Alban Berg: Lyric Suite

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
There have been many recordings of Berg's Lyric Suite, written in memory of, or homage to, a brief, concealed love affair the composer had with a married woman. But this new Kronos Quartet single is the first to present it with the reconstruction, by composer and scholar George Perle, of the vocal part--a setting of a poem by Baudelaire--in the final movement, as Berg originally intended and which was only discovered in 1977. The whole work, coming in at about 27 minutes, is rich: the first movement is ardently communicative, lyrical, and occasionally joyful and the finale, now with text, ends in darkest gloom. In between, we have four other movements, one of which, marked "allegro mysterioso" is just that--mysterious and twitchy. Elsewhere there are quotes from a suite by Alexander Zemlinsky and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, another doomed affair. The playing by the Kronos is expressive and warm throughout, and Dawn Upshaw's singing of the final movement, more outwardly emotional than is usual with this soprano, is heartrending. Berg's music isn't for everyone, but anyone who is interested in Berg at all will need this unique, beautifully played, sung, and recorded disc. --Robert Levine

Album Description
On this recording of Alban Berg's Lyric Suite, Kronos reunites with Nonesuch artist Dawn Upshaw in a rare recording of the work with a vocal part in the closing movement. Six movements. Slipcase. Nonesuch. 2003.

Alban Berg: Lyric Suite, Music, Kronos Quartet, Dawn Upshaw, Chamber, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Quartet for Four String Instruments, Solo Voice(s) and Orchestra, Vocal

Average customer rating:

I hope the enthusiasts will forgive me ...

First recording of the vocal part as reconstructed by Perle.

Neither the best, nor the first

New way to understand a masterpiece

terrific recording!

Alban Berg: Lyric Suite
Kronos Quartet , and Dawn Upshaw
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by Berg | Berg, Alban | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
Kronos Quartet | ( K ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Peteris Vasks: String Quartet No. 4

Witold Lutoslawski: String Quartet (1964) - Kronos Quartet

Berg: Chamber Concerto; Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6; Violin Concerto

Henryk Górecki: Already It Is Dusk (String Quartet No. 1, Op. 62) (1988) / Quasi una Fantasia (String Quartet No. 2, Op. 64) (1990-91) - Kronos Quartet

Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh

ASIN: B0000AN4FJ
Release Date: 2003-08-19

Tracks:

I. Allegretto Gioviale
II. Andante Amoroso
III. Allegro Misterioso
IV. Adagio Appassionato
V. Presto Delirando
VI. Largo Desolato

Amazon.com

There have been many recordings of Berg's Lyric Suite, written in memory of, or homage to, a brief, concealed love affair the composer had with a married woman. But this new Kronos Quartet single is the first to present it with the reconstruction, by composer and scholar George Perle, of the vocal part--a setting of a poem by Baudelaire--in the final movement, as Berg originally intended and which was only discovered in 1977. The whole work, coming in at about 27 minutes, is rich: the first movement is ardently communicative, lyrical, and occasionally joyful and the finale, now with text, ends in darkest gloom. In between, we have four other movements, one of which, marked "allegro mysterioso" is just that--mysterious and twitchy. Elsewhere there are quotes from a suite by Alexander Zemlinsky and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, another doomed affair. The playing by the Kronos is expressive and warm throughout, and Dawn Upshaw's singing of the final movement, more outwardly emotional than is usual with this soprano, is heartrending. Berg's music isn't for everyone, but anyone who is interested in Berg at all will need this unique, beautifully played, sung, and recorded disc. --Robert Levine

Album Description

On this recording of Alban Berg's Lyric Suite, Kronos reunites with Nonesuch artist Dawn Upshaw in a rare recording of the work with a vocal part in the closing movement. Six movements. Slipcase. Nonesuch. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

I hope the enthusiasts will forgive me ..........2006-04-28

... but there needs to be a warning here for casual listeners or those with more traditional tastes. If those describe you, this is not for you! However, this is a very emotional composition and I credit the Kronos Quartet for their masterful portrayal of the mental and emotional anguish that Alban Berg must have suffered as a result of the events which inspired this. I completely respect that, but to someone without advanced training in stringed instruments and early twentieth century classical music, it is, in a word, jarring.

First recording of the vocal part as reconstructed by Perle........2005-03-31

Nonesuch's advertising is in fact correct.

The packaging clearly states, "First recording of the vocal part to the last movement of Alban Berg's Lyric Suite, as reconstructed by George Perle, published by Universal Edition."

Vanda Tabery, in the Prazak Quartet recording of the work, does not sing Perle's reconstruction. She certainly does not sing the music published by Universal Edition, which would have been unavaiable to her at the time.

Perle had to make a number of important decisions about register-placement of the vocal line in preparing his edition. A leading Berg scholar as well as a terrific composer, Perle made these decisions based on his profound knowledge of Berg's style and of this score in particular.

Tabery's vocal line differs from Perle's in several respects, and her selection of registers seems at times primarily guided by the compass of her voice. There are registral leaps that break up lines clearly intended by Berg to remain intact. These sorts of details matter just as much as an unmotivated octave displacement in the middle of a Verdian musical line.

So: Perle's research, heard on the Nonesuch recording, is demonstrably superior to Tabery's. From the textual standpoint, the Kronos recording likely stands much closer to Berg's intentions than the Prazak's. Nonesuch, which was well aware of the Prazak/Tabery Lyric Suite, did not engage in false advertising.

Neither the best, nor the first.......2005-02-01

Unfortunately, Nonesuch's shoddy research shows here -- this was NOT the first recording of the Lyric Suite with a soprano singing Berg's secret text in the Largo desolato. That honor rightfully goes to Vanda Tabery with the Prazak Quartet on Praga Digitals, not currently available through Amazon.com. Tabery/Prazak were recorded in November 1999 and October 2000, while Upshaw/Kronos did not set down their recording until May 2001. Sorry, guys. Some of us recall when Nonesuch did not have to resort to false advertising to sell their product.

That said, this is not a bad recording at all -- but I find it way too smooth-smooth-smooth next to the Prazak. Besides, the Czech ensemble also gives you the Largo Desolato without soprano, and the Quartet Op. 3, and Webern's Quartet, the whole disc about twice the length (and admittedly twice the price) of Nonesuch's.

Of course, Nonesuch has the PR power of megacorp Warner Music behind it, which Praga has word-of-mouth among music fogies such as myself. You pays yer money and you takes yer cherce....

