Schoenberg's Sheen

[Luke]

Tiny correction, it closes with octave Cs, therefore not major, nor minor, just pure C (to use a triad would be too much given the preceding dodecaphony). But the general point is totally valid.

[Lisztianwagner]

Tiny correction, it closes with octave Cs, therefore not major, nor minor, just pure C (to use a triad would be too much given the preceding dodecaphony). But the general point is totally valid.

You're right, thank you for the correction, I forgot octaves didn't have major or minor.

[Karl Henning]

Thanks for reminding me to listen to this, @Lisztianwagner 

[Lisztianwagner]

Thanks for reminding me to listen to this, @Lisztianwagner

You're welcome, Karl; here's also the Prelude with Schönberg's original manuscript:

[vers la flamme]

I would love to read a book-length biography of Schoenberg; does anyone know of a good one? His life seems to have been very dramatic.

[Augustus]

Malcolm MacDonald's volume 'Schoenberg' (2008) in the Oxford Master Musicians series is a good read, dealing with both the music and the life.

[Cato]

Not a biography per se, but with many biographical aspects, Arnold Schoenberg's Journey is a very nice book on both Schoenberg's life and music.

From the Amazon review:

"...(Allen) Shawn presents, by contrast, a personal, nonanalytical, nonscholarly, but still learned appreciation of the man and his music. He discusses each of Schoenberg's works in chronological order, always within the larger context of his life and times. We learn of Schoenberg's numerological superstitions, embrace of Judaism and Jewish causes, complex relationship with Stravinsky, and often quaint domestic pursuits, such as carving his children's sandwiches into the shapes of musical instruments. Intended for the lay reader, the book is written in engagingly direct prose, and the few musical examples presented are not overlaid with obfuscating technical analyses. Recommended for all collections....



https://www.amazon.com/Arnold-Schoenbergs-Journey-Allen-Shawn/dp/0374105901/ref=sr_1_18?crid=1JG66DYLLFK9L&keywords=Arnold+Schoenberg&qid=1690313278&s=books&sprefix=arnold+schoenberg%2Cstripbooks%2C133&sr=1-18

Dika Newlin, a child prodigy and student of Schoenberg's, (she became rather eccentric in her later years), wrote a book called Schoenberg Remembered.

https://www.amazon.com/Schoenberg-Remembered-Diaries-Recollections-1938-76/dp/0918728142


I can recommend both books!

[vers la flamme]

Best recording of Moses und Aron? I've never heard it, and ought to rectify that.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through Malcolm MacDonald's Schoenberg. I love it! MacDonald cites Ms. Newlin's book a good bit, and now I want to read that too.

[Karl Henning]

Rosbaud did a great job with it, but I've no idea if it's at all available now. I also have a Boulez recording which I need to revisit. 

[Lisztianwagner]

About Schönberg's Moses und Aron, I agree about the superb quality of Rosbaud's recording; Boulez is incredibly thrilling too. Solti is also absolutely worth listening.

[Mandryka]

Best recording of Moses und Aron?

This


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t0HPN8830Ls&t=67s

[brewski]

Just uploaded today, an intriguing new version of Pierrot lunaire from the Hard Rain Soloistensemble in Belfast, Ireland, with conductor Sinead Hayes, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Richmond.

-Bruce

[Cato]

This

Thanks for the link!

One of the comments is: "I can only listen for 3-5 minutes!  This music is too intense and powerful for me!"


It reminds me of a student who sat back and breathed out heavily, after seeing a videotape of Jessye Norman in Erwartung in our German IV class.

When I asked what was wrong, he said: "That music!  It's just so intense!"   

[Lisztianwagner]

Thanks for the link!

One of the comments is: "I can only listen for 3-5 minutes!  This music is too intense and powerful for me!"


It reminds me of a student who sat back and breathed out heavily, after seeing a videotape of Jessye Norman in Erwartung in our German IV class.

When I asked what was wrong, he said: "That music!  It's just so intense!" 

That's one of the best qualities of Schönberg's music for me, the ability to depict and evoke emotions so truly, so vividly and so intensely to make them absolutely real and overwhelming, especially because these emotions seem to come from the deep essence of the inner being.

[Lisztianwagner]

Just uploaded today, an intriguing new version of Pierrot lunaire from the Hard Rain Soloistensemble in Belfast, Ireland, with conductor Sinead Hayes, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Richmond.

-Bruce

Thank you very much for sharing this video, I watched it, it's a ravishing performance, so thrilling! I didn't know the mezzo-soprano before, but she sounds excellent, she beautifully stands out the contrasts of sonorities of the vocal part of Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire.

[Mandryka]

Thank you very much for sharing this video, I watched it, it's a ravishing performance, so thrilling! I didn't know the mezzo-soprano before, but she sounds excellent, she beautifully stands out the contrasts of sonorities of the vocal part of Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire.

It is an extraordinary piece of music, Pierrot. I really love it.

I picked up this recently and recommend it enthusiastically

https://www.testklang.net/?q=projects/testklang-2

[Karl Henning]

It is an extraordinary piece of music, Pierrot. I really love it.

The solar plexus as well as the mind of early twentieth century music, Stravinsky called it.

[Lisztianwagner]

It is an extraordinary piece of music, Pierrot. I really love it.

I picked up this recently and recommend it enthusiastically

https://www.testklang.net/?q=projects/testklang-2

Absoluty agree, an astounding masterpiece.

I'm sorry it doesn't allow me to open the link, which performance is that?

[Mandryka]

Absoluty agree, an astounding masterpiece.

I'm sorry it doesn't allow me to open the link, which performance is that?

