Schoenberg's Sheen

[Lisztianwagner]

Oh, Arnie's lieder is fantastic. There was a complete set released some years back on Capriccio that is quite worth your time.

I'm at work or I would post the cover image for you.

No problem and thank you, I'll have a look at the set myself. Yes, sure, Schönberg is always worth time.

[Mirror Image]

Some thoughts about the Phantasy for violin and piano that I listened for the first time: such a marvelous, astounding piece, I enjoyed it very much! Like many Schönberg's dodecaphonic works, it shows rich timbric variety and a dense, complex contrapuntal texture, but all the melodic lines are brilliantly developed and juxtaposed to create a striking, powerfully mesmerizing atmosphere, very tense and sharp, especially because of the abrupt timbral changes of the violin, whose virtuosity and expressive possibilities are greatly used and completed by the piano. The first part opens with a rather quiet, but marked pace where the violin proceeds with dissonant, scratching tones as well as trills, tremoli and arpeggios before the movement becomes more sustained and fierer, and then quickly slows the intensity accompanied by recurring trilled passages of the piano, until there's another rithmic boost with repeated chords of both the instruments that leads without pause to the more restless second part. Another amazing composition by Schönberg, no doubt.

Nice write-up, Ilaria. 

[Mandryka]

 
Well, in my case, for example, all the Lieder that are not Gurre-Lieder.

Oh I think Gerhaher's recording of Das Buch der hängenden gärten is worth hearing. It's expressionist and this particular singer is completely in his element in that sort of music.

[Mirror Image]

No problem and thank you, I'll have a look at the set myself. Yes, sure, Schönberg is always worth time.

You're quite welcome and now that I'm home, here it is:



Karl also had some nice things to say about this as well.

[Cato]

I just came across this by accident: fun stuff!


https://www.youtube.com/v/HkDp1NMySls

[Cato]

Schoenberg's String Quartet #2 in a "Recording of the Week" recommendation:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/articles/4791--recording-of-the-week-berg-webern-and-schoenberg-from-the-heath-quartet?sc_src=email_165670&sc_lid=21434170&sc_uid=cu2FFakgeV&sc_llid=133514&sc_customer=7616506de98c8713f5412f0d4ffc8b8c

[Karl Henning]

I just came across this by accident: fun stuff!


https://www.youtube.com/v/HkDp1NMySls

Hah!

[Mirror Image]

I just came across this by accident: fun stuff!


https://www.youtube.com/v/HkDp1NMySls

[Karl Henning]

I just came across this by accident: fun stuff!


https://www.youtube.com/v/HkDp1NMySls

One of the fun comments: "This perfectly captures the experience of a group of random people singing happy birthday."

[Mandryka]

Oh I think Gerhaher's recording of Das Buch der hängenden gärten is worth hearing. It's expressionist and this particular singer is completely in his element in that sort of music.

And this is even better -- Tilbury and Trixler (or rather, Trixler and Tilbury!)

https://www.jtilbury.com/schoenberg/

[Cato]

One of the fun comments: "This perfectly captures the experience of a group of random people singing happy birthday."

  Amen!  Fun with Schoenberg!  Who knew?!   

[krummholz]

One of the fun comments: "This perfectly captures the experience of a group of random people singing happy birthday."

Perfectly apt!   

[Lisztianwagner]

Oh I think Gerhaher's recording of Das Buch der hängenden gärten is worth hearing. It's expressionist and this particular singer is completely in his element in that sort of music.

And this is even better -- Tilbury and Trixler (or rather, Trixler and Tilbury!)

https://www.jtilbury.com/schoenberg/

You're quite welcome and now that I'm home, here it is:



Karl also had some nice things to say about this as well.

Thank you very much for all your suggestions.  I'm quite lacking in Schönberg's Lieder (especially because I haven't got recordings of them), so everything recommended is very much appreciated.

[Mirror Image]

Thank you very much for all your suggestions.  I'm quite lacking in Schönberg's Lieder (especially because I haven't got recordings of them), so everything recommended is very much appreciated.

You're welcome and I just realized that there is an excellent lieder recording Capriccio that may be of interest if you only want taste of Schoenberg's lieder:



I'm not sure about it's availability, but this recording is excellent in every possible way. This was my first taste of his lieder before deciding on the 4-CD set.

