Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is probably the definitive interpretation of these two early Schoenberg works, which along with his Gurrelieder, form a sort of triumvirate of pre-atonal and pre-serialist Schoenberg. As far as Verklärte Nacht, it has never seemed (to me) to be Schoenberg at his best. It has undeniable power, but I've never thought it measured up to the next work on the disc. Pelleas und Melisande--now this is an amazing work. Composer Jonathan Harvey summed it up perfectly: "tonal music at the peak of its expressive intensity." This, along with Webern's Passacaglia has always seemed to be a sort of "last will and testament" of romanticism and expressionism. After this what more is there to say about or in that great tonal tradition? Evidently very little according to Schoenberg--his first total break with tonality, Erwartung, came just six years later . Pelleas is quite breathtaking, even harrowing, and the finale is wonderfully serene and undeniably quite haunting. Karajan brings an appropriate restraint to the drama--which can go too far if left unchecked and there are some wonderful details I hadn't heard in other performances of this work. This is definitely a virtuoso work, but Karajan and Berlin handle it marvelously. Verklärte Nacht, originally written for string sextet and revised for string orchestra in 1943 is handled well throughout, although I can't help feeling as though everything gets a bit mushy at times. I had the opportunity to listen to the LP from 1974 and was able to compare it side by side with this CD transfer. The results are good and the CD suffers little or no loss in quality. Great recording of a superb work.

I have always been wary of Schoenberg, and the Serialists in general. While I believe that Serialism - the idea that none of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale are more important than the others and thus should all be incorporated into a work - is a fascinating intellectual excercise, I find myself unable to digest the resultant noise and dissonance when said excercise is actually realized.
A little background on my musical tastes for those who also fear the Serialists:
I love most classical music, from the Rennaissance works of Dufay, de Machaut, etc., to Baroque (Bach, Handel, Corelli, Scarlatti, Telemann, Vivaldi) to Classical (Mozart, Haydn, Boccherini) to Romantic (Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Saint-Saens et al) to the post-Romantics (Bruckner, Sibelius, Strauss, Franck) to the Impressionists (Ravel, Debussy) and even some more tonal 20th century composers (late Prokofiev, early Shostakovich, Hindemith). However, an invisible line is drawn for me when it comes to Serialism.
With all that said, if you enjoy all or some of the above, then this disc should not be missed. Schoenberg's two earliest orchestral works, paired on this CD, are a far cry from Schoenberg's later works. They are most definitely in the post-Romantic mold. The first work, Verklarte Nacht, is a true masterwork, scored both for string sextet and massive string orchestra (the latter is represented on this disc). Here, Karajan brings a Straussian feel to the work, which seems fitting considering the opulent thematic density presented. The Berlin Philharmonic was at its zenith at the time of this recording, and let me tell you, it shows. The recording is sumptuous as well. Simply a gorgeous work that is a must have, as it represents Schoenberg's farewell to tonality, almost a summation of all that came before him. The same can be said of Pelleas und Mellisande, which is scored for full orchestra and offers another outstanding example of Schoenberg's style, manifested in a tonal way.
So I say this to those who fear the names "Berg", "Webern", and "Schoenberg" as I do - you should STILL pick up this CD. The sound is incredible, the run-time is 70+ minutes, and the performances are definitive. And if you are more in tune with chamber music dynamics, verklarte nacht was also scored for string sextet by the composer. If you get that version, try to find it paired with Strauss's Capriccio introduction for string sextet, and his Metamorphosen, scored for string septet.

