Berg: Wozzeck / Schoenberg: Erwartung

Alban Berg (Composer), Arnold Schoenberg (Composer), Christoph von Dohnanyi (Conductor), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Eberhard Wächter (Performer), Anja Silja (Performer), Heinz Zednik (Performer), Alexander Malta (Performer), Hermann Winkler (Performer), Horst Laubenthal (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Eberhard Wächter, Anja Silja, Heinz Zednik, Alexander Malta, Hermann Winkler, et al.
• Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Christoph von Dohnanyi
• Composer: Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: London / Decca
• ASIN: B0000041RN
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,069 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Wozzeck: Act I, Scene 1: Langsam, Wozzeck, langsam! - Heina Zednik

2. Wozzeck: Act I, Scene 1: Wir arme Leut! Sehn Sie, Herr Hauptmann, Geld, Geld! - Eberhard Waechter

3. Wozzeck: Act I, Scene 2: Du, der Platz ist verflucht! - Eberhard Waechter

4. Wozzeck: Act I, Scene 3: Tschin Bum, Tschin Bum, Bum, Bum, Bum!

5. Wozzeck: Act I, Scene 3: Wer da?

6. Wozzeck: Act I, Scene 4: Was erleb' ich, Wozzeck? - Alexander Malta

7. Wozzeck: Act I, Scene 5: Geh' einmal vor Dich hin!

8. Wozzeck: Act II, Scene 1: Was die Steine glanzen?

9. Wozzeck: Act II, Scene 1: Was hast da? - Eberhard Waechter

10. Wozzeck: Act II, Scene 2: Wohin so eilig, geerhrtester Herr Sargnagel? - Heina Zednik

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Wozzeck: Act III, Scene 1: Und ist kein Betrug in seinem Munde erfunden worden...

2. Wozzeck: Act III, Scene 2: Dort links geht's in die Stadt

3. Wozzeck: Act III, Scene 3: Tanzt Alle; tanzt nur zu, springt, schwitzt und stinkt - Eberhard Waechter

4. Wozzeck: Act III, Scene 4: Das Messer? Wo ist das Messer? - Eberhard Waechter

5. Wozzeck: Act III, Scene 5: Ringel, Ringel, Rosenkraz, Ringelreih'n - Vienna State Opr Chor/Balatsch

6. Erwartung: Scene 1: Hier hinein? Man Sieht den Weg nicht...

7. Erwartung: Scene 2: Ist das noch der Weg? Hier ist es eben

8. Erwartung: Scene 3: Da kommt ein Licht!

9. Erwartung: Scene 4: Er ist auch nicht da...

10. Erwartung: Scene 4: Er ist noch da...Herrgott im Himmel

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This 1979 version of Berg's imposing drama by Christoph von Dohnányi and the Vienna Philharmonic is a taut performance that single-mindedly pursues the shrill violence of the music. Eberhard Waechter underlines the title character's blinding rage. Dohnányi can draw delicate textures from the orchestra as well as shattering climaxes, but the overall effect is, for most ears, too stressful to be truly pleasurable. Surely the expression of savagery is one key to the opera's power, but other aspects of the composer's multifaceted personality are too often ignored--both in Berg's public reputation and in this recording. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nevertheless, it's a riveting performance., December 18, 1999

By 

Karl Henzy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Berg: Wozzeck / Schoenberg: Erwartung (Audio CD)

This performance is indeed intense, violent even, but so is the opera. And there's plenty here to enjoy--take, for instance, the chorus of snoring soldiers in the barracks. Wozzeck is undoubtedly the masterpiece of the 1st half of the 20th-Century. It's more to the point, for my taste, than Lulu, and isn't bogged down with late-Romantic lusciousness. The story is chilling, the music awesome.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Disturbing But Fascinating Opera, May 3, 2000

By 

Corn Soup "sick of irony" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Berg: Wozzeck / Schoenberg: Erwartung (Audio CD)

Berg captures the horrifying buildup of mad tension in the Buchner play perfectly in this opera.

Dohnanyi handles the orchestra superbly as the tension builds to the jarring chord that represents Wozzeck's act of murder, never charging ahead too fast, never flagging. Also wonderful is the nice tight sound of the recording which really reveals the contrapuntal richness and complexity of Berg's music.

It is also nice to have Schonberg's interesting Erwartung on this disc. It is another chilling tale of love and death that takes the form of a short operatic monologue.

I would recommend this recording with hesitation. Great music and great sound. Enjoy!

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully played but dramatically tepid Wozzeck, February 19, 2006

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Berg: Wozzeck / Schoenberg: Erwartung (Audio CD)

The Vienna Phil. didn't get to show off in Wozzeck until their spectacular live performance on DG under Abbado, whre they completely overshadow what's happening onstage. This Decca set from 1979 finds them playing beautifully, but Dohnanyi is too restrained and cautious--a sign of what was to come in his career. The sonics are good but noticeably edgy when the music gets loud.

For anyone who wants a taut, detailed reading, this could have been a good one except for the lamentable casting of Eberhard Waechter in the title role. Long past his vocal prime, Wachter doesn't have enough voice for the part, is unable to push the inner anguish so essential to the character, and seems unwilling to attempt sprechstimme, instead simply singing, which isn't what Berg wanted. Anja Silja makes a dramatic, if wobbly Marie, doing much better with the sprechstimme but with a lack of vulnerability--she's as tough as the Nurse in Frau Ohne Schatten. In all, since this version is out of print, I don't see any reason to search for it.