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

Following the release of the complete Brahms symphonies ("Altogether a marvellous achievement." The Daily Telegraph), Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker have performed and recorded a programme of orchestral works by Arnold Schoenberg, who was a great admirer of Brahms.

In these three contrasting works, the spirits of Modernism, Romanticism and Classicism are invoked by Arnold Schoenberg – a revolutionary whose aesthetic roots lay firmly in tradition. Sir Simon Rattle, who first established his international reputation with masterpieces of the 20th century, explores these musical cross-currents with the Berliner Philharmoniker, long supreme in Austro-German repertoire.

The repertoire, recorded in concert at Berlin’s Philharmonie in late October/early November 2009, consists of Schoenberg’s orchestration of Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G minor, Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene (Accompanying Music to a Film) and the full orchestra version of the Chamber Symphony No. 1.

In these three contrasting works, the spirits of Modernism, Romanticism and Classicism are invoked by Arnold Schoenberg – a revolutionary whose aesthetic roots lay firmly in tradition. Sir Simon Rattle, who first established his international reputation with masterpieces of the 20th century, explores these musical cross-currents with the Berliner Philharmoniker, long supreme in Austro-German repertoire.

Immediately after the recent performances/recordings, Sir Simon and the Orchestra set off on a coast-to-coast U.S. tour performing the Brahms symphonies and this Schoenberg programme at New York’s Carnegie Hall and in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Ann Arbor.

Schoenberg said that he had arranged Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25 for orchestra in 1937 for several reasons: “1) I like this piece; 2) It is seldom played; 3) It is always played badly, because the better the pianist, the louder he plays and you hear nothing from the strings. I wanted once to hear everything, and this I achieved.” He also stated that he intended to write his orchestration strictly in the style of Brahms, going no further than Brahms would have gone “if he had lived today.”

Mark Swed, in The Los Angeles Times, said of the LA performance, “When [Schoenberg] made the version in 1937, he had recently moved from Berlin to Los Angeles and was clearly entranced by the resplendent light of his new home. He garbs the quartet in garish instrumental colors … Rattle emphasized everything in the most polystylistic way possible. A horn solo in the solo movement had a raw jazzy quality; a clarinet solo in the Gypsy-inspired last movement was klezmer-like. A xylophone clattered, a bass drum thumped. But within this ruckus was also ravishing ensemble playing and, from Rattle, the inspiration not only for great characterization but also for momentum.”

Allan Kozinn in The NY Times wrote of the Carnegie Hall performance, “It can be hard to banish the original sound and texture from your inner ear, however convincing the new interpretation may sound. But it can be worth the effort, as Mr. Rattle and his musicians demonstrated in a vital, shapely account that found levels of drama in Schoenberg’s magnification that a performance of the chamber version could not possibly equal.” Simon Rattle previously recorded this work with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 1985.

Recordings: Symphony Hall, Boston, USA, May 1972 (The Soldier’s Tale: music), December 1974 (Octet, Pastorale, Ragtime, Septet, Concertino), April 1978 (Berg: Adagio, Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony); Polydor Studios, London, UK, July 1975 (The Soldier’s Tale: speech)

Stravinsky’s tongue-in-cheek morality masterpiece, The Soldier’s Tale, is one of his cleverest and most enduring works, here receiving its first outing on CD, following several requests. It boasts a stellar cast, not only of musicians, drawn from the Boston Symphony and soloists in their own right, but also of the narrators/actors – Sir John Gielgud, Tom Courtenay and Ron Moody, with English texts by Michael Flanders & Kitty Black.

The couplings include the BSCP’s complete LP of chamber music by Stravinsky (the Concertino and Septet being released on CD for the first time), and also works by Schoenberg and Berg, previously unissued internationally on CD.

Always among the most innovative of composers, Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) wrote several works that deliberately blur the distinction between chamber orchestra and chamber ensemble. Among these, the First Chamber Symphony compresses the classical symphonic format into a tensile single movement scored for only fifteen players, while the Suite draws its seven instruments into a maelstrom of vitality whose inspiration lies in the dance styles that were popular during the 1920s. The Zahir Ensemble is one of Spain’s most exciting modern music groups, whose passion and technical accomplishment have gained them an ardent following.

The fifth volume devoted to Schönberg’s chamber music. On display here is writing that, after being based on traditional models (youthful Scherzo and Presto), evolves towards a melodic density and clarity of counterpoint making the Chamber Symphony, Op.9 (1906) accomplished and radiant as much in its chamber transcriptions as in the versions for full orchestra. The Quartet No.3 (1926) achieves a masterful balance between rhythm and harmony, melody and counterpoint, horizontality and verticality. For over 30 years, the Prazak Quartet has been at home on music stages worldwide. They are regular guests in the major European musical capitals—Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Madrid, London, Berlin, Munich, etc.—and have been invited to participate at numerous international festivals, where they have collaborated with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Jon Nakamatsu, Cynthia Phelps, Roberto Diaz, Josef Suk, and Sharon Kam.

The Prazak Quartet records exclusively for Praga/Harmonia Mundi which, to date, has released over 30 award-winning CDs. In 2010 Pavel Hula succeeded founding first violinist Vaclav Remes, who was unable to continue performing due to a medical condition in his left hand. Pavel Hula was the longtime first violinist with the Czech-based Kocian Quartet, and has been a close friend of the Prazak Quartet for many years.

The Smithsonian Chamber Players explore the early music that set the stage for the development of famed 20th century composer Arnold Schoenberg in this 2 disc, CD-DVD set. Performing in two historic Washington D.C. venues (the Smithsonian Castle Building and The Library of Congress' Coolidge Auditorium), this GRAMMY nominated ensemble led by conductor Kenneth Slowik, give not only an audio, but also video performance for these two great works.

This DVD takes the viewer on a journey around the world, with full performances of Verklärte Nacht (filmed at the Smithsonian Castle) and Chamber Symphony No. 1 (filmed in the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress), on to Schoenberg's home in Modling outside of Vienna, a satelite museum for the Schoenberg Center. In depth discussions about these two early works of Schoenberg by scholars and musicians, as well as those who knew Schoenberg through his life bring the music to life, giving the listener new insight into these pieces. Full musical breakdowns of the pieces with examples from Schoenbergs own notes as well as examples shown by conductor Kenneth Slowik, will provide an understanding of the music that could not be achieved by listening alone.

Along with the interviews, the DVD is full of rare images provided by the Schoenberg Center, as well as discussions by Jon Newsom and Richard Hoffman regarding the connections between the Library of Congress and Schoenberg, a tour of the Schoenberg Center by Center director, Christian Meyer, and a discussion about the Smithsonian and it's continued commitment to music by Smithsonian under Secretary of History Arts and Culture, Richard Kurin.

DVD Contains:

Full performances of:

Verklärte Nacht (filmed at the Smithsonian Castle)

Chamber Symphony No. 1 (filmed in the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress)

Interviews and discussions of the works with Anner Bylsma, cellist Rene Clemencic-composer & ensemble leader, Richard Hoffmann-composer, student of and assistant to Schoenberg Reibert de Leeuw-pianist, conductor, founding director of the Schoenberg Ensemble Christian Meyer-Director of Arnold Schoenberg Center, Vienna And more.

Narrated by conductor Kenneth Slowik.