New way to understand a masterpiece.......2004-03-02

The Lyric Suite is , undoubtedly , one of the most important work of chamber music written in 20th century. After the death of the people involved in one obscure affair of the composer's life , we know that this work describes step by step one impossible passion involving the composer and Hanna Fuchs, one rich married woman , sister -in - law of Alma Mahler. George Perle wrote in the seventies one article called " The Secret Program of the Lyric Suite ". As a result of this research , we can understand a lot of things:
I- the serie begins with F and ends with H ( Fuchs Hanna)
II- The numbers 10 and 23 are always together ( the numbers of Berg and Hanna)
III- The Quotation of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
IV- The fast movements always faster , and the slow movements always slower - A consequence of the inevitable separation.
V- The tragedy in the names of the movements : Allegretto GIOVIALLE, Andante AMOROSO, Allegro MISTERIOSO, Adagio APASSIONATO, Presto DELIRANDO and Largo DESOLATO.Etc, Etc.

But the most important of this research is the discovery that the last movement was conceived with a text in mind: One Baudelaire poem, translated by the German poet Stefan Georg. Like The Vine ( Der Wein, the Concert Aria ) , Baudelaire in a german translation. This recording is the first to use this research for the sake to have all the secrets revealed. And one Soprano with a string quartet is a normal ensemble for the Second Viennese School. Schoenberg has his Second Quartet and Webern has some short works for voice and String Quartet. In this sense this is a very important recording. And very, very well played and sang . The only problem , to me, is that it is a little strange to hear the soprano line always doubled by a instrument. In the works quoted above ( By Schoenberg and Webern) the voice is always independent of the instruments. As Berg wrote al notes only for the quartet Perle and the Players did what they though it was correct. The singer must sing with the same notes of the quartet. It sounds strange for me. But I think this is the best we can do in this case. We will never know how it would be a definitive version of this last movement. I prefer to listen the Quartet version. But this is really one important way to know more of a work so crucial . And, as I said before, The Kronos and Upshaw are fantastic. My only regret : why only 32 minutes in a CD. ? It would be perfect with Berg's Quartet opus 3 !

terrific recording!.......2004-02-13

This is a must have for any Berg or 20th Century Music admirers.

This CD is a winner of 46th Grammy Award in "Best Chamber Music"

This is the most important 12-tone work with his opera "Lulu". Even so, he was used tonality in some passages (as usual in Berg).
This work tells about the composer's love story with Hanna-Fuchs Robettin, who daughter of an Austrian novelist Franz Warfel. Even so, Berg used an enigmatic thema that, in 3rd movement, the notes meaning H(anna) F(uchs) and A(lban) B(erg): H, F, A and B notes... This music is somewhere terrific, but somewhere romantic...

Especially, the most beautiful movement of this work is the 3rd movement: Allegro misterioso. This music based on this form: first, music starts and continues etc... and then it arrives a centre of music and then, music runs backwards...!

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous bargain, but Berg needs texts!.......2006-02-05

This is a great set for anyone who wishes to be immersed in Alban Berg's lurid, hothouse, hallucinogenic world. Both performances and sound quality are mostly excellent: No record company has ever made as great a commitment to Berg as Deutsche Grammophon. Based on the performances alone, this deserves six stars.

But the budget price comes with a catch: No texts or librettos. (There are at least scene synopses for "Wozzeck" and "Lulu.") With some composers, this wouldn't be a serious problem, but Berg was one of the greatest control freaks in music history. Without knowing exactly where each word is placed, listeners who don't understand German will miss an important facet of this intricately multi-layered music.

Superb Berg performances ... good value!.......2006-01-05

This might be the best box set I own. First of all you get what is most likely the best available versions of the Violin Concerto,Wozzeck,Lulu (3 act ver.),Lulu suite,7 Early Songs with van Otter,Der Wein and much more. The only real sub-par performance on it is the Piano Sonata op1 with Barenboim which can be found in many other recordings for a decent price. So, if you are new to Berg and you buy this, you are getting really an outstanding set of recordings which are top of the heap with great conductors and orchestras.

Real Estate Saver.......2004-10-04

This little box is an elegant, SPACE-SAVING means of acquiring classic performances (all of them stellar) from the DG catalog of Berg's major works, including two by my adored Lasalle Quartet that I believe have recently gone OOP. The set contains eight CD's housed in somewhat hard-to-remove cardboard sleeves that clearly identify the contents therein, and includes a booklet which, despite not containing lyrics for any of the vocal works, is very informative. The lack of libretti is possibly less an issue in the case of Wozzeck; chances are that listeners already own at least one other recording and so can refer to its libretto. Lulu, however, is more problematic because more listeners probably opt to purchase this "complete/d" performance over all others and may even be purchasing this set on that basis.
Not being particularly fond of lieder in general, I feel less qualified to make an educated call as to who might own which recordings of the songs other than to remark that I already own this recording of Op. 2 (which, of course includes the lyrics). In fact, as is the case with a previous reviewer, I already own a number of recordings from this set (which I received as a gift). No matter, it's still worth owning, and I agree with yet another reviewer's suggestion to grab it while it's available. True, one might prefer different performances here or there but honestly, this affords the best way of acquiring everything in one fell swoop, and there's not a clinker in the whole set.
In that vein, I might suggest that fans of the VC seek out Szeryng's performance with Kubelik, now available remastered on DG Eloquence at budget price. It's much less emotional than Mutter's beautiful reading but I find this proves an enhancement rather than a detraction; I also feel that Kubelik, possibly due to his Austro-Hungarian upbringing, ultimately has a better grasp of this repertoire than Levine (although I love his OOP Lulu Suite/Wozzeck excerpts on Sony and Mahler 4 on RCA).

Best Set; Good Price..........2004-05-11

This is a really nice set at a good price. It features all DG's Berg recordings--which really are about the best around. This "Collectors' Edition" is certain to disappear soon and increase in value.

Excellent collection.......2004-04-06

This is a must have for any collectors, 20th Century Music admirers.

This is 8-CD set and includes the complete works of Berg on acclaimed performances.

Especially, the stars of this set (for me):
Wozzeck (Hildegard Behrens, Wiener Philharmoniker, Abbado)

Lulu, complete opera in 3 act (Teresa Stratas, Franz Mazura, Yvonne Minton, Jules Bastin, Robert Tear, Opera National de Paris, Pierre Boulez!!)

