Bach/Brahms: Schoenberg Orchestrations

Bach (Artist), Brahms (Artist), Eschenbach (Artist), Houston Symphony (Artist), Arnold Schoenberg (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 1997)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003G6N
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,024 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Piano Quartet, Op. 25 In G Minor: Allegro

2. Piano Quartet, Op. 25 In G Minor: Intermezzo: Allegro Ma Non Troppo

3. Piano Quartet, Op. 25 In G Minor: Andante Con Moto

4. Piano Quartet, Op. 25 In G Minor: Rondo Alla Zingarese

5. Praludion Und Fuge, BWV 552, St. Anne

6. Chorale Prelude: Schmucke Dich

7. Chorale Prelude: Komm, Gott, Schopfer, Heiliger Geist, BWV 631

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brahms revisited, January 2, 2000

By 

Thomas van Grafhorst (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bach/Brahms: Schoenberg Orchestrations (Audio CD)

Not often ochestrations are better than the original. Often, the Brahms Quarted is not played well, most of the time simply because the piano is too loud. Schoenberg repainted the piece in a magnificent way. In this version the lines are more clear then the Brahms version: it's therefore pure fun to listen to, especially if you know the original version. Schoenbergs arrangement of Bach's pieces sounds even more monumental than the original organ works, but the sound and clean recording plays a role in it. The recording is fantastic, full of rich details.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great performances for uneven pieces, but well worth hearing, March 3, 2000

By 

N. Daniele Pietro "hyperdanny" (Milano, MI Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bach/Brahms: Schoenberg Orchestrations (Audio CD)

This CD represented kind of a surprise for me: from the famed (or infamous ) inventor of the twelve-tone music one could expect spare, minimalist orchestrations ( like Webern's transcription of Bach' s Ricercar), instead here Schonberg uses with no inhibitions a dense , luxuriant orchestra, decidedly Strauss-sounding to my ears. This approach has mixed results. The Brahms is the best thing here : after all Brahms' scoring was tendentially weighty, so this version works very well, and what you get is almost another Brahms symphony. Only the last movement is a bit overdone , decidedly more Strauss than Brahms, but, as a whole; I liked it a lot. I have reservations, instead, about the three Bach arrangements, and especially about the most substantial piece, the Prelude and Fugue St.Anne. If, obviously, Schonberg's mastery in using instrumental colors is never in doubt (many effects are really striking) but I think that the majesty and the "absoluteness" so inherent in Bach's music require more tightness, less flourishings. May sound strange, but the Stokowski Transcriptions, so often (wrongly) accused of being "Bach in Hollywood" , were much more effective in that respect, achieving at one time all the drama one could want, with no loss of clarity. The fugues, especially, by their very nature must sound inexorable and here , if the Prelude works well, the Fugue just does not flow like it should: I got distrcted by too many changes of instrumental groups. To hear the difference just listen to the Passacaglia and Fugue orchestrated by Stokowski on Decca Phase 4 or on Chandos (Bamert conducting). I don't want to seem harsh, though: with this CD you get 40 min. of great listening ( the Brahms) and 30 of very intriguing one, because for all the flaws, the Bach pieces (the two Chorales are appropriately hushed) have their moments. The Houston Orchestra under Eschenbach sound really great, with impeccable playing and a very brilliant ,yet refined sound. First-class engineering.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great performances for uneven pieces, March 3, 2000

By 

N. Daniele Pietro "hyperdanny" (Milano, MI Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bach/Brahms: Schoenberg Orchestrations (Audio CD)

This CD represented kind of a surprise for me: from the famed (or infamous ) inventor of the twelve-tone music one could expect spare, minimalist orchestrations ( like Webern's transcription of Bach' s Ricercar), instead here Schonberg uses with no inhibitions a dense , luxuriant orchestra, decidedly Strauss-sounding to my ears. This approach has mixed results. The Brahms is the best thing here : after all Brahms' scoring was tendentially weighty, so this version works very well, and what you get is almost another Brahms symphony. Only the last movement is a bit overdone , decidedly more Strauss than Brahms, but, as a whole; I liked it a lot. I have reservations, instead, about the three Bach arrangements, and especially about the most substantial piece, the Prelude and Fugue St.Anne. If, obviously, Schonberg's mastery in using instrumental colors is never in doubt (many effects are really striking) but I think that the majesty and the "absoluteness" so inherent in Bach's music require more tightness, less flourishings. May sound strange, but the Stokowski Transcriptions, so often (wrongly) accused of being "Bach in Hollywood" , were much more effective in that respect, achieving at one time all the drama one could want, with no loss of clarity. The fugues, especially, by their very nature must sound inexorable and here , if the Prelude works well, the Fugue just does not flow like it should: I got distrcted by too many changes of instrumental groups. To hear the difference just listen to the Passacaglia and Fugue orchestrated by Stokowski on Decca Phase 4 or on Chandos (Bamert conducting). I don't want to seem harsh, though: with this CD you get 40 min. of great listening ( the Brahms) and 30 of very intriguing one, because for all the flaws, the Bach pieces (the two Chorales are appropriately hushed) have their moments. The Houston Orchestra under Eschenbach sound really great, with impeccable playing and a very brilliant ,yet refined sound. First-class engineering.