This release by pianist Steffen Schleiermacher is one of a pair devoted to Arnold Schoenberg in an intriguing larger series exploring the ongoing influence of the major composers of the early 20th century. Schoenberg, in addition to being one of the most celebrated composers of the first half of the 20th centuries, was also one of its great teachers, with a pedagogical career that involved long periods of activity in Vienna, Berlin, and Los Angeles. The present recording covers the last two of these, and the composers ...
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This release by pianist Steffen Schleiermacher is one of a pair devoted to Arnold Schoenberg in an intriguing larger series exploring the ongoing influence of the major composers of the early 20th century. Schoenberg, in addition to being one of the most celebrated composers of the first half of the 20th centuries, was also one of its great teachers, with a pedagogical career that involved long periods of activity in Vienna, Berlin, and Los Angeles. The present recording covers the last two of these, and the composers involved were for the most part not followers of the twelve-tone method that developed in Vienna. Several of them are a surprise to see; it's easy to forget that Lou Harrison, best known for his experiments in Asian music, the 1930s populist Marc Blitzstein, and the anti-systematic John Cage were Schoenberg's students, but they were. What's more, their experiments make sense when heard here beside the efforts of some of Schoenberg's European pupils. Schoenberg by no means tried to hold...
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