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Back-to-back Schoenberg operas:

Erwartung, Op. 17
Anja Silja, soprano
Wiener Philharmoniker
Dohnányi



The year 1909 was an extremely important one for Schoenberg. It was at this time, immediately following the composition of the song cycle The Book of Hanging Gardens, Op. 15, that Schoenberg made his definitive break with tonality and began exploring alternative means of musical organization. In the Piano Pieces, Op. 11, and the Five Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16, he attempted to move toward a form more dependent on texture, dynamics, and rhetorical gesture than on pitch-oriented or motive-oriented systems of organization. His most extreme experiment in this regard was Erwartung (Expectation), a monodrama for soprano and orchestra on a text by Marie Pappenheim. This was a completely unique creation that attempts to portray the interior monologue of a woman waiting to meet her lover in a forest. Schoenberg himself said that the work could be understood as a nightmare scenario -- the entire reality exists in the woman's mind on a purely psychological level. There is no realistic time frame -- past, present, and future are blurred and the setting itself remains only suggestive and indistinct. Upon her discovery of her lover's murdered body (and there is some hint that she herself may have been the murderer), the unnamed woman proceeds through a confused and disturbed series of emotions as she remembers their love, his betrayal with another, to a strange sense of exhausted reconciliation.

In spite of a vestigial presence of D minor throughout the work, Schoenberg had by now abandoned tonality. But the treatment of such a difficult scenario required a new approach that could almost be called athematic. In his attempt to faithfully portray the hysterical, fragmentary, stream of consciousness, he created a score that mirrors and responds immediately to each of the many quixotic emotional changes in the woman's mind. In a very real sense, the score is through-composed, as there is no organized repetition except for very short fragments, generally for rhetorical effect and with no structural coherence or significance. The entire 20-minute work has no discernible musical structure outside of the general and vague sections suggested by the changing scenario of the text. Its primary effect is that of constant transformation and progression.

Erwartung is as evocative and powerful a work as anything Schoenberg composed. Its vivid scoring and invention perfectly capture the sense of psychological breakdown and impending disaster inherent in the text. The fact that Schoenberg composed the score in the astonishingly short time of 17 days may account in part for its coherence, despite the lack of formal organization. Because of its unusual format, and extraordinary difficulty, Erwartung had to wait until June 6, 1924, to receive its premiere, where Marie Gutheil-Schoder created the role of the woman.

Die glückliche Hand, Op. 18
Mark Beesley, bass
Simon Joly Chorale, Philharmonia Orchestra
Craft



Composed 1910-November 1913, Die glückliche Hand is a drama with music, setting a libretto by the composer. Although he began writing the music shortly after completing the text in 1910, it would be three years before Schoenberg would finish the work. The First World War, Schoenberg's induction into the Austrian Army, and the general state of economic depression following the disintegration of the Hapsburg Empire made it difficult for to realize a performance; therefore, Die glückliche Hand was given its première at the Volksoper in Vienna on 14 October 1924.

Die glückliche Hand resembles Schoenberg's earlier Erwartung, Op. 17, in that there is only one main voice--an unnamed man. Subsidiary characters mime their parts, for they represent extensions of the main character. There are, however, twelve chorus members who provide commentary on the man and his state at the beginning and end of the piece, singing and employing a technique called Sprechstimme, a type of heightened speech Schoenberg called for in Pierrot lunaire.

Expressionist theater par excellence, Die glückliche Hand opens with the man lying on the stage, face down. Next to him is a cat-like, mythical animal Schoenberg describes as a "hyena with large, bat-like wings." Twelve faces, illuminated with green light, peer through hatches in the dark background. The twelve, six men and six women, ask the man why he continues to yearn for earthly pleasures when he is capable of greater things, then disappear. A woman whom the man loves enters, although she betrays him with a rival. When she seems to return to the man he feels renewed strength and, surrounded by mute workers, creates a piece of jewelry. The woman leaves him again; he finds himself on the ground next to the strange animal and the cycle begins again as the chorus returns to ask him why he must continuously relive this experience.

Most of the plot is conveyed through action, not text, and there is actually very little singing. Schoenberg's stage directions are detailed and exacting, indicating precise moments certain actions are to occur and colors of various lighting effects. The total effect, as Schoenberg called it, is "making music with the media of the stage." All elements are to be used in a manner similar to the way a composer uses tones-combining them in such a way as to bring about certain artistic impressions. A perfect example of this is the "crescendo of light" Schoenberg calls for in the third scene: Beginning with a dim red light, colors change at indicated moments, passing through blood red to bright yellow. Based on values that can be compared to tones, the crescendo of light, which occurs independently of any action, represents the progress of the man's pain. Schoenberg notes: " ... gestures, colors, and light are treated here similarly to the way tones are usually treated--that music is made with them; that figures and shapes, so to speak, are formed from individual light values and shades of color, which resemble the forms, figures and motives of music."

