Schoenberg Moses und Aaron. Chamber Symphony No 2
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Label: Classical
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 66
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: SMK48463
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Serenade |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris John Shirley-Quirk, Baritone Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| (5) Orchestral Pieces |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer David Wilson-Johnson, Baritone Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| Ode to Napoleon |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer David Wilson-Johnson, Baritone Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Genre:
Opera
Label: Classical
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 76
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: SMK48466
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Erwartung |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer BBC Symphony Orchestra Janis Martin, The Woman, Soprano Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| Pierrot lunaire |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Antony Pay, Clarinet Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Daniel Barenboim, Piano Ilona Steingruber, Helmwige, Soprano Lynn Harrell, Cello Michel Debost, Flute Pierre Boulez, Conductor Pinchas Zukerman, Violin Yvonne Minton, Mezzo soprano |
| Lied der Waldtaube |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Jessye Norman, Soprano Lucien Lovano, Emperor, Baritone Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Label: Classical
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 61
Mastering:
DDD
ADD
Catalogue Number: SMK48465
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Suite |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| Verklärte Nacht |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| (3) Pieces |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Label: Classical
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 69
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: SMK48464
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Die) glückliche Hand |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer BBC Singers BBC Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez, Conductor Siegmund Nimsgern, Bass-baritone |
| Variations for Orchestra |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer BBC Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| Verklärte Nacht, 'Transfigured Night' |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer New York Philharmonic Orchestra Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Label: Classical
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 76
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: SMK48462
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Die) Jakobsleiter |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Tenor Arnold Schoenberg, Composer BBC Singers BBC Symphony Orchestra Ian Partridge, Tenor John Shirley-Quirk, Baritone Kenneth Bowen, Tenor Mady Mesplé, Soprano Ortrun Wenkel, Contralto (Female alto) Paul Hudson, Bass Pierre Boulez, Conductor Siegmund Nimsgern, Bass-baritone |
| Chamber Symphony No. 1 |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene, 'Accomp |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer BBC Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Genre:
Opera
Label: Classical
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 121
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: SM2K48456
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Moses und Aron |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer BBC Singers BBC Symphony Orchestra Dennis Wicks, Solo voice in the orchestra VI, Baritone Felicity Palmer, Young Girl; Naked Woman II, Soprano Gillian Knight, Naked Woman III; Solo voice in the orchestra III, Soprano Gillian Knight, Invalid Woman, Soprano Gillian Knight, Invalid Woman, Soprano Gillian Knight, Invalid Woman, Soprano Gillian Knight, Naked Woman III; Solo voice in the orchestra III, Soprano Gillian Knight, Naked Woman III; Solo voice in the orchestra III, Soprano Günter Reich, Moses Helen Watts, Naked Woman IV; Solo voice in the orchestra IV, Mezzo soprano Jane Manning, Naked Man I; Solo voice in the orchestra I John Noble, An Elder, Tenor John Winfield, Young Man; Youth Michael Rippon, Solo voice in the orchestra V, Baritone Orpheus Boys' Choir Philip Langridge, Solo voice in the orchestra V, Tenor Pierre Boulez, Conductor Richard Angas, Priest, Bass Richard Cassilly, Aron, Tenor Roland Hermann, Ephramite, Tenor |
