Verklärte Nacht

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht opens this stimulating program of 20th century pieces for string orchestra. It's an expansion of a piece originally written for a string sextet. Most performances by a larger ensemble, whether in concert or on disc, are overblown, with muddy textures. Not here. Zehetmair and the excellent Swiss players give an interpretation notable for its transparency as well as its intensity and wide dynamic range (characteristics shared by the other works on this superbly recorded disc). The Bartók Divertimento features playing of consummate polish and a concentrated power rarely heard in this work. The novelty is Veress's Four Transylvanian Dances. Despite the title, it's no lighthearted romp; Veress, like his mentor, Bartók, clothes serious purpose in folkish clothes. The Hungarian melodies lend a lighthearted touch to the second movement, but the opening Lassu conveys pathos; the finale is based on fierce, stomping rhythms that reach beyond mere village dances; and the longest movement is a solemn, nostalgia-drenched, slow movement. --Dan Davis

Verklärte Nacht, Music, Bela Bartok, Arnold Schoenberg, Sandor Veress, Camerata Bern, Thomas Zehetmair, 20th/21st Century Occasional Music, 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Dance/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Orchestra, Orchestral

Schoenberg: Transfigured Night
Average customer rating:

2 very distinct eras of Schoenberg...

Excellent performance of fantastic music

Excellent playing of two great masterpieces

Fine Playing

Masterpiece is right

Schoenberg: Transfigured Night

Manufacturer: Sony
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Binding: Audio CD

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Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Pelleas und Melisande / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra

ASIN: B0000027PI
Release Date: 1993-01-12

Tracks:

Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 - Transfigured Night: Sehr langsam
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 - Transfigured Night: Breiter
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 - Transfigured Night: Schwer betont
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 - Transfigured Night: Sehr breit und langsam
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 - Transfigured Night: Sehr ruhig
String Trio, Op. 45: Part 1
String Trio, Op. 45: 1st Episode
String Trio, Op. 45: Part 2
String Trio, Op. 45: 2nd Episode
String Trio, Op. 45: Part 3

Customer Reviews:

2 very distinct eras of Schoenberg..........2005-08-08

This CD presents an opportunity to hear Schoenberg's justly famous and beautiful "Verklärte Nacht" in its original score for string sextet (the relatively more lush arrangement Schoenberg wrote for chamber orchestra - in 1917 and updated in 1943 - typically receives more performances in recordings and concert halls). Here the nuances of the piece along with its gorgeous harmonies, melodies, and counter melodies explode and reveal themselves more so than in the later re-arranged versions. "Verklärte Nacht" stands as one of the greatest achievements of early twentieth century music. As many have pointed out, it stands on the threshold of romanticism and the "new" tonalities of the twentieth century. Schoenberg experimented with dissonance in this piece and disturbed audiences at the time (though audiences today may wonder what was so offensive). In sextet, these dissonances have slightly more punch and are not as hidden behind a curtain of strings. Not only that, the piece still maintains its emotional impact even at this level of instrumentation.

The other piece on this disc journeys to the later half of Schoenberg's life. Schoenberg wrote "Verklärte Nacht" in 1899 near the beginning of his composing career (it carries the very early Opus number 4, which makes it even more remarkable). In contrast, the String Trio was written in 1946. The intervening years development between the Opus 4 and the Opus 45 shout forth rather saliently. The String Trio utilizes Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique. It is a wild piece, and a masterpiece of its genre. It followed a traumatic event in Schoenberg's late life. When he was 72 he suffered a severe asthma attack that caused his heart to stop. He had to be revived with an injection directly into his heart. A couple days of delirium followed. Schoenberg said that this trio played out the entire event musically (and called it his "delirium trio"). Just where the specific events occur in the piece are left to speculation, but nonetheless the story fits the mood of this incredible work.

This disc presents two incredible works of Schoenberg and also showcases his amazing development through the twentieth century by pure contrast of the works alone. And best of all, each piece receives an incredible performance from the always amazing Juilliard String Quartet (with two guests: the inimitable Yo-Yo Ma on Cello and Walter Trampler on viola).

Excellent performance of fantastic music.......2005-06-26

Let me be the first to say that I am not a fan of 12-tone and other "modern" music. The first time I heard Verklaerte Nacht, I remember preparing myself to suffer through the first part of the concert. To my surprise, what emerged was music on a par with Brahms and Mahler at their most lush. Later I worked on this piece with a sextet and found it amazing that something so chromatic and rhythmically complex on paper could come out sounding so gorgeous (when, that is, we were able to execute it half-decently - it is a difficult work)... the Trio, despite its clearly non-Romantic nature, grows on one...

This ensemble pulls it off beautifully, energetically and coherently, making this disc a necessary addition to the classical music library.