Lulu-Suite (London SO, Abbado)

Three Pieces for Orchestra (London SO, Abbado)

Piano Sonata (Daniel Barenboim)

Alban Berg's musical language is difficult to understand (at least in first listening), but when listening more times, we notice that, actually in his music, there is a very mystic or impressive and lyric atmosphere. So, I think that he is a "Romantic" modern. Just, he expressed these lyric atmospheres with realist and striking language. Still, he was used 12-tone system, but he was not forget tonality and used the both styles (even so he used jazz passages, especially in Lulu). In other words: Berg is one of the most famous and important composers and he impressed the composers came after him (ex. Shostakovich, Britten, Henze)

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 1, Kreutzer Sonata :Adagio
Con moto
Con moto-Vivace-Adante-Tempo I
Con moto-Adagio-Maestoso-Tempo I
String Quartet No. 2 'Intimate Letters': Adante
Adagio
Moderato
Allgero
Lyric Suite: Allegretto gioviale
Andante amoroso
Allegro misterioso- Trio estatico
Adiagio appassionato
Presto delirando
Largo desolato

Customer Reviews:

dramatic, fabulous 20th century chamber music.......2004-07-09

One doesn't have to know the history of Janacek's String Quartet # 1 to understand its meaning; upon the first hearing one is struck by the light/dark, man/woman tension, the violin's nervous anxiety, the cello's dark rage. It is a fascinating, brilliant piece, inspired by Leo Tolstoy's story, "The Kreutzer Sonata", which of course was named after Beethoven's violin sonata.
Less dramatic and almost as good is Janacek's String Quartet # 2, written for Kamila Stosslova, and originally titled "Love Letters", later changed to "Intimate Letters" in order to be less obvious.

More abstract, but even more marvelous is Alban Berg's Lyric Suite; it is immensely expressive and romantic, with increasing desperation with each succeeding movement. There are moments of luminous beauty that take my breath away.
The Juilliard String Quartet (Robert Mann, violin 1 ~ Joel Smirnoff, violin 2 ~ Samuel Rhodes, viola ~ Joel Krosnick, cello) are superb. I can't imagine a better performance of these chamber music masterpieces.
The recordings were done in 1989 for the Janacek # 2, and 1995 for the Janacek # 1 and the Berg. The sound is excellent and total playing time is 77'10.

Great all-around disc........1999-12-19

This is a great disc. The Berg quartet, Lyric Suite, is of course one of the greatest string quartets of the century, absolutely bursting with musical ideas. It's said to be incredibly difficult to play, but the Julliard Quartet are just such superb musicians, they handle it masterfully. Also, the Janacek Quartets are really beautiful.

Average customer rating:

An essential collection
ABSOLUTELY THE BEST REALIZATIONS OF THE SECOND VIENNESE!!
Best chamber music ever from the so-called "atonal" school!
this is one of the best
"Webern a la Schubert"

Neue Wiener Schule

Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Maurizio Pollini ~ Schubert - Wanderer-Fantasie · Schumann - Fantasie op. 17
Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire, Op 21; The Book of the Hanging Gardens, Op. 15
The Essential Falla
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (Complete) [Box Set]
Bruckner/Beethoven - Symphony No. 7, Piano Concerto No. 3, Alfred Brendel, Claudio Abbado

ASIN: B000001G8L
Release Date: 2005-03-21

Tracks:

String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Nicht zu rasch - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Kraftig - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Massig - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.1 in D minor, op.7: Massig - heiter - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Massig (Moderato) - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Sehr rasch - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Litanei. Langsam - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.2 in F sharp minor, op.10: Entruckung. Sehr langsam - Arnold Schoenberg

Tracks:

String quartet no.3, op.30: Moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.3, op.30: Adagio - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.3, op.30: Intermezzo: Allegro moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
String quartet no.3, op.30: Rondo: Molto moderato - Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Allegro molto; Energico - Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Comodo - Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Largo - Arnold Schoenberg
String Quartet No.4, Op.37: Allegro - Arnold Schoenberg

Tracks:

String Quartet In D Major: Allegro molto - Anton Webern
String Quartet In D Major: Intermezzo. Andantino grazioso - Anton Webern
String Quartet In D Major: Andante con moto - Anton Webern
String Quartet In D Major: Allegro - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: Heftig bewegt - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: Sehr bewegt - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
Satze, op.5: In zarter Bewegung - Anton Webern
String quartet - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Massig - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Leicht bewegt - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Ziemlich fliessend - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: : Sehr langsam - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Ausserst langsam - Anton Webern
6 Bagatellen, op.9: Fliessend - Anton Webern
String quartet, op.28: Massig - Anton Webern
String quartet, op.28: Gemachlich - Anton Webern
String quartet, op.28: Sehr fliessend - Anton Webern

Tracks:

Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Allegretto gioviale - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Andante amoroso - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Allegro misterioso - Trio estatico - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Adagio appassionato - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Presto delirando - Tenebroso - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
Lyric Suite for String Quartet: Largo desolato - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
String Quartet, Op.3: Langsam - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN
String Quartet, Op.3: Massige Viertel - SCHOENBERG/BERG/WEBERN

Customer Reviews:

An essential collection.......2005-07-12

This collection of music for string quartet by the Second Viennese School can now be said to have classical status. The LaSalle Quartet succeed fully in communicating the emotional, spiritual and intellectual depths the three composers of this school -Schönberg, Berg and Webern - commanded. Above all, these composers were through and through Viennese and these recordings show just how much their music grew out a continuum with the tradition handed down to them from Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms.

First of all take the Second String Quartet by Schönberg with its fusion of the Quartet with the Lied. I have heard several versions of this, but none more beautiful than that sung by Margaret Price here. The otherworldly introspection and subtly visionary qualities of the music come across abundently. Yet at every moment the sense of the inheritance of the Viennese tradition remains omnipresent in the writing. Adorno thought this was the greatest thing Schönberg ever wrote and more than any other interpretion this one shows why Adorno might have thought that. It is a work of transcendent beauty that will appeal to lot of listeners, especially those who normally find Second Viennese School 'too difficult'. To have this along with the entire set of four quartets plus works by Berg and Webern is truly an embarrassment of riches!

The Webern pieces here are characterised by the Angst ridden darkness of their mood as well as their poignant brevity. These works were composed at a time when nearly every work was a response to the death of his mother - an event of enormous emotional impact for Webern. In this sense, the autobiographical elements recall the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, of whose music Webern was a powerful interpreter. Indeed, Berg even called him the greatest Mahler conductor since Mahler.