The harmonic language of Die glückliche Hand is similar to that of Erwartung, although some of the compositional techniques differ. For instance, during the chorus sections, Schoenberg employs direct imitation among the staggered lines of text, and there is some recapitulation of material later in the piece, which exhibits clear formal divisions.

The title of the work is derived from the end of the second scene, where the man, not realizing the woman has left, believes he has her in his hand. This fortunate (glücklich) hand can operate independently of the man and his pain.

[Articles taken from All Music Guide]

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These two works hail from my favorite period of Schoenberg when he was writing in a "free atonal" style. Completely unpredictable and Expressionistic. Glorious works!

[Mapman]

I was in the car today, and listened to this compilation of Mozart arias:

[vandermolen]

From one Scottish composer to another:

Erik Chisholm
Starloch Suite
Scottish Airs for Children
Piano Sonata in A major
Murray McLachlan, piano
(on Spotify)

I like Chisholm's music but only know his orchestral music like the 'Ossian' Symphony, Piano concertos and 'Pictures from Dante'

[Que]

Morning listening on Spotify:



Johannes de Lymburgia or Johannes Vinandi might have been the Italian nicknames of Johannes Brassart, a Franco-Flemish composer who was active in Liège, Venice, Vicenza and Padua in the early 15thc. If he was Brassart, he also worked in Rome, and after Italy in Basel en finally returned to Liège where he passed in 1455.

[Lisztianwagner]

Uchida is my reference recording in the Mozart sonatas, as well as the Mozart concertos. She has an excellent feeling for the music!

I absolutely agree about the beauty of Uchida's recording, she has a clear, splendid sound and a delicate touch that make her approach perfect for Mozart's music. Her performance is my favourite of the Piano Sonatas too.

[Harry]

New acquisition.

[Lisztianwagner]

Back-to-back Schoenberg operas:

Erwartung, Op. 17
Anja Silja, soprano
Wiener Philharmoniker
Dohnányi



The year 1909 was an extremely important one for Schoenberg. It was at this time, immediately following the composition of the song cycle The Book of Hanging Gardens, Op. 15, that Schoenberg made his definitive break with tonality and began exploring alternative means of musical organization. In the Piano Pieces, Op. 11, and the Five Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16, he attempted to move toward a form more dependent on texture, dynamics, and rhetorical gesture than on pitch-oriented or motive-oriented systems of organization. His most extreme experiment in this regard was Erwartung (Expectation), a monodrama for soprano and orchestra on a text by Marie Pappenheim. This was a completely unique creation that attempts to portray the interior monologue of a woman waiting to meet her lover in a forest. Schoenberg himself said that the work could be understood as a nightmare scenario -- the entire reality exists in the woman's mind on a purely psychological level. There is no realistic time frame -- past, present, and future are blurred and the setting itself remains only suggestive and indistinct. Upon her discovery of her lover's murdered body (and there is some hint that she herself may have been the murderer), the unnamed woman proceeds through a confused and disturbed series of emotions as she remembers their love, his betrayal with another, to a strange sense of exhausted reconciliation.

In spite of a vestigial presence of D minor throughout the work, Schoenberg had by now abandoned tonality. But the treatment of such a difficult scenario required a new approach that could almost be called athematic. In his attempt to faithfully portray the hysterical, fragmentary, stream of consciousness, he created a score that mirrors and responds immediately to each of the many quixotic emotional changes in the woman's mind. In a very real sense, the score is through-composed, as there is no organized repetition except for very short fragments, generally for rhetorical effect and with no structural coherence or significance. The entire 20-minute work has no discernible musical structure outside of the general and vague sections suggested by the changing scenario of the text. Its primary effect is that of constant transformation and progression.

Erwartung is as evocative and powerful a work as anything Schoenberg composed. Its vivid scoring and invention perfectly capture the sense of psychological breakdown and impending disaster inherent in the text. The fact that Schoenberg composed the score in the astonishingly short time of 17 days may account in part for its coherence, despite the lack of formal organization. Because of its unusual format, and extraordinary difficulty, Erwartung had to wait until June 6, 1924, to receive its premiere, where Marie Gutheil-Schoder created the role of the woman.

Die glückliche Hand, Op. 18
Mark Beesley, bass
Simon Joly Chorale, Philharmonia Orchestra
Craft



Composed 1910-November 1913, Die glückliche Hand is a drama with music, setting a libretto by the composer. Although he began writing the music shortly after completing the text in 1910, it would be three years before Schoenberg would finish the work. The First World War, Schoenberg's induction into the Austrian Army, and the general state of economic depression following the disintegration of the Hapsburg Empire made it difficult for to realize a performance; therefore, Die glückliche Hand was given its première at the Volksoper in Vienna on 14 October 1924.