Excellent playing of two great masterpieces.......2004-12-24

I'll start out talking about the last work first, but please read the whole review. The String Trio Op.45 is one of the great works of the genre. One might see it in several ways. If one is tied to a "traditional" sense of melody and tonality, this piece is probably perplexing. For those who enjoy exploring new possibilities in sound, this is one of the most imaginitive works you could ever listen to - there's a surprise around every corner, and it's amazing that so many sounds come out of 3 instruments.
Verklarte Nacht is from much earlier in Schoenberg's career, during the last flowerings of the Post-Romantic style. This recording gives us the original string sextet version. I think the solo playing allows Schoenberg's beautiful melodies to sing much more than in the more commonly recorded string orchestra arrangement he did himself. While the beauties of the String Trio may take a while for some people to warm up to, Verklarte Nacht is about as "pretty" as you can get, even though you have to work through the turbulent first half before you get to the sweet stuff. And when it's sweet, it's very sweet. Schoenberg didn't take the "transfigured" part lightly. The last half is pure heaven and the coda will send shivers up your spine. It's one of my absolute favorite works.
The performances are wonderful.

Fine Playing.......2003-01-04

The Verklarkte Nacht is an amazing work. The Juilliard Quartet play beutifully with Yo Yo Ma and Walter Trampler on viola. The ensemble meshes wonderfully together. Walter Trampler was a great viola player. He was so musical it is a shame he is gone and not recorded more. Definitely buy this recording. Do not buy the recordings with full orchestra. That is not how the work was meant to be played.

Masterpiece is right.......2001-12-04

(...) I don't understand why people like to attack Schoenberg's early, post-Romantic music. It IS gorgeous and well-written, and can clearly hold its own against the other post-Romantic masterpieces composed (which therefore means that Schoenberg did NOT (...) turn to atonality because he couldn't compose in the post-Romantic style). In terms of performance, you couldn't ask for finer musicians - the Juilliard String Quartet (one of the finest chamber ensembles) blends seamlessly with Walter Trampler and Yo Yo Ma...it's as though they'd been playing together for years! Thus, how can you not argue with a CD that presents excellent music that is performed beautifully? I just don't know. Buy it.

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

Average customer rating:

5 STARS JUST FOR BEING IN PRINT...
A distinctly eclectic Schoenberg collection

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
Garth Knox , Philippe Muller , Pierre-Laurent Aimard , Gerard Causse , Andre Cazalet , Sylvie Gazeau , Jacques Ghestem , and Ensemble Intercontemporain
Manufacturer: Sony
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Berg: Chamber Concerto; Three Orchestral Pieces, Op. 6; Violin Concerto

ASIN: B00000281A
Release Date: 1993-07-13

Tracks:

Suite, Op. 29: Ouvert
Suite, Op. 29: Tanzschritte
Suite, Op. 29: Thema Mit Variationen
Suite, Op. 29: Gigue
Verkle Nacht, Op. 4
3 Pieces for Chamber Orchestra: Rasche Viertel
3 Pieces for Chamber Orchestra: Mge Viertel
3 Pieces for Chamber Orchestra: Gehende Viertel

Customer Reviews:

5 STARS JUST FOR BEING IN PRINT..........2006-01-08

With the dearth of Schoenberg recordings, gotta give this CD 5 stars simply for being in print.

Boulez and the Ensemble Intercontemporain are great. The disc has the Verklrte Nacht curse--that is, nearly every Schoenberg CD has Verklrte Nacht on it! However, this features the original sextet version which is interesting for the timber alone. Cf. Brahms' two string sextets, and Reger's if you can find it!

Other reviewer wrong, however, about the significance of the Suite for septet: it is quintessential Schoenberg and must not be missed.

Razor-sharp 12-tone hardcore work, features curious sonic effects with the three clarinets and specialized techinques with the three stringed instruments: col legno (using the wood of the bow for tapping or bowing on the strings or body of the instrument); glissandi (sliding down the strings); extensive pizzicato (plucking the strings), etc. Noted old binary dance steps give the work the appearance of something like Decadent/Expressionistic Austrian jazz: very scary. And very Schoenbergian.

Get it while you can: cheap price!

A distinctly eclectic Schoenberg collection.......2004-01-13

This disc, one of a number rereleasing Pierre Boulez's 1970s and 1980s recordings of much of Schoenberg's work, forms a rather curious collection. Centred around what is probably Schoenberg's most-played work, the popular Verklärte Nacht (though heard here in the less common version for string sextet), the disc also takes in two of his less-well-known works, the Suite, op 29 (also known as the Septet) and the minute Three Pieces for Chamber Orchestra, never published in the composer's lifetime.