The thing that really makes this recording an essential set for every serious music lover's collection is the very substantial booklet that comes with this set. It is virtually a book rather than a booklet and is highly authoratative. I can only praise Deutsche Gramophon for maintaining their availability.

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST REALIZATIONS OF THE SECOND VIENNESE!!.......2005-01-31

I can't believe this set is out of print: QUICKLY buy it from a Marketplace vendor!!

It's really the best set of realizations of the Second Viennese School's essays in that most important of art-music genres, the string quartet. The LaSalle SQ's razor-sharp, crystal-clear interpretations of these exquisite oeuvre have not been surpassed.

Highly recommended!

Best chamber music ever from the so-called "atonal" school!.......2004-10-01

Arnold Schoenberg complained towards the end of his life that he had been forever saddled with the label of the man who had invented the so-called twelve-tone system of composition. He emphasized he was a composer first and foremost and the methods he employed were irrelevant to the discussion, and he was right. Tonal or atonal or twelve-tone, his music, together with that of his students and colleagues Alban Berg and Anton von Webern, was that of profound beauty and brilliance and wonder. The LaSalle Quartet brings to life almost a dozen works here: the four numbered Quartets by Schoenberg as well as an early work in that form he had written; Berg's early Quartet Op. 3 and the Lyric Suite; Webern's Five Pieces and Six Bagatelles for Quartet and the Quartet Op. 28 plus an early Slow Movement for Quartet, almost a one-movement Quartet in itself. The performances are unsurpassed and absolutely nobody who enjoys music from the 20th Century should be without this in their collection of chamber music. I first heard this while it was available on LP 28 years ago. It was stunning then and it is stunning now.

this is one of the best.......2000-06-17

This recording has been in the catalogue for a long time and has won numerous awards in Europe, and deservedly so. Artistically they can stand comparison with any of their competitors, including the old mono set of the Schoenberg quartets done by the Hollywood Quartet as a gift to the composer (for which he added a note of thanks and admiration). The sound quality has always been very fine. The documentation is equal in length and depth of analysis to a short book and is worthy of 6 stars. The original release on LPs, when I first heard it, was packaged in a large box set that would normally have been sufficient to contain the complete Beethoven symphonies; the extra room was needed just for the booklet. This is not easy music but is definitely worth the effort. Highest recommendation.

"Webern a la Schubert".......2000-01-05

The much underrated LaSalle Quartet gives loving performances in this now famous box-set. This quartet was long known for it's interpretations of the music of the Second Viennese School, and it's good to have these performances remain in the catalogue. Important also is the inclusion of the fascinating (and lengthy) theoretical study in the booklet.

Tracks:

Kolisch Quartet - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt I Massig - Kolisch Quartet
MVT 2 Sehr Rasch - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 3 Litanei Langsam - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 4 Entrueckung - Kolisch Quartet
Schoenberg - Kolisch Quartet

Tracks:

Mvt I Moderato - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 2 Adagio - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 3 Intermezzo, Allegro Moderato - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 4 Rondo, Molto Moderato - Kolisch Quartet
Schoenberg Speaks - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt I Allegro Molto Energico - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 2 Comodo - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 3 Largo - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 4 Allegro - Kolisch Quartet

Tracks:

Mvt 1 Moderato - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 2 Adagio - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 3 Intermezzo - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 4 Rondo, Molto Moderato - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt I Allegro Gioviale - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt Andante Amoroso - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 3 Allegro Misterioso. Trio Estatico - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 4 Adagio Appassionato - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 5 Presto Delirando Tenebroso - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 6 Largo Desolato - Pro Arte Quartet

Tracks:

Mvt 1 Poco Allegro - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 2 Adante Grazioso - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 3 Finale. Allegro - Pro Arte Quartet
Kolisch Interview - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt I Temp Di Ciaccona - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 2 Fuga. Risoluto, Non Troppo Vivo - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 3 Melodia. Adagio - Pro Arte Quartet
Mvt 4 Presto - Pro Arte Quartet

Tracks:

Mvt I Allegro - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 2 Adagio Molto - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 3 Scherzo - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 4 Andante - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 5 Finale. Allegro Vivace - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Schoenberg: Fantasie, Op.47 - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt I Allegro Molto - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 2 Intermezzo. Andantino Grazioso - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 3 Andante Con Moto - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 4 Allegro/ Presto - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin

Tracks:

Mvt I Heftig Bewegt - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 2 Sehr Langsam - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 3 Sehr Bewegt - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 4 Sehr Langsam - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt 5 in Zarter Bewegung - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
I Massig - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
II Leichtbewegt - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
III Ziemlich Fliessend - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
IV Sehr Langsam - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
V Ausserst Langsam - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
VI Fliessend - Pro Arte Quartet Of the University Of Wisconsin
Mvt ! Adagio - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 2 Adagio - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 3 Allegro - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 4 Andante - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 5 Menuetto - Kolisch Quartet
Mvt 6 Andante Molto- Allegro - Kolisch Quartet

Customer Reviews:

Historical Documents For Specialists & Collectors.......2005-06-17

This Music & Arts CD set (6 discs for the price of four) contains what can be rightly regarded as "urtext" performances of Schoenberg, Berg, Webern and Bartok. It is in honor of a modern music pioneer, Rudolph Kolisch (1896-1978), the Austrian violinist whose sister was married to Schoenberg. Due to an accident as a boy that cost him about half the middle finger on his left hand, Kolisch became a violinist who bowed with his left hand and played with his right. Obviously he could not play in an orchestra without inflicting damage, so Kolisch dedicated his career to chamber music, primarily of the New Vienna School.

Amazon has only displayed the musical tracks here without identifying the works. There is so much here that I can only address the contents with brief remarks. Despite extremely variable sound, there are some genuine treasures in this set. They will surely appeal to anyone who is interested in the history of performance practice and in hearing how Kolisch and his associates interpreted these works, several of which they premiered. This set comes with a 47 page booklet that includes an appreciation of Kolisch by pianist Russell Sherman (who studied with Schoenberg pupil Eduard Steuermann), an encylopedic and illuminating essay by Tully Potter on the Kolisch Quartet (and the later Pro Arte Quartet led by Kolisch), and extensive notes on the music itself, much of it written by another Schoenberg pupil (conductor Rene Leibowitz).