[staxomega]

What do people think of Pelleas und Melisande? I posted about Nott's recent recording on another general music board and someone said they were not a fan at all and preferred Fauré and Sibelius in this play, fair comment those are also excellent. I finished listening to Barbirolli in this and just like Nott I enjoy this quite a bit as long as I'm not viewing it from the same critical lens that you judge other Schoenberg works by. I feel like if this were anyone other than Schoenberg it would pretty much be a top tier piece.

[Lisztianwagner]

What do people think of Pelleas und Melisande? I posted about Nott's recent recording on another general music board and someone said they were not a fan at all and preferred Fauré and Sibelius in this play, fair comment those are also excellent. I finished listening to Barbirolli in this and just like Nott I enjoy this quite a bit as long as I'm not viewing it from the same critical lens that you judge other Schoenberg works by. I feel like if this were anyone other than Schoenberg it would pretty much be a top tier piece.

I love Schönberg's Pelleas und Melisande, that's actually one of my favourite works of this composer; it's a very tense, beautifully thrilling and expressive piece, with a great contrapuntal density, harmonic richness (the use of suspended chords preludes the successive conquests of the twelve-tone method) and a colourful orchestration of accentuated contrasts and trimbric exasperation. I'm not familiar with both the Barbirolli and the Nott (I've found Barbirolli's version on youtube, I'll have a listen to it soon), but my favourite is the Karajan, such a marvelous, suggestive recording. I'm sorry to read that some members of that general music board aren't interested in Schönberg's Pelleas, because it's a composition absolutely worth listening and, I think, important to understand his composing development till dodecaphony.

[staxomega]

I love Schönberg's Pelleas und Melisande, that's actually one of my favourite works of this composer; it's a very tense, beautifully thrilling and expressive piece, with a great contrapuntal density, harmonic richness (the use of suspended chords preludes the successive conquests of the twelve-tone method) and a colourful orchestration of accentuated contrasts and trimbric exasperation. I'm not familiar with both the Barbirolli and the Nott (I've found Barbirolli's version on youtube, I'll have a listen to it soon), but my favourite is the Karajan, such a marvelous, suggestive recording. I'm sorry to read that some members of that general music board aren't interested in Schönberg's Pelleas, because it's a composition absolutely worth listening and, I think, important to understand his composing development till dodecaphony.

Thanks very much for the comment. This sounds more considered than just the early romantic work I had viewed it as. I have Karajan as part of the three disc Second Viennese box set, I agree superb. I was also quite impressed with Hans Swarowsky: https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,224.msg1437314.html#msg1437314

I'll see about writing some more about Nott as I get to know it more. The disc is also coupled with his own arrangement of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande for orchestra alone.

[Jo498]

I don't really remember the Fauré (neither the Schoenberg very well) but Sibelius' P&M is a rather lightweight romantic incidental music barely comparable with a 40-45 min. tone poem. I once read that Zemlinsky's "Mermaid" was overshadowed by Schoenberg's "Pelleas" back in the day. Overall, large scale tone poems are not quite as popular as they might have been, especially if they are rather unflashy (that Strauss still does quite well might be because most of his are shorter and more picturesque and "orchestral spectacular").

[Lisztianwagner]

Thanks very much for the comment. This sounds more considered than just the early romantic work I had viewed it as. I have Karajan as part of the three disc Second Viennese box set, I agree superb. I was also quite impressed with Hans Swarowsky: https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,224.msg1437314.html#msg1437314

I'll see about writing some more about Nott as I get to know it more. The disc is also coupled with his own arrangement of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande for orchestra alone.

You're welcome; I think another interesting aspect of Pelleas und Melisande is that despite the richness in the elaboration of the themes, the extremely flexible motifs metamorphosis and the visionary emotional strength, it doesn't lose structural unity and clarity, with the result that a giant, complex and bold orchestration keeps searching logic and precision in any way (and logic and precision are not secondary aspects in Schönberg, especially in the dodecaphonic works).

I'm not familiar with Nott's recording, but I would like to read more about it; I only listened to his Schönberg Piano Concerto and I appreciated it very much. I would also need to listen to Swarowsky.

[MusicTurner]

There are quite a lot of interesting P&M recordings - I've got Karajan/DG, Boulez/Erato, Barbirolli/EMI, Rozhdestvensky, Swarowsky/CzechPO, Gielen/SWF 1973 & 1996, Scherchen/KölnRSO, plus a poor one with Zukovsky/Iceland PO.

Swarowsky can be expressive, but downplay architectural lines; I don't remember if it might apply to his P&M.