The Suite is one of the more extreme examples of Schoenberg attempting to combine a rigorous treatment of his new serial style with traditional musical forms. Scored for two clarinets, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano, it was written between 1924 and 1926 and is largely based on dance forms. The Overture is in three sections and is often hard-driven, though quieter interludes provide lyric relief. The second movement is vigorous and vibrantly rhythmic, and is entitled Tanzschritte (Dance Steps). The third movement is a wide-ranging set of variations that even takes time to quote a (tonal) song by Silcher, while the finale departs from orthodox serial practice by using the tone row (and its inversion) as the major melodic material. This isn't major Schoenberg, but it's also a much better work than one might think from the bad press it's had in the past. This performance is technically excellent, though I think sometimes Boulez pushes the music a little too hard, leaving it lacking a sense of repose in the slower sections.

The 1899 work Verklärte Nacht is, of course, one of the few pieces of Schoenberg to have become a popular concert hall favourite. Its musical language is luminously post-Brahmsian, and the complex structure of its single movement is easy to relate to models from the past (for example the Wanderer Fantasy, or the Liszt sonata). I prefer the string sextet version recorded here to the later version for string orchestra, but this performance lacks the last edge of lyrical intensity that is so necessary to bring across the work's rather heated emotional atmosphere.

The Three Pieces for Chamber Orchestra were written around 1910 but only found after a search of Schoenberg's papers after his death. Each of them lasts under a minute, and the most interesting is the unfinished third, which bears considerable technical and expressive similarities to the third of the Five Orchestral Pieces.

Tracks:

Die glucklich Hand, Op. 18: Scene I
Die glucklich Hand, Op. 18: Scene II
Die glucklich Hand, Op. 18: Scene III: Kraftig bewegt
Die glucklich Hand, Op. 18: Scene III: Viel rascher. Allegro
Die glucklich Hand, Op. 18: Scene III: Massig bewegt
Die glucklich Hand, Op. 18: Scene IV
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Introduktion. Massig, ruhig
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Thema. Molto moderato
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variation I. Moderato
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variation II. Langsam
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variation III. Massig
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variation IV. Walzertempo
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variation V. Bewegt
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variation VI. Andante
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variation VII. Langsam
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variation VIII. Sehr rasch
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Variatino IX. L'istesso tempo, aber etwas langsamer
Variations For Orchestra, Op. 31: Finale. Massig schnell
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Grave
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Molto rallentando
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Pesante
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Adagio
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Adagio

Amazon.com

This is one of the best discs in this series. The expressionist drama Die Gluckliche Hand is one of Schoenberg's most experimental works, and though the Freudian expressionism is dated, the music is surprisingly enjoyable. The opening minutes create one of Schoenberg's most evocative atmospheres, a musical jungle, with soft drums beating eerily, a forest of instrumental melodies, and voices chanting. Siegmund Nimsgern is a solid bass. Pierre Boulez has remarked that the Variations for Orchestra is essentially a didactic exercise in serial variations, but the work still has much to offer, the abstract musical material is developed in every conceivable expressive way. Finally, the orchestral arrangement of Transfigured Night--a Straussian tone poem in black and white--is given an unexpectedly emotional reading by Boulez at the helm of the New York Philharmonic. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews:

All Boulez/Sony.......2006-03-19

In Berg, WEbern , Schonberg very highly recommended.
Yeah I realize there are english casting in some of the Schonberg choral/operas, the works were scored in german.
I realize this .
But somehow the english chorus'/solists (there are a few germans cast in some cds) but its the finest in terms of orch/conducting/soloist voice quality.
This is based upon my extensive collections in Berg, Webern, Schonberg, on many other labels, german casting.
I'll let this comment stand for all the Boulez/Sony releases.
I am not refering to his Erato not DG releases.

Schonberg was a supreme genius in all his scores, only his Pelleas he mentioned he did not care for the opening part.

btw I have to say A music Fan May 5,1999, does have a point. there are a number of children playing with those voting buttons.

Great Music and Performances.......2005-10-22

Boulez is one of the great interpreters of this music, along with Karajan. Like one of the other reviewers, my personal preference is for Karajan in op.4, but that doesn't stop me admiring the different way Boulez tackles this beautiful piece. As for the other performances, all I can say is, check them out and decide for yourself. At the low price offered, you can't go wrong. Also, Schoenberg is not difficult once you widen your horizons, open your heart and ears and really LISTEN to him. The experience opens up an infinite world of extraordinary beauty and radiance. Try it!!

Worth it for Gluckliche Hand..........2003-10-08

It's pretty hard to find a first-rate recording of one of Schoenberg's operas that comes complete with a libretto. Not only is this a first-rate recording with a libretto, it's also a bargain! I'm not too wild about the Boulez rendition of Op. 4 though. I like Karajan's version much better, but that's just a personal preference.

Schoenberg's music lives on -- proof that he was great.......1999-12-11

For decades spoil sports like "denisdiderot" below have been attacking Schoenberg's 12 tone system, saying, for example, that his music has no relation to "natural acoustics" and to the way "human beings make sense of sound". Well, last I checked, I'm a human being, one who happens to love this music, and I join musicians and music enthusiasts around the globe in praise of Schoenberg's work. The music of a "mediocre musical talent" doesn't last 50 years after his death. A talentless hack is forgotten. Schoenberg hasn't been forgotten and never will be. I dare say, though the real Denis Diderot is certainly remembered, the person below using Diderot's name as an alias will be forgotten shortly after his own death. Schoenberg will live on in the hearts and minds of musicians and music lovers everywhere as he does today.

