Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire, Op 21; The Book of the Hanging Gardens, Op. 15

Arnold Schoenberg (Composer), Arthur Weisberg (Conductor), Contemporary Chamber Ensemble (Performer, Orchestra), Jan DeGaetani (Performer), Gilbert Kalish (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, Jan DeGaetani, Gilbert Kalish
• Orchestra: Contemporary Chamber Ensemble
• Conductor: Arthur Weisberg
• Composer: Arnold Schoenberg
• Audio CD (May 28, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005J07
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,460 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Mondestrunken

2. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Columbine

3. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Der Dandy

4. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Eine Blasse Wäscherwoman

5. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Valse De Chopin

6. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Madonna

7. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Der Kranke Mond

8. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Nacht

9. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Gebet An Pierrot

10. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Raub

11. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Rote Messe

12. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Galgenlied

13. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Enthauptung

14. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Die Kreuze

15. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Heimweh

16. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Gemeinheit!

17. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Parodie

18. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Der Mondfleck

19. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Serenade

20. Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21: Heimfahrt

See all 36 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a good record for the adventurous, June 28, 2000

By 

Ray Barnes (Surrey, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire, Op 21; The Book of the Hanging Gardens, Op. 15 (Audio CD)

This Schoenberg disc is worth having for the sake of Jan De Gaetani's singing, or shall we say musical vocalization. The Pierrot Lunaire is written for a Sprechstimme (or some would say Sprechgesang), meaning roughly somewhere between full singing and speech. There are not surprisingly many recordings of this work, as the vocal part is very tough to bring off, but the soloist here does as well as possible. There is almost a twisted cabaret style to the singing, as the composer had intended, not to mention a dark and somewhat neurotic undercurrent. The monodrama Erwartung takes this musical atmosphere even further. The ensemble playing is first class, and this is not easy music. The Book of the Hanging Gardens is a success too. This is a record to force yourself to listen to more than once, to stretch your horizons. The documentation is indispensable. Excellent sound, along with the packaging and presentation, complete with the expressionistic painting on the cover. Highly recommended.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing, December 9, 2000

By 

A. Temple "fiber_optiq" (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire, Op 21; The Book of the Hanging Gardens, Op. 15 (Audio CD)

I love this recording of Pierrot so much that there was a time when I listened to it pretty much on repeat the way people usually do with rock albums. If you've heard another recording of Pierrot and didn't like it (like that horrible Boulez one), do yourself a favor and buy this, and see what it's really supposed to sound like. I've heard this singing surpassed only by a live performance, and that had flaws in other ways. Get this, now, listen to the whole thing while following in the translation, and then, I dare you, tell me this isn't one of the greatest pieces of music ever written.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best, April 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire, Op 21; The Book of the Hanging Gardens, Op. 15 (Audio CD)

This is the recording that made me fall in love with 20th century classical music. Hundreds of CD's of modern music later, this one remains very close to my heart. Pierrot is scary, poignant, strident, and sometimes annoying--it's a masterpiece of exaggerated emotion. If God incarnated as a drag queen, this is what He'd sing.