Die glückliche Hand resembles Schoenberg's earlier Erwartung, Op. 17, in that there is only one main voice--an unnamed man. Subsidiary characters mime their parts, for they represent extensions of the main character. There are, however, twelve chorus members who provide commentary on the man and his state at the beginning and end of the piece, singing and employing a technique called Sprechstimme, a type of heightened speech Schoenberg called for in Pierrot lunaire.

Expressionist theater par excellence, Die glückliche Hand opens with the man lying on the stage, face down. Next to him is a cat-like, mythical animal Schoenberg describes as a "hyena with large, bat-like wings." Twelve faces, illuminated with green light, peer through hatches in the dark background. The twelve, six men and six women, ask the man why he continues to yearn for earthly pleasures when he is capable of greater things, then disappear. A woman whom the man loves enters, although she betrays him with a rival. When she seems to return to the man he feels renewed strength and, surrounded by mute workers, creates a piece of jewelry. The woman leaves him again; he finds himself on the ground next to the strange animal and the cycle begins again as the chorus returns to ask him why he must continuously relive this experience.

Most of the plot is conveyed through action, not text, and there is actually very little singing. Schoenberg's stage directions are detailed and exacting, indicating precise moments certain actions are to occur and colors of various lighting effects. The total effect, as Schoenberg called it, is "making music with the media of the stage." All elements are to be used in a manner similar to the way a composer uses tones-combining them in such a way as to bring about certain artistic impressions. A perfect example of this is the "crescendo of light" Schoenberg calls for in the third scene: Beginning with a dim red light, colors change at indicated moments, passing through blood red to bright yellow. Based on values that can be compared to tones, the crescendo of light, which occurs independently of any action, represents the progress of the man's pain. Schoenberg notes: " ... gestures, colors, and light are treated here similarly to the way tones are usually treated--that music is made with them; that figures and shapes, so to speak, are formed from individual light values and shades of color, which resemble the forms, figures and motives of music."

The harmonic language of Die glückliche Hand is similar to that of Erwartung, although some of the compositional techniques differ. For instance, during the chorus sections, Schoenberg employs direct imitation among the staggered lines of text, and there is some recapitulation of material later in the piece, which exhibits clear formal divisions.

The title of the work is derived from the end of the second scene, where the man, not realizing the woman has left, believes he has her in his hand. This fortunate (glücklich) hand can operate independently of the man and his pain.

[Articles taken from All Music Guide]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These two works hail from my favorite period of Schoenberg when he was writing in a "free atonal" style. Completely unpredictable and Expressionistic. Glorious works!

Pounds the table, very glorious works indeed! One little historical fact more, Erwartung received finally its premiere in Prague, conducted by Alexander Zemlinsky, who also had made Schönberg discover Marie Pappenheim's text.

[Que]

Next on Spotify:



http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Apr13/Arcadelt_sacred_7777632.htm

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/authentic-arcadelt-sacred-works/

http://sidsclassicalreviews.blogspot.com/2020/03/arcadlt-estote-fortes-in-bello-josquin.html

I agree with the last review: rarely recorded music and very nicely done, but there is little engagement making the result somewhat bland...

[Operafreak]

Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia, arranged for Wind Ensemble- Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Members of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble

[Harry]

 

[Harry]

New Acq.

I enjoyed this one!

[Biffo]

Dvorak: Wind Serenade in D minor - LSO/Kertesz - part of the Kertesz box set - haven't heard it before, a bit on the dull side.

[Harry]

Both CD's a major discovery for me. Accesible and inspiring music, with lots of splashing fun, and a deep sense of shaping gorgeous melodies. The sound is top notch, and there is nothing to complain in regards of the performance. We wish for more music by this composer.

[Lisztianwagner]

Today, commemorating Herbert von Karajan:

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No.9

[Florestan]

Both CD's a major discovery for me. Accesible and inspiring music, with lots of splashing fun, and a deep sense of shaping gorgeous melodies. The sound is top notch, and there is nothing to complain in regards of the performance. We wish for more music by this composer.

There is more:

[Florestan]

Disc 4.

This music is an endless source of sheer, exhilarating joy for me and this particular performance is excellent.

[Traverso]

Disc 4.

This music is an endless source of sheer, exhilarating joy for me and this particular performance is excellent.

Hi Andrei ,I share your enthusiasm ,Boskoskovsky is the right choice in my opinion 

[Harry]

There is more:

Its in the basket, and will soon be ordered.

[Harry]

Last night I could not sleep, due to a medical situation, so I started listening at 10 in the evening, till 9 in the morning. I had a huge pile to listen to........

[Harry]

Part two on my night listening.