Schoenberg's music is not for everyone, but then there's a lot in music that isn't for everyone. Try to accept that, though you may not connect with this composer, there are many who honestly do, and you may be missing something.

As to the person below who suggests we "use this site for what it was meant for", my understanding is that the purpose of Amazon reviews is to register opinions about the music. It is in that spirit that I have offered my review.

This is not a spam board.......1999-05-06

You are all babies... use this site for what it was meant for..

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Pelleas und Melisande / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Average customer rating:

Schoenberg's Pelléas (Op. 5)
The Last Great Work of the Nineteenth Century
Delightful introduction to Schoenberg
Breath-taking.
Gorgeous, Lush Renditions of this Music of the Night

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Pelleas und Melisande / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000006141
Release Date: 1998-03-17

Tracks:

Verklarte Nacht Op.4: Grave
Verklarte Nacht Op.4: Molto rallentando
Verklarte Nacht Op.4: Pesante
Verklarte Nacht Op.4: Adagio
Verklarte Nacht Op.4: Adagio
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Die ein wenig bewegt
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Heftig
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Lebhaft
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Sehr rasch
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Ein wenig bewegt
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Langsam
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Ein wenig bewegter
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Sehr langsam
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Etwas bewegt
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: In gehender Bewegung
Pelleas und Melisande Op.5: Breit

Customer Reviews:

Schoenberg's Pelléas (Op. 5).......2007-07-21

.
Maeterlinck was and remains an unique and important poetic/literary/theatrical innovator in the categories of Symbolism and proto-Surrealism. One must appreciate just how avant-garde his work was at the Fin de Siécle. Even now his work retains its interest because of his abstraction of the human condition into a disoriented or dreamlike state. At its most basic, the interest of Pelléas et Mélisande is the human dilemma of a woman's love for a man. Maeterlinck's synthesis of connotative and denotative language distilled into elliptical phraseology continues to fascinate. He was, of course, awarded the Nobel Prize in 1911.

Debussy strongly considered setting Maeterlinck's earlier play La Princesse Maleine, but in the end settled on Pelléas. At the same time in Berlin, Strauss suggested Schoenberg set Pelléas: as there was no good German translation, he decided upon a massive tone poem. If you can psychically step back enough, you may hear just how similar in ethos Schoenberg's Pelléas (Op. 5) is with his Transfigured Night (Op. 4): really very similar indeed, with their topics of distressed feminine sexuality and hapless masculine guilt.

P.S. The Magritte-ish cover art is spectacular!
.

The Last Great Work of the Nineteenth Century .......2007-06-01

Transfigured Night (Verklarte Nacht) is one of the great post-romantic works of the close of the nineteenth century. Though originally scored for string sextet, the far more popular version is an orchestral arrangement, which is what is on this CD. Written in 1899 by an only 26 year old Arnold Schoenberg, it features the pathos of Wagner, the intensity of Mahler, and the brooding darkness of Rachmaninov's uncompromisingly grim Isle of the Dead. Along with other masterpieces of the early Schoenberg, Pelleas and Melisande and the Gurrelieder, Transfigured Night stood on the cusp of the breakdown of tonality but was written prior to Schoenberg's development of the twelve-tone system. It is one of the great masterpieces of late post-romanticism and I, for one, fine it superior to what Mahler and Strauss were doing at the time. The piece simply explodes with passion -- but not of the trite or cloying variety (Schoenberg is not Puccini, after all). The introduction alone should be enough to hook you, with its dark lines that ultimately rise to an emotional climax that has rarely been reaches outside of Wagner.

It is unfortunate that Schoenberg chose to develop 12-tone serialism, the most obvious negative consequence of which is that he never again wrote anything that even the most informed classical music aficionados would actually want to listen to with such frequency as Transfigured Night. Yes, I am aware that musicologists maintain that the post-romantic, post-Wagnerian idiom had reached a dead end and new directions were needed. This is of course true, and it is a challenge to which many outstanding composers such as Debussy, Bartok, Janacek, Szymanowski, and Stravinsky (to name only a small handful) responded to in different and creative ways. (Others such as Richard Strauss went far beyond the limits of tonality and then retreated to it after the spectacle of Salome and Elektra.) But from the hindsight of a century, it now seems clear that Schoenberg's path was the most misguided of this group from the standpoint of what the human ear can reasonably be expected to tolerate, let alone enjoy. Gustav Mahler was correct to proclaim that his "time would come." It clearly has come and now Mahler's remarkable symphonic oeuvre is widely appreciated. But I have serious doubts that Schoenberg's time will ever come (outside of Moses and Aron). Total serialism (which only got more difficult and inaccessible with the Darmstadt School) is nearly unlistenable even to the largely initiated. The human ear requires at least some pattern, some degree of repetition, something to latch on to. It does not have to be the sonata form or the Wagnerian Leitmotif, but there must be some pattern(s) for the ear and the mind to recognize so that music is distinguishable from chaos. (Janacek, for instance, solved this problem in an original way with his short melodic and harmonic bits and thereby created a wonderful new idiom, one that is very listenable.)