| Chamber Symphony No. 2 |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Alois Pernerstorfer, Alberich, Baritone Alois Pernerstorfer, Alberich, Baritone Alois Pernerstorfer, Alberich, Baritone Arnold Schoenberg, Composer Elisabeth Höngen, Fricka, Mezzo soprano Elisabeth Höngen, Fricka, Soprano Elisabeth Höngen, Erda, Soprano Elisabeth Höngen, Erda, Contralto (Female alto) Elisabeth Höngen, Erda, Soprano Elisabeth Höngen, Fricka, Soprano Ensemble InterContemporain, Paris Josef Herrmann, Wanderer Josef Herrmann, Wanderer Josef Herrmann, Wanderer Julia Moor, Woodbird, Soprano Ludwig Weber, Hunding, Bass Ludwig Weber, Hunding, Baritone Ludwig Weber, Fafner, Bass Ludwig Weber, Fafner, Baritone Ludwig Weber, Hunding, Baritone Ludwig Weber, Fafner, Baritone Margherita Kenney, Siegrune, Soprano Margherita Kenney, Siegrune, Soprano Margherita Kenney, Siegrune, Mezzo soprano Margret Weth-Falke, Rossweiße, Mezzo soprano Margret Weth-Falke, Rossweiße, Mezzo soprano Margret Weth-Falke, Rossweiße, Mezzo soprano Peter Markwort, Mime, Tenor Peter Markwort, Mime, Tenor Peter Markwort, Mime, Tenor Pierre Boulez, Conductor Polly Batic, Schwertleite, Contralto (Female alto) Set Svanholm, Siegfried, Tenor Sieglinde Wagner, Grimgerde, Mezzo soprano Sieglinde Wagner, Grimgerde, Soprano Sieglinde Wagner, Grimgerde, Soprano Walburga Wegner, Gerhilde, Soprano Walburga Wegner, Gerhilde, Soprano Walburga Wegner, Gerhilde, Soprano |
Composer or Director: Arnold Schoenberg
Label: Classical
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 129
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: SM2K48459
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Gurrelieder |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer BBC Choral Society BBC Singers BBC Symphony Orchestra Goldsmith's Choral Union Günter Reich, Wheel of Fortune Woman Jess Thomas, Tenor Kenneth Bowen, Tenor London Philharmonic Choir Marita Napier, Soprano Pierre Boulez, Conductor Siegmund Nimsgern, Bass-baritone Yvonne Minton, Mezzo soprano |
| (4) Lieder |
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer
Arnold Schoenberg, Composer BBC Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez, Conductor Yvonne Minton, Mezzo soprano |
Author: Arnold Whittall
Sony Classical provided a 'trailer' for this collection three years ago, when they issued—also at medium price—a two-disc set of Schoenberg's smaller choral works recorded by Pierre Boulez and (mainly) BBC forces between 1976 and 1986 (8/90). Since then Boulez has begun a new Schoenberg cycle for Erato with fine accounts of Pelleas und Melisande and the Variations, Op. 31 (4/93), though it remains to be seen if this will extend to the more substantial compositions on the Sony Classical discs—Gurrelieder, Die Jakobsleiter and Moses und Aron.
From the sonic point of view these digital remasterings of CBS's analogue originals have been well worthwhile. Comparison confirms that the sound has more body and stronger presence than on the original LPs, even if the shifting focus on specific details can still seem rather artificial by today's standards. From the standpoint of interpretation, it has to be admitted that Boulez's accounts are often not first choice when alternative—usually more recent—recordings exist. So, if you have invested in such full-price issues as the CBSO/Rattle disc, including the Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16 (EMI, 11/89), the Orpheus CO's Verklarte Nacht and two chamber symphonies, Chailly's Gurrelieder (Decca, 3/91) or the Norman/Levine Erwartung (Philips, 9/93), you need not feel hard done by. Nevertheless, this Sony collection has considerable value, and for two principal reasons: it restores rarely heard major works to the catalogue, and provides an absorbing overview of a great musical modernist's encounter with his most significant compositional precursor.
The rarely heard works include the marvellously intense Begleitmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene, the luminous Orchestral Songs, Op. 22, the extraordinary 22-minute opera Die gluckliche Hand, and the unfinished oratorio Die Jakobsleiter, which is one of Schoenberg's most revealing compositions, both technically and theologically. The opera Moses und Aron is no less crucial to Schoenberg's ethos, and its Second Act is surely the ultimate Schoenbergian synthesis of technical virtuosity and expressive intensity. Boulez's performance may yield something to Solti's in sustained theatrical impact, and the recording places the principal soloists in an artificial acoustic, recessed and resonant. For all that, it is a gripping and moving interpretation, with Gunther Reich a compelling Moses and Richard Cassilly providing the Heldentenorial timbre which Aron needs if his dangerous plausibility is to be dramatically credible.
One thing this collection confirms with great clarity is that, as a Schoenberg interpreter, Boulez was never the consistently brusque anti-romantic of critical legend. As early as the often admirable Gurrelieder performance we find an expansiveness of phrase, not always convincingly applied but undeniably characterful. Similarly, the orchestral version of Verklarte Nacht exploits the music's contrasts to a well-nigh wilful degree, and that is why, today, the more polished, fluent but no less deeply-felt Orpheus CO reading is a safer bet for repeated listening.