CDs 1 & 2 contain the first-ever 1936-37 recordings of Schoenberg's four string quartets (composed 1905, 1908, 1927 & 1936) by the Kolisch Quartet (Rudolf Kolisch, Felix Khuner, Eugen Lehner, and Benar Heifetz, with soprano Clemence Gifford in #2). Included are two brief speeches by Schoenberg. These recordings were sponsored by the wealthy film composer Alfred Newman for the purpose of preserving Schoenberg's works and Kolisch's interpretations for posterity. They were issued on private edition 78 rpm discs, and (not mentioned in the notes) they were briefly available on 4 ALCO LPs in the 1950's. I saw that extremely rare set for the first time recently in San Franciso at a collector shop that has a thriving mail-order business overseas. The asking price: $500! So if the music interests you, this M&A set is a genuine bargain! These performances have also been issued on the Swiss CD label Archiphon, but reportedly the transfers are poorly-pitched and overly-filtered.

CD 3 has 1950 recordings of Schoenberg's 3rd Quartet and Berg's Lyric Suite by the Pro Arte Quartet of the Univ. of Wisconsin (Kolisch, Rahier, Milofsky, & Fiedlander) that were once on the Dial LP label.

CD 4 features a "live" 1967 recording of the Schoenberg Violin Concerto with Kolisch and the Wisconsin Festival Orchestra conducted by Leibowitz, an 8 minute interview with Kolisch, and a 1966 live Kolisch performance of the Bartok Sonata for Solo Violin (I regard this disc as an utterly essential item). My other favorites here: Krasner/Mitropoulos (Columbia LP) in the Schoenberg, and Robert Mann's incredible Bartok (available on the internet for $17 from Bartok Records).

CD 5 has a 1945 recording of the Pro Arte Quartet playing Bartok's 5th String Quartet, a 1966 account of the Schoenberg Fantasie (Kolisch with pianist Gunnar Johansen), and the early & unnumbered (1897) Schoenberg String Quartet in D major (Pro Arte Quartet 1952). The latter work is atypical: it sounds very Brahmsian, with a dash of Dvorakian melody tossed in.

CD 6 has three 1950 Pro Arte items that were originally on Dial LPs: Webern's Five Movements for String Quartet op. 5 and Six Bagatelles for String Quartet op. 9, plus a "live" 1940 reading by the Kolisch Quartet & friends of Schubert's Octet. The latter is rather poorly-played and utterly lacks the old world charm of the wonderful Vienna Konzerthaus (Preiser CD).

My own journey to appreciating Schoenberg was a rocky climb. My piano teacher (from age 9 to age 18) regarded Schoenberg as the Devil incarnate who ruined Western music. I also studied viola for a few years with a teacher who held Schoenberg in utter contempt. And my college girlfriend's viola teacher was Robert Gross (a Hindemith pupil), and he was no Schoenberg fan either. But in 1970 I heard Lorin Maazel & the New Philharmonia (on my first visit to Carnegie Hall) perform the Op. 31 Variations for Orchestra, and I was simply astonished at the work's power & genius. In general, I find Berg & Webern easier to listen to, but Schoenberg's music in sympathetic performances is quite simply superb.

Probably the easiest place to start is with Schoenberg's tonal works like Verklarte Nacht (try Stokowski's on a Bridge CD or the original sextet version by the Hollywood Quartet on Testament), his Chamber Symphonies (#1 with Scherchen on Tahra, and #2 with Prausnitz on EMI - see my review of the latter), and Gurrelieder (my favorite is still the old Leibowitz on Preiser CD, despite rough playing & mono sound - its wonderful singers included Richard Lewis and Ethel Semser). Unfortunately, my favorite performance of the marvelous "Pierrot Lunaire" (Semser with Leibowitz) is on a long-gone Westminster LP. The piano works are also very gratifying, especially as done by Steurermann (Columbia LP), Jacobs (Nonesuch CD), and Helffer (a superb Harmonia Mundi 3-CD set that also has piano pieces by Debussy & Bartok).

While the sound of this M&A set is saddled with often noisy originals (the best-sounding items are the ones taken from Dial LPs), the performances here are revelatory. Once heard several times, the Schoenberg string quartets are very nearly as accessible as Bartok's (although the latter's are resolutely tonal, and their over-all superiority is, to my ears, partly a function of greater rhythmic drive & folk music elements). The dreamy and haunting Quartet #2 is unique for its use of a soprano voice (excellently sung here). All in all, I still prefer the greater virtuosity of the Juilliard Quartet's magnificent 1950's set (with soprano Uta Graf) on wonderful-sounding mono Columbia LPs that disgracefully remain in LP limbo. But I DEFINITELY will keep these Kolisch readings. Likewise, I still prefer the Juilliard's recordings of the Bartok Quartets from 1950 (Pearl CD - see my review) & from 1963 (out of print Columbia LPs). The Juilliard's Schoenberg & Bartok cycles strike me as the very finest modern music quartet recordings ever made.

The Berg Lyric Suite here joins the extraordinary 1936 Galimir Quartet's (coupled on a Testament CD with Louis Krasner's greatest-ever Berg Violin Concerto, with the BBC Symphony conducted by Anton Webern) and the mono RCA LP version with the Juilliard as the work's finest-ever accounts. I have never heard Schoenberg's Violin Concerto sound so ingratiatingly like Berg's concerto as it is here with Kolisch & Leibowitz (despite rather poor sound and occasional slips by Kolisch - he was age 70!). And Bartok's solo violin sonata, played with the last mvt. microtone harmonics that were edited out by Menuhin (who commissioned it) is spellbinding, despite some rough playing (it reminds me of Enesco's mesmerizing Bach recorded when he was old and suffering from arthritis). The interview with Kolisch about this last work is fascinating.

If you have difficulty in digesting the 12-tone method, as many people do, here's a simple suggestion: buy or rent the DVD of Nicholas Ray's superb film "Rebel Without A Cause," starring the short-lived James Dean. It's visually brilliant (Ray's use of the color red is downright iconic) and the music, especially in the Planetarium sequence, is utterly riveting. The film's music was composed by Leonard Rosenman (pupil of Schoenberg & Sessions), and nearly the entire score is in the manner of Berg and Schoenberg! Gorgeous recorded excerpts from Rebel & Rosenman's score for East of Eden can be heard on a Nonesuch CD (see my review). Another illuminating resource is the 2002 book "Arnold Schoenberg's Journey" by Allen Shawn (available at Amazon).

This set's old sound will likely be of limited appeal to general listeners. But for collectors & specialists in this music, what is heard here will be an enduring source of wonder and inspiration.

Highly recommended to the curious few.