This review is therefore in part a lament at white might have been. I do not blame Schoenberg for thinking that the end was near for traditional tonality. But total serialism did not follow logically from this, as many came to believe. What is most unfortunate in all of this is that Schoenberg's early works are some of the most extraordinary of their time. Had he pressed forward with the expansion and breaking of tonality but not developed his rather ideological 12-tone system, there may have been many more wonderful works such as Transfigured Night - works that people might actually want to listen to.

Karajan's performance has all the gravitas and power that one expects from him at his best (like his Bruckner cycle). I am sure that his Pelleas is also wonderful, but I have an earlier release of this version of Transfigured Night, which did not come with Pelleas, so I will not review it here.

Delightful introduction to Schoenberg.......2006-12-30

I bought this album in the hopes of acquiring some more "modern" music, because all my other music was (mostly) from the Romantic/Classical/Baroque eras. So I picked up this nice album since I had heard of Schoenberg and wanted to hear his music. Besides, I had watched Debussy's 'Pelleas et Melisande' not too long before and was curious to hear another musical interpretation.

I was not disappointed in any regard. Despite the fact that this is an analog recording, it hardly shows its age. Deutsche Grammophon's acoustics have always been good, and shine here with incredibly lush clarity.

The Berlin Philharmonic is top notch, as always, at the absolutely masterful hands of Karajan. This was my first experience listening to Karajan conducting an early 20th century piece, so it was exciting to hear another aspect of his conducting.

If you're new to Schoenberg, this is probably the best place to jump in and get a feel for his early (pre-war) music. If you like R. Strauss, Wagner, Mahler, and other late/post-Romanticists, you'll probably enjoy this as well.

5 stars.

Breath-taking........2006-12-10

What so many people don't realize is that Schoenberg was indeed a brilliant composer. When he wrote in a tonal language, it was simply wonderful. You can tell, even in these quite-tonal works, that he is leading toward something incredible. Something that would change music forever.

Listener be warned, this is not shocking avant-garde twelve-tone Schoenberg - this is lush music that is so very reminescent of Wagner - while at the same time, distinctly different. Some of the most beautiful music ever written in my opinion.

And on to the performance. Karajan was perhaps the primo authority on Schoenberg having been a part of the Second Viennese School of twelve-tone serialism. It was the music of "his generation", and he knew this music all very well having studied and prepared it for years. He was at a very unique place in music history.

This recording is ground-breaking in that he acheives balances and colors that are lush to the utmost! I wouls say this is as close to perfect as one could get!

A wonderful recording, from the repertoire, to the interpretation, to the performance, to the recording. Bravo!

Gorgeous, Lush Renditions of this Music of the Night.......2005-12-18

Schoenberg is an interesting case in the history of music.
He was a man unsatisfied with the status quo, was highly talented and someone who wholeheartedly believed in the modernist manifesto of progression, artistic progress as well as any other forward movement. Don't get mired in recreating the past, always move forward. That is the essense of modernism, that and very cunning intelligence and complexity for it's own sake. Any true artist can tell you that art is not technology, art is not inherently more significant because it's more modern and complex. Art deals with immaterial things, while technology and science deal with very much material matters. So what has the modern credo given us when applied to music? Atonalism, Serialism, Aleatoric chance music, electronic music, all of it not bad as ideas, it's the execution that has been so off. Schoenberg was responsible for quite a stir in music but the music that made such a stir has never been popular and will never even be acknowledged as true art by 99.9 percent of the human population. If the Second Viennese School were derided back then, it's understandable, if they're still derided even now, you know there must be something fundamentally wrong with the Atonal and later Serialist methods of composition.

It must be said that Schoenberg was not always someone obsessed with getting himself historical relevancy and this CD proves that point. The works presented here are not revolutionary in the modernist sense, they point toward that horizon but are not yet there. That is why they are two of the most beautiful works by Arnold Schoenberg. Beautiful is not an adjective used often in reference to Mr. Schoenberg.

In Verklarte Nacht, aka Transfigured Night, Schoenberg is fully in tune with the world of Wagner, Brahms and R. Strauss without being in any way derivative of those geniuses. He is his own man utterly and completely. This five movement work is a delight to the ear and to the heart. The large tone-poem Pelleas and Melisande is a tour-de force of an homage to Richard Strauss. It's a bit heavy going perhaps, over written and dense and will prove more problematic listening than Transfigured Night.

