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Schoenberg: Gurrelieder / Ozawa, Norman, Troyanos, Et Al


Release Date: 01/11/2000 
Label:  Philips Duo Catalog #: 464040   Spars Code: ADD 
Composer:  Arnold Schoenberg
Performer:  Tatiana Troyanos,  James McCracken,  Werner Klemperer,  David Arnold,   ... 
Conductor:  Seiji Ozawa,  Eliahu Inbal
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Boston Symphony Orchestra,  Tanglewood Festival Chorus,  Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Number of Discs: 2 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 2 Hours 21 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

Without losing any of the plum-cake richness of the score, Ozawa and company have found a remarkable range of texture, delicate as well as massive, translucent as well as opaque, in this bewilderingly diverse yet fascinating work.

Seiji Ozawa's warmly eloquent account, with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, of Schoenberg's Gurrelieder wins the award in the choral category. It is a work that until quite recently was something of a by-word for post-Romantic megalomania, decadent over-expressiveness and a clogged density of sound that seemed virtually unrecordable. Without losing any of the plum-cake richness of the score's more grandiose pages, Ozawa, his orchestra (playing quite Read more magnificently) and the Philips engineers have found a remarkable range of texture, delicate as well as massive, translucent as well as opaque, in this bewilderingly diverse yet fascinating work. It is a fine achievement, and Jessye Norman's glorious singing in the role of Tove makes it a memorable one. May it lead—as it surely must, if it is as widely heard as it deserves—to a more general recognition of the stature of this monstrous but moving and compelling masterpiece.

– Gramophone [1979 Awards]
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Works on This Recording

1. Gurrelieder by Arnold Schoenberg
Performer:  Tatiana Troyanos (Mezzo Soprano), James McCracken (Tenor), Werner Klemperer (Spoken Vocals),
David Arnold (Baritone), Jessye Norman (Soprano), Kim Scown (Tenor)
Conductor:  Seiji Ozawa
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Boston Symphony Orchestra,  Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1900-1911; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 04/1979 
Venue:  Boston Symphony hall, Boston, MA 
Length: 102 Minutes 55 Secs. 
Language: German 
2. Chamber Symphony no 1 in E major, Op. 9 by Arnold Schoenberg
Conductor:  Eliahu Inbal
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1906; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 10/1974 
Venue:  Church of the Redeemer, Bad Homburg 
Length: 20 Minutes 28 Secs. 
3. Chamber Symphony no 2, Op. 38 by Arnold Schoenberg
Conductor:  Eliahu Inbal
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1906-1916; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 10/1974 
Venue:  Church of the Redeemer, Bad Homburg 
Length: 17 Minutes 29 Secs. 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 Schoenberg for people who wouldn't expect to like April 17, 2012 By Sujung P. (Seoul, Korea, Republic of) See All My Reviews "If you've had many discussions about classical music, you've probably discovered by now that Schoenberg is a very divisive figure among audiences: he is generally either loved, respected, or hated - one of those but only one, with no middle ground.

The truth is that many of Schoenberg's compositions are very easy to appreciate. The present recording, the Gurrelieder, for example, should be enjoyable for anyone who is a fan of Mahler's or R. Strauss's orchestral songs. There are a few more challenging moments, but on the whole it's just late romantic music.

The chamber symphonies are also late romantic, but they are a step more modern and may not be as accessible for romantic listeners. But hardcore fans of 12-tone or serialism might not find them radical enough. Anyway, with no special ideologies to pursue, I did enjoy them, and I suspect they'd be more popular if there were no ideological considerations.

The recording quality is fine. I don't have a really high-tech system, so I'm sure the serious audiophiles will find some problems that I don't, but for ordinary listeners like me it's all perfect.

I can't compare the performances because I haven't heard any other performances of this repertoire. But I am satisfied; there are no obvious problems with them, and I enjoyed the music thoroughly. " Report Abuse
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