The performers on this recording, whom Georg Solti instructed, "Please play and sing as if you were performing Brahms!" clearly took his directions to heart. This performance is characterized by the kind of passion, and occasional frenzy, Schoenberg had in mind -- in this incarnation, the opera could never be taken as an academic exercise in serialism. A large part of the credit goes to Solti, who discovers the dramatic contours within the musical phrases and delivers a shapely and nuanced reading. The opera's punch is ...
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The performers on this recording, whom Georg Solti instructed, "Please play and sing as if you were performing Brahms!" clearly took his directions to heart. This performance is characterized by the kind of passion, and occasional frenzy, Schoenberg had in mind -- in this incarnation, the opera could never be taken as an academic exercise in serialism. A large part of the credit goes to Solti, who discovers the dramatic contours within the musical phrases and delivers a shapely and nuanced reading. The opera's punch is heightened by the composer's brilliantly colorful and evocative orchestration, which creates a drama of its own, and the Chicago Symphony plays with considerable heat without sacrificing precision. Whether or not Schoenberg's harmonic language is to a listener's personal taste, it would be hard not to get caught up in the visceral energy of the performance. The chorus is really the star of the opera, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus, directed by the legendary Margaret Hillis, sings the...
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Seller's Description:
CD jewel case and inserts very good and the 2 discs are scratchless. Includes an 88 page booklet. Your purchase benefits world-wide relief efforts of Mennonite Central Committee.