You must truly give praise to Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic. Karajan himself financed the original 4LP set of records devoted to Schoenberg, Webern and Berg in the mid 70's. These two poems are wonderfully remastered and presented here in all their glory. Transfigured Night creates great admiration in the hands of Karajan, drawings the most shaded, luminous sounds imaginable from his orchestra. These are the greatest strings in the world, no doubt about it. The recorded sound is among the best I've ever heard Deutsche Grammaphon provide Karajan with. Pelleas and Melisande is just as successful, if not as lushly recorded. Both these recordings are definitive statements.

It really is a wonder to listen to Verlarte Nacht to commune with true beauty, instead of the compositional rhetoric that Schoenberg would later adopt in works like Variations for Orchestra.

Buy this CD and be thankful for the genius of Karajan, who can present these works in the spirit they were written, not in the cold, more abstract, mechanical methodology of Pierre Boulez for instance. Of course that approach may work for you too but you would be missing a lot if you denied yourself the chance to experience Karajan working at the height of his powers, a wonder to behold!

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht Op4; Shostakovich: Trio No2, Op67

Average customer rating:

Warm and welcoming Shostakovich and Schoenberg

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht Op4; Shostakovich: Trio No2, Op67

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Schönberg: Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Pelleas und Melisande / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Alban Berg: Violin Concerto "To the Memory of an Angel" (1935) / Wolfgang Rihm: "Time Chant" Music for Violin & Orchestra (1991-92) - Anne-Sophie Mutter
Icky Thump
Sky Blue Sky

ASIN: B00004LCB0
Release Date: 2000-06-27

Tracks:

I Prelude: Lento - Poco Piu Mosso - Lento
II Fugue: Adagio
III Scherzo: Allegretto
IV Intermezzo: Lento
V Finale: Allegretto
1 Spring Waltz: Allegretto
2 Waltz Scherzo: Allegretto Scherzando
3 Waltz: Tempo Di Valse
4 Waltz Charmaine: Allegretto
I Andante
II Allegro Non Troppo
III Largo
IV Allegretto

Tracks:

Langsam
Sehr Rasch
Viel Langsamer, Aber Doch Fliessend
Viel Langsamer
Etwas Bewegter
Ode To Napoleon Op.41 - Thomas Allen
Grave (Zwei Menschen Geh'n)
Poco Piu Mosso (Ich Trag Ein Kind)
(Sie Geht Mit Ungelenken Schritt)
Adagio (Das Kind, Das Du Empfangen Hast)
Adagio (Molto Tranquillo) (Er Lasst Sie Um Die Starken Huften)

Customer Reviews:

Warm and welcoming Shostakovich and Schoenberg.......2007-02-07

If you are not that familiar with the music of Shostakovich and Schoenberg -- as I was prior to this CD -- this is an excellent and friendly introduction. Both the Schoenberg and Shostakovich selections are among the composers' most accessible works.

Moreover, the Nash Ensemble has to be one of the finest chamber ensembles around. They play with exquisite command and finesse. And the Virgin engineers do a fine job of capturing their sound in a warm, ambient acoustic.

My first introduction to the Shostakovich Piano Quintet and Piano Trio was through a recording by the Borodin ensemble. Although their playing is beautiful and brought the music home to me, this recording by the Nash Ensemble is superior in part because the recorded sound is better and because the musicians seem to play with more vigor and commitment. The waltzes and the Piano trio round out the first disc with delightful and immediately appealing music.

The Schoenberg works are utterly remarkable. If you avoided Schoenberg because you were put off by his serial tonality, you don't need to avoid this CD. These works will convince you that Schoenberg was rooted in a romantic tradition prior to embarking on his serial tonal journey. The surprise jewel on this second disc was the Ode to Napoleon recited by Thomas Allen -- one can imagine it as a classical forerunner to rap music. I was particularly taken by how Schoenberg's harmonies could reach such moving climaxes in each of the works on this CD.

If you want to expose yourself to these composers to help develop an appreciation for their work, this is an excellent CD to obtain. I recommend it highly.

Schoenberg: Chamber Symphonies No. 1 & No. 2; Verklärte Nacht

Average customer rating:

WHO'S AFRAID OF SCHOENBERG?
Beginner's Schoenberg

Schoenberg: Chamber Symphonies No. 1 & No. 2; Verklärte Nacht

Manufacturer: Teldec
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Chamber Symphony No. 1 for 15 Solo Instruments, Op. 9
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Pelleas und Melisande / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Schoenberg, Berg, Webern: Orchestral Works / Karajan
Maurizio Pollini Edition - Schoenberg: The Solo Piano Music, Piano Concerto; Webern: VAriations Op. 27
Berg: Complete String Quartets

ASIN: B00006372K
Release Date: 2002-07-16

Customer Reviews:

WHO'S AFRAID OF SCHOENBERG?.......2003-08-24

Do you normally believe commentators who talk as if Schoenberg comes as naturally to them as Schubert? If the commentator is, say, Sir Simon Rattle then obviously I do but otherwise I suspend judgment or worse. I have built up a small collection of Schoenberg over the last few years, and I have yet to achieve an easy relationship with the piano and violin concertos or the variations for orchestra. But no lover of Schoenberg's own idol Brahms should have much problem with Verklaerte Nacht or the Pelleas et Melisande music, and it is an easy step from there to the chamber symphonies.