Yes, it warns you not to open the link, but it was fine for me and I spoke to the owner, Marc Trischler, at length, and can vouch for him. He was the pianist on the recording. If you PM me I'll let you have his email address.  He said to me: "We are hoping to make this widely available via streaming in the future but the complications from publishing side are substantial. "

This is the recording - I got it partly because I really like Sarah Maria Sun's voice, and partly because I wanted to hear the other Pierrot related material on the CD - Eisler, Schöllhorn.  Put it like this: I play it often!


https://www.amazon.de/Tracking-Pierrot-Dvd-Sarah-Maria/dp/B00BPUSHXQ


http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/9385


Here's the blurb for the people too timid to open testklang!  I don't have the films, though I expect Marc would let me have them if I asked.

Tracking Pierrot

On October 16, 1912 Arnold Schönberg ́s Pierrot Lunaire was premiered in Berlin. One hundred years later an exquisit ensemble came together under the artistic direction of Manuel Nawri to breathe new life into the Pierrot and to follow his traces through the past century along the most important musical milestones. Tracking Pierrot includes an uncompromising new recording of Schönberg ́s Pierrot Lunaire in an outstanding interpretation by Sarah Maria Sun under the baton of Manuel Nawri. Furthermore the world premiere recording of Pierrot Lunaire by Johannes Schöllhorn from 1992 that was recorded in presence of the composer and is based on a composition with the same title by Max Kowalski from 1913. Also, Hanns Eisler ́s Palmström from 1924, which was composed as a response to his teacher's composition, and two recordings of the open form composition Tracking Pierrot by Earle Brown from 1992. The recordings were produced at Christuskirche Oberschöneweide in Berlin and are availalbe in high resolution Stereo and Surround Sound. The extras include a music film by Aron Kitzig with Brown's music, an interview with the composer Johannes Schöllhorn and modern English versions of the German lyrics that were created especially for this release.

Music
01. - 21. Arnold Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21 (1912), 36:41
22. - 33. Max Kowalski / Johannes Schöllhorn Pierrot Lunaire (1913), 27:11
34. - 38. Hanns Eisler Palmström, Op. 5 (1924), 05:11
39. - 40. Earle Brown Tracking Pierrot (1992), 21:46

Videos
1. Tracking Pierrot, film by Aron Kitzig (2012), 09:30
2. Tracking Tracking Pierrot, documentary by Ingo Woelke (2012), 10:00

Extras
Besides the music and the videos a hand made limited edition has been produced in celebration of the centenary of Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire. The collectors item comes as a music box that plays a tune of Johannes Schöllhorn and includes the CD and DVD as well as a print of the new English versions of the original song texts that have been created especially for this project.

Products
The physical release is a special CD-DVD edition with music and films in an extensive booklet and design packaging. The digital FLAC download contains the lossless audio. The digital MP3 download contains the audio in a lossy 320kb format.

[Lisztianwagner]

Yes, it warns you not to open the link, but it was fine for me and I spoke to the owner, Marc Trischler, at length, and can vouch for him. He was the pianist on the recording. If you PM me I'll let you have his email address.  He said to me: "We are hoping to make this widely available via streaming in the future but the complications from publishing side are substantial. "

This is the recording - I got it partly because I really like Sarah Maria Sun's voice, and partly because I wanted to hear the other Pierrot related material on the CD - Eisler, Schöllhorn.  Put it like this: I play it often!


https://www.amazon.de/Tracking-Pierrot-Dvd-Sarah-Maria/dp/B00BPUSHXQ


http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/9385


Here's the blurb for the people too timid to open testklang!  I don't have the films, though I expect Marc would let me have them if I asked.

Tracking Pierrot

On October 16, 1912 Arnold Schönberg ́s Pierrot Lunaire was premiered in Berlin. One hundred years later an exquisit ensemble came together under the artistic direction of Manuel Nawri to breathe new life into the Pierrot and to follow his traces through the past century along the most important musical milestones. Tracking Pierrot includes an uncompromising new recording of Schönberg ́s Pierrot Lunaire in an outstanding interpretation by Sarah Maria Sun under the baton of Manuel Nawri. Furthermore the world premiere recording of Pierrot Lunaire by Johannes Schöllhorn from 1992 that was recorded in presence of the composer and is based on a composition with the same title by Max Kowalski from 1913. Also, Hanns Eisler ́s Palmström from 1924, which was composed as a response to his teacher's composition, and two recordings of the open form composition Tracking Pierrot by Earle Brown from 1992. The recordings were produced at Christuskirche Oberschöneweide in Berlin and are availalbe in high resolution Stereo and Surround Sound. The extras include a music film by Aron Kitzig with Brown's music, an interview with the composer Johannes Schöllhorn and modern English versions of the German lyrics that were created especially for this release.

Music
01. - 21. Arnold Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21 (1912), 36:41
22. - 33. Max Kowalski / Johannes Schöllhorn Pierrot Lunaire (1913), 27:11
34. - 38. Hanns Eisler Palmström, Op. 5 (1924), 05:11
39. - 40. Earle Brown Tracking Pierrot (1992), 21:46

Videos
1. Tracking Pierrot, film by Aron Kitzig (2012), 09:30
2. Tracking Tracking Pierrot, documentary by Ingo Woelke (2012), 10:00

Extras
Besides the music and the videos a hand made limited edition has been produced in celebration of the centenary of Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire. The collectors item comes as a music box that plays a tune of Johannes Schöllhorn and includes the CD and DVD as well as a print of the new English versions of the original song texts that have been created especially for this project.

Products
The physical release is a special CD-DVD edition with music and films in an extensive booklet and design packaging. The digital FLAC download contains the lossless audio. The digital MP3 download contains the audio in a lossy 320kb format.

Great, thank you!