The Sony collection combines the (mainly earlier) London recordings with those made in Paris. The earliest of these, a Pierrot lunaire with a consistently sung vocal line, remains a beautiful misrepresentation of that perennially strange work. In the chamber symphonies, the Serenade, the Suite, Op. 29 and the Ode to Napoleon, the sustained technical excellence of the Ensemble Intercon-temporain provides a useful reminder of how important their contribution to the contemporary music scene has been over recent years: and their Verklarte Nacht, though not ideal, is one of the better chamber versions currently available.
The least successful of these performances—for example, that of Erwartung—are those in which Boulez seems less than completely caught up in the occasion: a consequence, perhaps, of his extraordinarily hectic conducting schedule in the 1970s and early 1980s. Such weaknesses are exceptional, however, and the overriding impression is of a shining musical and critical intelligence bringing some of the twentieth century's most challenging, memorable and neglected music to convincing life.
'
From the sonic point of view these digital remasterings of CBS's analogue originals have been well worthwhile. Comparison confirms that the sound has more body and stronger presence than on the original LPs, even if the shifting focus on specific details can still seem rather artificial by today's standards. From the standpoint of interpretation, it has to be admitted that Boulez's accounts are often not first choice when alternative—usually more recent—recordings exist. So, if you have invested in such full-price issues as the CBSO/Rattle disc, including the Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16 (EMI, 11/89), the Orpheus CO's Verklarte Nacht and two chamber symphonies, Chailly's Gurrelieder (Decca, 3/91) or the Norman/Levine Erwartung (Philips, 9/93), you need not feel hard done by. Nevertheless, this Sony collection has considerable value, and for two principal reasons: it restores rarely heard major works to the catalogue, and provides an absorbing overview of a great musical modernist's encounter with his most significant compositional precursor.
The rarely heard works include the marvellously intense Begleitmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene, the luminous Orchestral Songs, Op. 22, the extraordinary 22-minute opera Die gluckliche Hand, and the unfinished oratorio Die Jakobsleiter, which is one of Schoenberg's most revealing compositions, both technically and theologically. The opera Moses und Aron is no less crucial to Schoenberg's ethos, and its Second Act is surely the ultimate Schoenbergian synthesis of technical virtuosity and expressive intensity. Boulez's performance may yield something to Solti's in sustained theatrical impact, and the recording places the principal soloists in an artificial acoustic, recessed and resonant. For all that, it is a gripping and moving interpretation, with Gunther Reich a compelling Moses and Richard Cassilly providing the Heldentenorial timbre which Aron needs if his dangerous plausibility is to be dramatically credible.
One thing this collection confirms with great clarity is that, as a Schoenberg interpreter, Boulez was never the consistently brusque anti-romantic of critical legend. As early as the often admirable Gurrelieder performance we find an expansiveness of phrase, not always convincingly applied but undeniably characterful. Similarly, the orchestral version of Verklarte Nacht exploits the music's contrasts to a well-nigh wilful degree, and that is why, today, the more polished, fluent but no less deeply-felt Orpheus CO reading is a safer bet for repeated listening.
The Sony collection combines the (mainly earlier) London recordings with those made in Paris. The earliest of these, a Pierrot lunaire with a consistently sung vocal line, remains a beautiful misrepresentation of that perennially strange work. In the chamber symphonies, the Serenade, the Suite, Op. 29 and the Ode to Napoleon, the sustained technical excellence of the Ensemble Intercon-temporain provides a useful reminder of how important their contribution to the contemporary music scene has been over recent years: and their Verklarte Nacht, though not ideal, is one of the better chamber versions currently available.
The least successful of these performances—for example, that of Erwartung—are those in which Boulez seems less than completely caught up in the occasion: a consequence, perhaps, of his extraordinarily hectic conducting schedule in the 1970s and early 1980s. Such weaknesses are exceptional, however, and the overriding impression is of a shining musical and critical intelligence bringing some of the twentieth century's most challenging, memorable and neglected music to convincing life.
'
Boulez conducts Schoenberg - Volume 1
Boulez conducts Schoenberg Volume 3
Schoenberg Chamber Works
Boulez conducts Schoenberg - Volume 2
Boulez conducts Schoenberg
Schoenberg Moses und Aaron. Chamber Symphony No 2
Schoenberg Gurrelieder. Orchestral Songs
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