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Berg: Wozzeck; Schoenberg: Erwartung / Dohnanyi, Silja, Waechter, Winkler


Release Date: 03/13/2012 
Label:  Decca   Catalog #: 001652102   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Alban Berg,  Arnold Schoenberg
Performer:  Horst Laubenthal,  Heinz Zednik,  Eberhard Wächter,  Hermann Winkler,   ... 
Conductor:  Christoph von Dohnányi
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna State Opera Chorus,  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Number of Discs: 2 
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Notes and Editorial Reviews

Dohnanyi's outstandingly beautiful performance for Decca... [is] beautiful in orchestral texture...subtle in its pacing...and I shall return to it whenever I want a more comfortable perspective or a more Straussian view of the work (and the inclusion of a reliably decent account of Schoenberg's Erwartung makes it better value than its rivals).

-- Michael Oliver, Gramophone [2/1989]
Reviewing original release
 Dohnanyi's outstandingly beautiful performance for Decca... [is] beautiful in orchestral texture...subtle in its pacing...and I shall return to it whenever I want a more comfortable perspective or a more Straussian view of the work (and the inclusion of a reliably decent account of Schoenberg's Erwartung makes it better value than its rivals).

-- Michael Oliver, Gramophone [2/1989]
Reviewing original release
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Works on This Recording

1. Wozzeck, Op. 7 by Alban Berg
Performer:  Horst Laubenthal (Tenor), Heinz Zednik (Tenor), Eberhard Wächter (Baritone),
Hermann Winkler (Tenor), Alexander Malta (Bass), Gertrude Jahn (Mezzo Soprano),
Anja Silja (Soprano)
Conductor:  Christoph von Dohnányi
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna State Opera Chorus,  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1917-1922; Austria 
 Language: German 
2. Erwartung, Op. 17 by Arnold Schoenberg
Performer:  Anja Silja (Soprano)
Conductor:  Christoph von Dohnányi
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1909; Vienna, Austria 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 Great double feature December 18, 2012 By Weston Williams (Birmingham, AL) See All My Reviews "Wozzeck is one of the best operas to come out of the German Expressionist movement, and this recording is superb. The performances and recording quality are fantastic. Some find the atonality of the piece hard to listen to, but I find it to be one of the more listenable and appropriate musical examples of the above; so many post-Berg composers fell into the trap of writing atonally with no consciousness of dramatic purpose. Berg, however, uses atonality without being used by it, and Wozzeck shows a mastery of operatic drama and musicality as well as a mastery of the musical philosophy of the Second Viennese school. Schoenberg's Erwartung is a nice bonus, but the main accolades go to Wozzeck. My only objection to this set is the lack of libretto. Though online librettos are possible to find, having a copy with the opera itself would be far more convenient." Report Abuse
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