I recalled the remark by Rudolf Serkin (in case that reassures you) that Schoenberg had the best musical mind he ever met (the second best being Donald Francis Tovey, in case that also reassures you). The music on this record is music with a strong intellect behind it, something you can say of any of the major classics. It is also -- trust me -- very attractive and listenable music. The first chamber symphony starts with some 'so there!' squawking harmonies. This is obviously not Brahms, but you are not far into the piece before his influence on the sound is becoming apparent. The second of them has a much higher opus-# so I braced myself for anything, but in the event it is similar in idiom to the first. I am now playing the pieces as background and for pleasure. The recorded sound is very good, the impact on the ear is very pleasant, the price is very low. Give it a try.

Beginner's Schoenberg.......2003-06-16

I took a chance on this one - a budget recording of 20th century music does not always turn out well. This CD has some great playing and is a good interpretation of a sometimes misunderstood composer.

I was introduced to Schoenberg in college as the creator of "serial" or "twelve-tone" music; music that is not written in a certain key and sounds random at times, but is in fact very methodical.

The pieces on this CD are from a period when Schoenberg was experimenting with serialism and sometimes sounds "all over the place", but also has some very romantic moments. I discovered these at a National Symphony Orchestra concert where they were performed as part of a pieced-together score for the early silent film "Metropolis". It may not be a good CD for dinner parties or background music, but can be a good one to just sit down and listen to, contemplating the many moods it evokes.

Price- budget (great)
Playing/Sound- very good
Selection- very good

Tracks:

String Sextet In D Major, Op. 10: Moderato - Allegro
String Sextet In D Major, Op. 10: Adagio
String Sextet In D Major, Op. 10: Intermezzo (Moderato, con grazia)
String Sextet In D Major, Op. 10: Finale (Presto)
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 (Part 1)
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 (Part 2)
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 (Part 3)
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 (Part 4)
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4 (Part 5)

Amazon.com

The playing of The Raphael Ensemble is wonderfully polished, and the account these young musicians deliver has lots of voltage behind it. The opening is extremely atmospheric--hauntingly stark and subdued--but the climactic pages that come later in the piece have rarely been as intensely presented. Hyperion's 1990 recording is outstanding, and the coupling, Korngold's excellent D-major sextet, receives a marvelous performance from the group that rediscovered it. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating compositions given outstanding performances.......2004-08-07

This disc contains two engaging and colorful works, played by one of the finest chamber groups I've had the pleasure of listening to---The Raphael Ensemble. The first, a lovely composition, is the String Sextet by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who is best known for his Hollywood motion picture soundtracks from over a half century ago. The piece has a luxurious feel. Its unmistakably romantic influence is captured in a disarming but never maudlin way by the Raphael. This is particularly evident in the pleasant, waltz-like third movement intermezzo. The final presto's exotic, Bartokian sounding elements shift to reveal a somewhat more comfortably lyrical quality. Here and elsewhere, the Raphael plays brilliantly....The Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht is an interesting piece, laden with dramatic and poignant sonorities. Aside from the darkly sweet moments, one occasionally encounters an undoubtedly Wagnerian flavor, particularly in the end (shades of Entry of the Gods Into Valhalla from The Magic Fire Music). I find the work absorbing, and it is given an especially sensitive and concentrated performance by the Raphael. In addition, Hyperion's cover art for the cd is most interesting. It is called Ghostly Cloud, by Richard Riemerschmid. The entire package is firmly recommended.

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht; Schubert: Quintet

Average customer rating:

One of the two best recordings of Schubert's greatest opus
Vigorous Schubert

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht; Schubert: Quintet

Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Hollywood String Quartet Plays Prokofiev, Hindemith, Walton
The Hollywood String Quartet
The Hollywood String Quartet
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Leos Janácek: Cunning Little Vixen (Suite) / Sinfonietta / Schluck & Jau / Jealousy (Original Prelude) / Kát'a Kabanová (Overture & Interludes) / Taras Bulba / Sárka (Overture) - Sir Charles Mackerras / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

ASIN: B000003XID
Release Date: 1994-02-01

Tracks:

Sehr Langsam (Stanza 1)
Etwas Bewegter (Stanza 2)
Schwer Betont (Stanza 3)
Sehr Breit Und Langsam (Stanza 4)
Sehr Ruhig (Stanza 5)
Allegro Ma Non Troppo
Adagio
Scherzo (Presto) & Trio (Andante Sostenuto)
Allegretto