Here is a recording that ought to win any and all waverers who might initially be discouraged by the reputation or the music of the mature Schoenberg. [Only those who are utterly bigoted against him or whose sophistication and taste are relatively lightweight are likely to resist this music and recording.] This is due both the the sumptuous sonorities and playing of the Berliner Philharmoniker as well as to the recording itself (though it's a pity that DGG didn't dare use the CEDAR de-hissing technology that Decca/London has been doing, including Solti's recording of Richard Strauss's "Elektra" - it would have helped even better!). This recording in particular was the one that opened my eyes to the beauties of the symphonic poem equivalent of the Debussy opera on the same subject. In this incarnation, "Pelléas und Mélisande" can already be seen as a step leading away from the openly-Romantic feeling of "Verklärte Nacht" and "Gurrelieder", with the dissonances becoming more powerful, the horizontal quasi-contrapuntistic thinking and the orchestral sonorities of later works coming into brighter focus (already noticeable in the opening 4-6 pages of the orchestral score). It therefore already serves as a good bridge between his earlier output and his even more radical 1st Chamber Symphony while still plainly indicating how much of a Romantic Schoenberg remained at heart and would remain so. This is an absolute 5 stars and more!

Karajan dared to record Verklaerte Nacht with a large body of strings, and the results are breathtaking. Some would say too lush, but beauty of sound and technical address were of prime importance to this conductor (occasionally of too much importance, I think).

For something sparer, try the composer's original concept for string sextet. The Pelleas und Melisande is also a superb performance.

Wonderful sound on this CD: the remastering has been expertly managed. Very informative booklet notes as well.

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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!
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this is one of my favorite pieces. the recording is very powerful and emotional, having one of the most beautiful parts ever put on paper during the fourth movement. the violins holding that high note above the moving cellos is truly magnificent. Excellent recording and highly recommended.

Listening to this music is like looking those "realistic" paintings of the early Picasso. I just marvel at the complete technical mastery of the materials. It certainly helps to know these works in order to get a better handle on the later works and what those compositional methods were after.

This kind of expressionism has always held an interesting contradiction for me. The emotional content is so dense and compressed, and yet the means of expression are so extravagant and extended. Maybe that is why he wanted the other rules of serialism and the more compressed style - to line up the emotions and means of expression.

But I love this music. Lush, beautiful, satisfying and still provocative.

Pelleas und Melissande is so compositionally dense that it seems almost over composed to me. I am not sure all of it is hearable (well, maybe a FEW people can (or think they can)). But it is pretty common for the great composers to be more verbose in their early works than in their later style.

If you don't know these works and you like the lush late romatic style, you should treat yourself. If you don't know Schoenberg's tonal works, this disk would be a great place to start.

This stupendous performance of "Verklärte Nacht" became instantly even more attractive when it was re-released on DG Originals coupled this time with the "Pelleas und Melisande" symphonic poem rather than the "Variations", which remains unapproachable for most music-lovers - including me - whereas I love pre-twelve-tone Schoenberg. They make a much more obvious and natural pairing, too, being written within three years of each other, although the 1899 Opus 4 work so clearly still belongs within the Romantic camp and the 1902/3 Opus 5 marks the advent of a new voice - if not the more challenging Schoenberg of later years - with its emphasis on individual instrumental voices rather than the blanket of chromatic sound which enwraps you in "Verklärte Nacht".

Schoenberg, von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic are all three here at their most alluring; this is later Karajan at his best in a period which also produced such beautiful recordings as his "Madama Butterfly" - by no means all mid-70's Karajan was mannered and self-conscious. The music suits perfectly the silky virtuosity of the orchestra and the sound is of demonstration quality for its age (the merest tape hiss). Karajan brings overwhelming passion and intensity to those thrilling climaxes when the strings in unison sing out their hymn of forgiveness under a starlit winter sky. I know no music like for its sense of soaring ecstasy and coruscating tenderness. I enjoy the "Pelleas" which is very much on the cusp of the sea-change which Schoenberg effected in his style, with one foot in each century, so to speak. I do not pretend to adore it as I do the first work, but it is sweeping, surging, programmatic music well suited to the tragic tale it portrays but a little too fragmented and episodic to my ears, as if Schoenberg is trying to pack too much into limited space.

Bearing in mind that the original Opus 4 was composed for string sextet, I also recommend that anyone who loves this piece should own the wonderful 1950 recording made by the augmented Hollywood String Quartet in clean mono (coupled with a superb Schubert String Quintet).

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!

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!