Jeff Lipscomb

Berg: Lyric Suite; Violin Concerto; Lulu-Suite

Average customer rating:

Berg: Lyric Suite; Violin Concerto; Lulu-Suite

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000NPCMI0
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

I: Praludium, Langsam - Bamberger Symphoniker
II: Reigen. Anfangs Etwas Zogernd-Leicht Beschwingt - Bamberger Symphoniker
III: Marsch. Massiges Marschtempo - Bamberger Symphoniker
I: Andante-Allegretto - Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
II: Allegro-Adagio - Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
I: Rondo: Andante Und Hymne - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
II: Ostinato: Allegro - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
III: Lied Der Lulu: Comodo - Arleen Auger
IV: Variationen: Moderato - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
V: Adagio - Arleen Auger

Tracks:

I: Nacht - Matthias Pintscher
II: Schilflied - Matthias Pintscher
III: Die Nachtigall - Matthias Pintscher
IV: Traumgekront - Matthias Pintscher
V: Im Zimmer - Matthias Pintscher
VI: Liebesode - Matthias Pintscher
VII: Sommertage - Matthias Pintscher
Piano Sonata Op.1 - Peter Donohoe
I: Massig - Sabine Meyer
II: Sehr Langsam - Sabine Meyer
III: Sehr Rasch - Sabine Meyer
IV: Langsam - Sabine Meyer
Interlude - Ingo Metzmacher
I: Allegretto Gioviale - Alban Berg Quartett
II: Andante Amoroso - Alban Berg Quartett
III: Allegro Misterioso - Alban Berg Quartett
IV: Adagio Appassionato - Alban Berg Quartett
V: Presto Delirando - Alban Berg Quartett
VI: Largo Desolato - Alban Berg Quartett

Album Description

Specially priced 2-CD set in space-saving brilliant box with accompanying three-language booklet. Digitally remastered to the highest standards at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios.

Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony; Berg: Three Pieces for the "Lyric Suite"; Five Orchestra Songs

Average customer rating:

Buy this CD. Now. What are you waiting for?
Powerful Lyrical Symphony

Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony; Berg: Three Pieces for the "Lyric Suite"; Five Orchestra Songs

Manufacturer: Arte Nova Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Lyric Symphony IN Seven Songs Op. 18: I.
Lyric Symphony IN Seven Songs Op. 18: II.
Lyric Symphony In Seven Songs: III.
Lyric Symphony In Seven Songs: IV.
Lyric Symphony IN Seven Songs Op. 18: V.
Lyric Symphony IN Seven Songs Op. 18: VI. - VII.
Three Pieces From The 'Lyric Suite': II. Andante amoroso
Three Pieces From The 'Lyric Suite': III. Allegro misterioso - Trio estatico
Three Pieces From The 'Lyric Suite': IV. Adagio appassionato
Five Orchestral Songs After Texts From Postcards Op. 4: I.
Five Orchestral Songs After Tests From Postcards Op. 4: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var. IX: Andante flebile, ma non tanto
Five Orchestral Songs After Texts From Postcards Op. 4: III.
Five Orchestral Songs After Texts From Postcards Op. 4: IV.
Five Orchestral Songs After Texts From Postcards Op. 4: V.

Customer Reviews:

Buy this CD. Now. What are you waiting for?.......2001-11-13

To be perfectly honest, I bought this CD for the Berg pieces on the disc. In fact, at the time of purchase, I had never heard any of Zemlinsky's music before. After listening to the disc, however, I have decided that Alexander Zemlinsky is all too ignored on today's concert music scene. THis is an excellent performance by the SWF Orchestra and the baritone James Johnson. Mr. Johnson is definitely right on target in this performance, although the soprano leaves a small bit to be desired in the Symphony, but she more than makes up for her deficiencies in the Berg orchestral song cycle also included on the disc.

So buy this CD. The price is mind-numbingly low, so what do you really have to lose anyway? Honestly, I would happily pay four times that amount for this CD.

Powerful Lyrical Symphony.......2000-10-25

Gielen is always an interesting conductor. In many ways, I find his work much more stimulating than the bigger names that are taking the helm of the major US ensembles.

Such is the case here: Zemlinsky's score is unabashedly bombastically romantic. Gielen has taken his very good SWF orchestra to new heights in this performance: the lushness and beauty of the playing leaves no room for apologies and should cause the Big Guys to take note. The soloists are excellent, as is the choir. But the interpretation is one to remember. In fact, that's what I remember the most, not Zemlisnky's music! If it's been awhile since you were excited about a recorded performance, this one could do the trick. And you'll laugh maniacally after realizing how little you spent to acquire the recording!

Berg: Complete String Quartets
Average customer rating:

The dancer from the dance

Fair performance

Another Excellent Disc from the Leipzig String Quartet...

Berg: Complete String Quartets
Alban Berg , Anton Webern , Christiane Oelze , and Leipzig String Quartet
Manufacturer: MD&G Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by Berg | Berg, Alban | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by Webern | Webern, Anton von | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Hindemith: Complete String Quartets

Berg: Chamber Concerto; Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6; Violin Concerto

Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra

Alban Berg: Lulu Suite/The Wine/Lyric Suite

Schoenberg: The String Quartets

ASIN: B00005043G
Release Date: 2000-11-28

Tracks:

Str Qt, Op.3: Langsam
Str Qt, Op.3: Massige Viertel
Lyrische Ste: Allegretto Gioviale
Lyrische Ste: Andante Amoroso
Lyrische Ste: Allegro Misterioso
Lyrische Ste: Adagio Appassionato
Lyrische Ste: Presto Delirando
Lyrische Ste: Largo Desolato
Three Pieces: Bewegt
Lyrische Ste: Langsam
Nicht Zu Langsam

Customer Reviews:

The dancer from the dance.......2007-05-10

With taste in music being of infinite variety, anyone has the right to dislike any given piece of music. But to villify a recorded performance because of dislike the music, as one reviewer here has done, is patently inappropriate and unfair. These are magnificent performances, magnificently recorded. The Leipgiz Quartet's is probably the best recording ever made of Berg's Lyric Suite. So if you love and admire this music, or if you're interested in learning it, don't be disuaded by someone who does not distinguish between the music and a recorded performance of that music. Your investment in this disc will be well-spent.

Fair performance.......2007-02-08

Much better is The La Salle on the DG 8 cd set. La Salle gets at the essence of the music. Wish I could say more on the Leipzig performance, I sold the cd last yr after being disappointed. Can't recall specific, but knew was not very well performaed. The La Salle takes one on a wonderful journey into Berg's intreguing sound world.

