Customer Reviews

Berg: Drei Orchesterstücke - Symphonische Stücke aus der Oper: "Lulu"

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gatti is an instinctive conductor who is long on flair and expression but short on rigor, structure, and logic. His strengths play well into Berg's two best-known orchestral works, which are too often approached intellectually. I'm grateful that Gatti brings out the Mahler in Berg's masterpiece, the Three Orchestral Pieces, rather than the Schoenberg (I'm being unfair to Schoenberg, who wasn't just the most intellectual of composers but highly expressionistic). The Royal Concertgebouw tends to be the mellowest of the world's great orchestras, and when they round off the sharp edges in the Three Pieces, that makes it easier on the listener, too. The imbedded snatches of waltz and march rhythms also serve as a natural entry point. Listening in two-channel stereo, I found the sonics quite natural and beautiful. So all in all, this is one of the most enjoyable accounts I know and should pose little problem for any listener who approaches the music with a focus on feeling it rather than trying to follow Berg's complex structure.

The Lulusuite based on Berg's second, unfinished, and very daunting opera provides a wealth of contrasts, and although 12-tone, it swirls with half-melodies, shaded emotions, and an elusive atmosphere that reminds me of Debussy. The plot of the opera includes Expressionist sex and violence as well, and those moods are here in some tough, harsh music that's harder to hear than Wozzeck -- at least I find it harder. The third movement, Lied der Lulu, is vocal, and Anat Efraty, a soprano unknown to me, does a brave job encompassing Berg's wide, fierce intervals. With repeated listening, all this music begins to make a greater emotional connection. The Second Viennese School will never be a popular draw, but this is a privileged opportunity to hear two masterpieces performed by a virtuoso orchestra.