Customer Reviews:

One of the two best recordings of Schubert's greatest opus.......1999-03-08

George Steiner is said to have called the Schubert quintet proof of the existence of God. While I'm not sure I would go that far, it is certainly one of the greatest pieces of chamber music ever written. In judging recordings, I strongly favor interpretation over sound. Thus the two performances of this great piece which I favor most strongly are this magnificent one by the Hollywood String Quartet and another outstanding one by Casals et al on Sony, originally recorded at Prades in 1952. These two recordings represent the fruits of a golden age of chamber music whose depth and sweetness is hard to find today. For any listener who prefers performance and interpretation and is willing to accept a mono recording from the 50's, I assure you there will be rewards in either of these CD's. By the way, the Schoenberg is also excellent.

Vigorous Schubert.......1998-10-26

This is an enthusiastic and vigorously played version. The Hollywood players obviously lived with this piece for some time before recording it--they capture all the nuances of Schubert's writing. The Schubert is complemented with a superb Verklaerte Nacht for which Schoenberg himself was moved to write the liner notes after hearing the Hollywood's performance. The recorded sound is no better than good--a little thin, but it captures the quartet's enthusiasm.

Arnold Schoenberg: Chamber Music for Strings

Average customer rating:

Essential recording

Arnold Schoenberg: Chamber Music for Strings
Taco Kooistra , Viola de Hoog , Arnold Schoenberg , Sepp Grothenhuis , Susan Narucki , Henk Guittart , Jan Erik van Regteren , Janneke van der Meer , and Schoenberg Quartet
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Sextets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Complete Webern
Schoenberg: Piano Works
Schoenberg: Piano Concerto
Alban Berg Collection / Various (Coll)
Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra

ASIN: B00005NVG9
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: Nicht zu rasch
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: Kraftig (nicht zu rasch)
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: MaBig, langsame Viertel
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: Mabig, heiter
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: Moderato
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: Adagio
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: Intermezzo. Allegro moderato
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: Rondo. Molto moderato

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10: MaBig
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10: Sehr rasch
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10: Litanei
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10: Entrucking
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37: Allegro molto; energico
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37: Comodo
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37: Largo
String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37: Allegro

Tracks:

Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Sehr langsam
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: (C)
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Schwer betont
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Sehr breit und langsam
Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4: Sehr ruhig
Phantasy For Violin With Piano Accompaniment, Op. 47
Ode To Napoleon Buonaparte, Op. 41

Tracks:

String Trio, Op. 45: Part 1
String Trio, Op. 45: First Episode
String Trio, Op. 45: Part 2
String Trio, Op. 45: Second Episode
String Trio, Op. 45: Part 3
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Leicht, zart
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Langsam
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Sehr langsame Viertel
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Rasch, aber leicht
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Etwas rasch
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19: Sehr langsam
Quintet For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Op. 26: Schwungvoli
Quintet For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Op. 26: Anmutig und
Quintet For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Op. 26: Etwas langsam.
Quintet For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, Op. 26: Rondo

Tracks:

String Quartet in D Major: Allegro molto
String Quartet in D Major: Intermezzo. Andantino grazioso
String Quartet in D Major: Andante con moto
String Quartet in D Major: Allegro-Presto
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Langsam-Sehr rasch
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Sehr rasch
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Viel langsamer, aber doch flieBend
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Viel langsamer
Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: Schwungvoli
Concerto For String Quartet and Orchestra: Largo-Allegro
Concerto For String Quartet and Orchestra: Largo
Concerto For String Quartet and Orchestra: Allegretto grazioso
Concerto For String Quartet and Orchestra: Hornpipe. Moderato

Customer Reviews:

Essential recording.......2001-11-06

This is a monumental recording. It ended my search for a good performance of Schoenberg's complete string quartets. Compared for instance to the Arditti's version, which makes for a pretty "difficult" listen, hard on the ear and the brain, this one is pretty "easy". Let's not argue about the "romantic" or "modernist" points of vue which have plagued the Schoenberg issue for much too long. This boxed set is a mature rendition of some of the most essential works of the XXth century. The Schoenberg quartet provides excellent performance throughout (although their version of "Verklärte Nacht" might seem rather dark and lacking in contrast as compared to, say, the Boulez reading). This is Schoenberg beyond theory, this is, to put it simply, Schoenberg's music as Schoenberg himself might have wished to hear it. Thanks to the Schoenberg Quartet, the 21st century should see at last a vast audience starting to appreciate a body of work on a par with that of the greats which Schoenberg revered so much : Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms. Treat yourself to this one and relish in an adventure (while it still tastes like adventure).

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37; Verklaerte Nacht, Op. 4

Average customer rating:

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37; Verklaerte Nacht, Op. 4

Manufacturer: Praga Czech Rep.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000NIVO3G
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Tracks: