Arnold Schoenberg: Concerto for Piano & Orchestra, Op. 42 / Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 / Chamber Symphony No. 2, Op. 38 - Alfred Brendel / SWF Symphony Orchestra, Baden-Baden / Michael Gielen

Arnold Schoenberg (Artist), Michael Gielen (Artist), Alfred Brendel (Artist), SWF Symphony Orchestra - Baden-Baden (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 23, 1996)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B0000041DJ
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #128,244 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

1. Chamber Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 9

2. Piano Concerto, Op. 42: Andante

3. Piano Concerto, Op. 42: Molto allegro

4. Piano Concerto, Op. 42: Adagio

5. Piano Concerto, Op. 42: Giocoso (Moderato) - Stretto

6. Chamber Symphony No. 2 in E flat minor, Op. 38: 1. Adagio

7. Chamber Symphony No. 2 in E flat minor, Op. 38: 2. Con fuoco

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Schoenberg (1874-9151) practically invented 20th century music, or at least freed it from the spell of Romanticism, and his famous Chamber Symphony 1 fairly started the revolution. His rejection of tonality, however, does not mean the rejection of structure or the possibility of other ways music can be pleasing. This can be seen (or heard) more readily in Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1942) where a 12-tone row is established early on--but so is a precise logic of form and evolution of theme. It's as if Schoenberg was operating on an intuitive sense of mathematics which, strangely, works. -- Paul Cook

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece that will last long after "denis" is dust, December 10, 1999

By	John Harrington (anywhere, USA) - See all my reviews

For decades spoil sports like "denisdiderot" below have been attacking Schoenberg's 12 tone system, saying, for example, that his music has no relation to "natural acoustics" and to the way "human beings make sense of sound". Well, last I checked, I'm a human being, one who happens to love this music, and I join musicians and music enthusiasts around the globe in praise of Schoenberg's work. The music of a "mediocre musical talent" doesn't last 50 years after his death. A talentless hack is forgotten. Schoenberg hasn't been forgotten and never will be. I dare say, though the real Denis Diderot is certainly remembered, the person below using Diderot's name as an alias will be forgotten shortly after his own death. Schoenberg will live on in the hearts and minds of musicians and music lovers everywhere as he does today.

Brendel's interpretation of the piano concerto deserves its high status among music fans (this is not his first recording of the concerto). His famed objective style is perfectly suited to the music--and Michael Gielen is one of the two or three best conductors of 20th century music we have.

Schoenberg's music is not for everyone, but then there's a lot in music that isn't for everyone. Try to accept that, though you may not connect with this composer, there are many who honestly do, and you may be missing something.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful -- Schoenberg would've been delighted!, April 8, 2000

By A Customer

This is a fabulous recording of Schoenberg's PianoConcerto -- even better than Brendel's DG recording of it (also withGielen), and much better than Pollini's recording with Abbado (whichmarries muddy textures with a dry interpretation). I love the flowing tempi, most especially so in the first movement, where the Wiener Gemutlichkeit really comes through. The last movement's many moods ("life goes on" says Schoenberg, implying a strange mix of carefree-ness and unease) are brought to the fore very vividly. This is a very rich score, with Schoenberg's typically complicated harmonic movement and counterpoint -- but Gielen and Brendel tackle it well, and the end result is surprisingly clear (compare the Pollini-Abbado recording, which is so constricted it gives me headaches!). Ax and Salonen give a marginally more impassioned account of the third movement in their recording (Sony), but don't do as well as Brendel and Gielen overall. This is without a doubt the finest recording of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto currently available. However, let me warn you that Uchida and Boulez are planning to record the piece soon, so it might be worth waiting for that to come out. Judging from Uchida's stellar recording (better than Pollini's!) of Schoenberg's Op. 11 Klavierstucke (in her volume of the "Great Pianists of the 20th Century"), she probably has a lot to say about the Piano Concerto. The Chamber Symphonies? They get good performances here, though the Second Chamber Symphony is a hard one to bring off, and Gielen doesn't completely succeed. But don't be discouraged -- the rest of the disc is wonderful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Respose to denisdiderot, July 2, 1999

By A Customer

While you almost have to admire denisdiderot's quixotic quest to singlehandedly roll back the twentieth century, you'll find he presents these attacks on a whole variety of Schoenberg discs. I find it somewhat surprising that someone so vehemently opposed to Schoenberg would go to the trouble to listen to so much of his works.

However, for fans of twentieth-century music and Schoenberg in particular, this is a terrific CD.