Another Excellent Disc from the Leipzig String Quartet..........2005-01-31

Berg's String Quartet, Op. 3 has always been a favorite of mine, and here it is finely realized by the Leipzig SQ on the wonderful MD&G label. Highly recommended, as are all the recordings by Leipzig SQ of music of the Second Viennese School.

Alban Berg: Lulu Suite/The Wine/Lyric Suite

Average customer rating:

superb Berg, superb Boulez
Faster than Karajan, but with equal understanding
Powerful Expressionism

Alban Berg: Lulu Suite/The Wine/Lyric Suite

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Berg: Chamber Concerto; Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6; Violin Concerto
Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra
Schoenberg - Die Glückliche Hand · Variations for Orchestra, Op.31 · Verklärte Nacht / Nimsgern · BBC Orch. · NY Phil. · Boulez
Arnold Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 29, for 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello & Piano / Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (Sextet for 2 Violins, 2 Violas & 2 Celli) - Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez
Jessye Norman Sings Alban Berg

ASIN: B000002702
Release Date: 1991-01-14

Customer Reviews:

superb Berg, superb Boulez.......2005-08-26

This is yet another recording that I am finally getting around to hearing on the occasion of Pierre Boulez's 80th birthday year, a superb entry in Sony's PIERRE BOULEZ series, with Boulez leading the New York Philharmonic. The most surprising aspect to me is finding that the "Lulu Suite" is mainly instrumental! Only one movement of five features Judith Blegen's soprano, the "Song of Lulu." So the main vocal feature on the disc is Jessye Norman's soprano on "The Wine," which sets to music verses of Baudelaire from "Les Fleurs du mal."

All three works use the 12-tone system created by Schoenberg. Berg is widely seen as the most listener-friendly of the Second Vienna School, and this music, while not as accessible as Mahler, has dramatic contours and lush orchestration that confirm that reputation. The story of the "Lulu Suite" is worth repeating -- Berg could not get the opera "Lulu" performed, as it was banned by the Nazis as "degenerate art." The suite was slipped past the censors by Erich Kleiber, who conducted the first performance in Berlin on November 30th, 1934. "Lulu" was left incomplete by Berg at his death in 1935, and parts of Act III existed with full scoring only in the "Suite." Friedrich Cerha only reconstructed the complete "Lulu" years later, and Boulez conducted the complete version for the first time in 1979, which was recorded, and was just reissued by DG.

"The Wine" was written concurrently with "Lulu," and not surprisingly the music is roughly similar, with Weill-like jazz elements, so it fits perfectly with the "Suite." Finally, the orchestral arrangement of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th movements of the "Lyric Suite," Berg's 12-tone string quartet, provides a fascinating contrast to the chamber version. A hidden love song, the "Lyric Suite" is famously the musical story of the unconsummated romance between the married Berg and a married woman. The Adagio appassionato, originally the fourth movement, here becomes the last movement, and so the work ends with tragic love in full flower, whereas in the full string quartet, the last two movements represent the parting and resignation that follow.

A gem, another splendid contribution by Boulez to spreading the word of the Second Vienna School, the cornerstone of modern music!

Faster than Karajan, but with equal understanding.......2002-07-14

A wonderful Lulu suite. An exquisite Der Wein. And selections from the Lyric Suite done to perfection. Indeed a stellar Berg disc. I was used to the Lyric Suite pieces in the Karajan version (still not to be missed)with their languid and lush textures, but Boulez is just as good in his own way if more up-tempo. Highly recommendable.

Powerful Expressionism.......2000-12-28

This is gut-wrenching stuff. Berg's music may be complex, but the impact of pieces like these is immediate and powerful. This recording of the Lulu-Suite, one of Berg's last pieces, is particularly startling--those who call Pierre Boulez' conducting "cold" have probably never heard this disc. I have hardly been more satisfied with any disc of classical music than I have with these performances.

Schoenberg, Berg, Webern: Orchestral Works / Karajan

Average customer rating:

Ridiculously overrated
Superlative recordings of innovative yet inspired music!
sold enough copies to equal the height of the eiffel tower
It's not the Beatles, It's Modern Mania courtesy of Karajan
A seductive invitation to the Second Viennese School

Schoenberg, Berg, Webern: Orchestral Works / Karajan

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Pelleas und Melisande / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Schoenberg: The String Quartets
Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra
Berg: Violin Concerto; Schoenberg: Piano Concerto; Violin Concerto
Berg: Chamber Concerto; Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6; Violin Concerto

ASIN: B000031WYL
Release Date: 2000-01-11

Tracks:

Passacaglia fur Orchester Op. 1
Drei Stucke aus der 'Lyrischen Suite': 2. Andante amoroso
Drei Stucke aus der 'Lyrischen Suite': 3. Allegro misterioso
Drei Stucke aus der 'Lyrischen Suite': 4. Adagio appassionato
Drei Orchesterstucke Op. 6: 1. Praludium Langsam
Drei Orchesterstucke Op. 6: 2. Reigen. Anfangs etwas zogernd - Leicht beschwingt
Drei Orchesterstucke Op. 6: 3. Marsch. Massiges Marschtempo
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Intoduktion. Massig, ruhig
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Thema. Molto moderato
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation I. Moderato
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation II. Langsam
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation III. Massig
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation IV. Walzertempo
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation V. Bewegt
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation VI. Andante
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation VII. Langsam
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation VIII. Sehr rasch
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Variation IX. L'istesso tempo; aber etwas langsamer
Variationen fur Orchester Op. 31: Finale. Massig schnell

Customer Reviews:

Ridiculously overrated.......2007-06-02

Why this recording has received one rave review after another over the years is beyond comprehension. Karajan's Webern Passacaglia sounds like an arrangement for Lawrence Welk. The Schoenberg is unnaturally recorded, with the sections of the orchestra actually moved into new seating arrangements for each variation. Plus, a bothersome pre-echo is noticeable throughout. As for Berg's Three Pieces for Orchestra, even renowned critic and Karajan fan Richard Osborne admits the performance is "perhaps too free a paraphrase of Berg's text." Paraphrase? Of music so exact, so precise? If you think this is what Berg's Three Pieces is supposed to sound like, please listen to Abbado or Boulez or Michael Gielen instead.

