Webern: Symphony; Six Pieces; Concerto for 9 Instruments

Fred Sherry (Performer), Charles Neidich (Performer), Michael Lowenstern (Performer), Anton Webern (Composer), Robert Craft (Conductor), Twentieth Century Classics Ensemble (Performer), David Fedele (Performer), Scott Kuney (Performer), William Purvis (Performer), Stephen Taylor (Performer), Philharmonia Orchestra of London (Orchestra), Christopher Oldfather (Performer), Stephen Gosling (Performer), Jennifer Welch-Babidge (Performer), Daniel Goble (Performer), James (Jim) Pugh (Performer), Christopher Gekker (Performer), Jesse Mills (Performer), Richard O'Neill (Performer), Ani Kavafian (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Fred Sherry, Charles Neidich, Michael Lowenstern, Twentieth Century Classics Ensemble, David Fedele, et al.
• Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra of London
• Conductor: Robert Craft
• Composer: Anton Webern
• Audio CD (January 18, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B0006M4SUU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #160,661 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good budget Webern collection, June 25, 2005

By	Edward Wright (Toronto, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Anton Webern has long been cited as one of the great bugbears of 20th century music, his works often more complained about than listened to. With chances to hear his music live still comparatively rare, and the Webern discography still dominated by the two Boulez "complete works" sets, it's good to see Naxos launching what is planned as a complete Webern set under a conductor (Robert Craft) with over 50 years of experience of the composer's music.

This first disc in the series provides a good cross-section of Webern's output, eleven pieces ranging from vocal to orchestral to chamber and instrumental--even a Schubert arrangement gets in. First off on the disc is Webern's Symphony. This two-movement work is certainly one of the odder symphonies in the repertoire--a slow-moving series of canons (with unvaried repeats) in the first movement and a much more fragmentary variation set as the finale. Craft certainly gets to the point of the first movement (I always hear Mahler as a strong influence here, and always feel the music is hovering on the edge of tonality), but the more abstract second movement--played extremely rapidly and effectively--is without doubt the revelation here.

The disc continues with a series of three sets of brief songs, the composer's opus 16, 17 and 18. This is in some ways a slightly playful choice, as it was in the opus 17 songs that Webern took up his teacher Schoenberg's serial method of composition--yet without reading the scores it is almost impossible to tell any real change in Webern's methods. All these songs are atonal and rather coolly expressionist--they're emphatically not easy listening but I think these readings (with Jennifer Welch-Babidge a fine soloist) make them a lot more appealing than the rather stern Boulez performances.

Craft then follows this with two serial chamber works. The two-movement String Trio is a tightly wrought miniature drama, given a fine, expressive performance. The brief Saxophone Quartet is rather more relaxed, and this is caught well by the players. I'm less convinced by Christopher Oldfather's reading of the Piano Variations, which to my mind doesn't fully project the wit of the piece (Webern isn't often considered a musical humorist, but a performance of this work that doesn't put a smile on the listener's face seems to me to be missing the point).

Craft then moves back to early atonal-expressionist Webern for the next three works. The Six Pieces for Orchestra are perhaps the most overtly Mahlerian pieces in Webern's oeuvre, particularly the colossal funeral march that forms the fourth of the pieces. Craft has them well in hand here, but I have heard readings that projected greater intensity. In sharp contrast are the Four Pieces for Violin and Piano and the more introverted Three Little Pieces for Cello and Piano. These brief works, often shimmering on the edge of silence or stasis, suddenly burst into brief flower before dying again, and Jesse Mills and Fred Sherry do a fine job of capturing their haunting, evanescent character.

Not quite so successful is the later Concerto for Nine Instruments. One of the key works in Webern's output, this is another example of the composer showing his wit in music, and to my mind, despite an excellent reading of the slow central movement, this performance doesn't quite have the necessary rhythmic sharpness in the vibrant outer movements.

Finally, Craft ends with Schubert's German Dances in Webern's 1931 orchestration. These works had been rediscovered the previous year, and Webern was commissioned to produce an orchestral version. The result may not be on the level of his outstanding orchestration of the Ricercar from Bach's Musical Offering, but it's emphatically not hack-work, and it's a splendid recreation of the Schubertian style.

Overall, while not perfect, this disc is still a fine collection and an inexpensive way to for newcomers to experience this very distinctive composer. At the price, long-time Webern admirers will probably find much to enjoy too, particularly in the Symphony and the songs.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Editing error in Variations for Piano, op. 27, July 12, 2009

By	Michael Eckert (Iowa City, IA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Track 18, the first movement of the Variations for Piano, op. 27, has an editing mistake. The four-beat phrase at measure 39 to m. 40/beat 1 in the score (1:11-1:13 in track 18) repeats literally at 1:14-1:16 in the recording. This repetition does not occur in the score, where m. 40/beat 3 through m. 41 are the retrograde of mm. 39 to m. 40, beat 1.
For those interested in the Symphony, op. 21, I recommend the CD reissue of Herbert von Karajan's 1974 recording with the Berlin Philharmonic on DGG.

4 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bored with rock'n' roll music, October 24, 2005

By	Marcio G. Soares (Natal/RN - BRAZIL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been a rock'n'roll fan since my teens, but I
think that this great american invention has fulled its cycle(1955 - 1985). So I turned my ears to the music made in the beggining of the 19th century, and I think that this CD is a great introduction to it.


MÁRCIO G. SOARES
NATAL/RN - BRAZIL