorded ages ago by Mitsuko Shirai and Fischer Dieskau, and more recently by Ian Bostridge and Lynne Dawson in Julian Drake's complete Schoeck songs on Jecklin.

The latter is excellent! If only the Wolf cycle had an equally radient and committed performance on record.  If only all the Killmayer songs were recorded! As far as I know there are just a handful on record (Pregardien)

I wish I could understand the poetry.