Superlative recordings of innovative yet inspired music!.......2007-03-14

It helps with this recording (brilliantly done by Deutsche-Grammophon Gesellschaft) that the ensemble are no less than the grand Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of the late Herbert von Karajan!!!

The music-making and obvious commitment of everybody to this music is what throughout carries the day with what at times is downright-FORBIDDING music!! [Particularly here apparently-begging for a severe citation are the Schoenberg Variations of Opus 31 - at times {notably the end} it sounds as if the composer was really out to drive people away! I apologise for being so harsh (maybe on repeated listenings this music yet may win me over the way the Webern Op.1 and the Berg Op.6 have), but that's the way yours truly feels as of now...] Still, Karajan has managed to pierce through to the essence thereof and conveys its inspiration, textures, polyphony, melodic fragments, etc. with obvious love! No less important are the glorious sonorities with which the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra endows these pieces (and which helps in getting the messages of these pieces across all the more readily!) - surely the composers would have been more than pleased!

Most certainly much of this music is almost impossible to digest on one hearing for practically everybody (with the Berg Op.6 and the Webern Op.1 {the latter still tonal, which helps!} being the most accessible of all). It requires several hearings (for some no doubt MANY repeated trials!) before its secrets will finally come to the fore - and most certainly there is NO other recording of these works that humanises and beautifies (yet without cheating via changing of any notes, rhythms, dynamics, etc.!) these masterpieces!!! An absolute must for all Modernist-music lovers as well as for all musicians (in fact, it's a must for ALL who have ears to hear!)! Five stars out of five - and then some!

sold enough copies to equal the height of the eiffel tower.......2006-06-02

This celebrated boxed set must've been something of a milestone when it was first released in the early seventies,bringing this marvellous music to a wider audience.Karajan boasted that it quickly sold enough copies to equal the height of the Eiffel Tower.
Ok,Karajan may not have been the greatest of intellects but instinct can go a long way, and he seems very well attuned to the Second Viennese School (unlike Stravinsky/Bartok which seemed a mismatch) whether it's the glacial pianissimos of Webern's 6 Orchestral Pieces or the grim premonitions of Berg's 3 Orchestral Pieces.Certainly,i don't detect any superficial gloss or smoothing out of the textures.
Strongly recommended,even if you normally give atonal music a wide berth.

It's not the Beatles, It's Modern Mania courtesy of Karajan.......2005-12-18

People love to hate Serialism and they have good reason for doing so. Serialism forced classical music into a backwater that it's been trying to get out of for decades. Minimalism, electronic music, neo-romanticism have all had their relative success but the prevailing mood of thought is still that modern music must inherently be dissonant and repugnant to human ears.
People of more populist, mainstream musical thought don't even consider these kind of compositions, on this CD, music at all. That's sad for them but it's also sad for modern music connoisseurs to still advocate serial methods in the 21st century, which is totally false and laughable, even Schoenberg would be bored by now. We have to understand that Webern perfected the 12 tone method and beyond him composers should find their own voices, get rid of that straightjacket.

I have misgivings about Arvo Part, John Adams and others, but at least they tried and are still trying to give classical music, aka real music, relevancy in an age of Britney Spears and Ludacris. The Second Viennese School practically succeeded in making real music irrelevant to the public. Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Bartok, Stravinsky and R. Strauss kept the torch of real art alive in the 20th century, an age of musical manifestos and authoritarian blowhards like Pierre Boulez.

Nonetheless, let's judge the works on this CD for what they are, an exploration of music into new, mostly uncharted waters.
Webern's Passacaglia, op.1 is an amazing work. This was Karajan's favorite work of the Second Vienna School, I believe, and he gives it the kind of shock power and resonance I did not find in the cool headed approach by Boulez. Great music for horror films, right? Of course this applies to all the works on this disc. Berg's Lyric Suite evokes dark hallways, corridors of suspense, eerie graveyards. Film composers have been ripping off modern composers for ages you know. The Three Pieces for Orchestra are awesome under Karajan, especially that quasi-Mahlerian march of the last movement. It's the craziest, most difficult work written by this trio of composers. The final work is the Variations for Orchestra by Schoenberg, a work that has fascinated Karajan for sometime. The liner notes state that Karajan reseated the orchestra for every variation to get the right sound, clarity and balance that this rigid music requires. A reviewer below states that clarity is sometimes obscured throughout. Perhaps he's right, if he likes the reductionist approach of Boulez, feel free to get that. However Karajan seems to interpret these works as more than just intellectual exercises. We all know that Schoenberg and Berg were die-hard late Romantics who cloathed themselves in modernist garb, they are still infected by Wagner, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss, whether they like to admit it ( in the case of Mahler ) or not. Even Anton Webern, who later went on to develop his tiny micro-universes, still had trace matter of the late romantic temperment. So, is it so wrong for Karajan to perhaps expose these undercurrents more readily than other conductors? Karajan can be just as icy as Boulez but Boulez can never be as warm as Karajan which in my mind makes Karajan an infinitely greater conductor because of his more expansive view of musical interpretation.

This CD should be part of your collection, fascinating but difficult works of music, great sound, the best orchestra in the world, led by one of a kind conductor.

A seductive invitation to the Second Viennese School.......2005-11-24

One of the pleasures of this superb collection is that an untutored listener can start with the first item, Webern's Passacaglia Op. 1, and feel more or less at home with its familiar post-Mahler idiom. Then by stages Karajan leads our ears deeper into the revolutionary heart of the Second Viennese School.

For me the apex of enjoyment was the central work, Berg's Three Pieces, which here are performed with all the richness and impact of Mahler. My ear can't follow Berg's 12-tone argument, but I am riveted by his overwhelming grip on emotion and drama. The music is harder to listen to than Wozzeck but is cut from the same Expressionist cloth. Finally, I was faced with the least accessible work, Schoenberg's Variations, but by that time the atonal world didn't sound so eerie or aggressively foreign and I could derive pleasure from surrendering to one of the most amazing sound worlds any composer has ever imagined. Superb sonics, by the way, to go with the high-voltage, totally committed performances.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

Odyssey [Import]

Dussek: Chamber Music with piano

Georg Philipp Telemann: Musique De Table Vol. 4 (Part III)

Agharta [Live]

Give Me Your Love [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]

Dreams

Gongolo [Import]

Episode

Houston Party V.7 [Import]

Giovanni Gabrieli: Music For San Rocco

Hank Mobley [Import] [Limited Edition]

El Arrollador

Coleccion de Oro

Anne Queffélec Plays Mozart

Stained Class