Schoenberg in the Spotlight

Music | Jul 12, 2010
The wildly controversial and misunderstood composer whom audiences either praise or blame for atonality receives special focus this week on WNYC, as Soundcheck and The Fishko Files delve into the works and career of Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951).

In Soundcheck, host John Schaefer sheds light on some of the composer's more challenging works. Author Allen Shawn discusses Arnold Schoenberg's Journey, his compelling new book on the artist's life. Conductor-composer Pierre Boulez ruminates on why Schoenberg's compositions rarely get a listening, while Studio 360's Kurt Andersen comments on why contemporary composers don't get much respect. And WNYC's George Preston reviews the most recent recording of Schoenberg's Gurrelieder.

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In The Fishko Files, Sara Fishko examines the composer's legacy in light of recent books, recordings, and scholarship. Fishko explains that by knowing more about the man Schoenberg and the historical conditions that led up to his development of the 12-tone compositional method, we can better understand his music. Weighing in on the subject are cellist Fred Sherry, who has just recorded the Schoenberg Cello Concerto, and Shawn, author of Arnold Schoenberg's Journey.

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Suggested Listening:

WNYC picks a few of its favorite Schoenberg recordings.

  • Verklaerte Nacht/ Chamber Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
    Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
    DG 429 233
  • Piano Music Three Pieces, Op. 11/ Six Little Pieces, Op. 19/ Five Pieces, Op. 23/
    Suite, Op. 25/ Two Pieces, Op. 33a & 33b
    Paul Jacobs
    Nonesuch 71309
  • Pelleas und Melisande (symphonic poem), Op. 5
    Christian Thielemann/ Orchester der Deutschen Oper
    DG 469008
  • Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21/Herzgewaechse, Op. 20/Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte, Op. 41
    Christine Schaefer, soprano / Pierre Boulez/ Ensemble Intercontemporain
    DG 457 630
  • Moses und Aron Chris Merritt, David Pittman-Jennings, Gabriele Fontana, Naef Graham-Hall
    Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/ Pierre Boulez
    DG 449 174
  • Gurrelieder / Simon Rattle/ Berlin Philharmonic/ Mattila; von Otter; Moser; Langridge; Quasthoff
    EMI Classics 57303
More about the new EMI Gurrelieder Recording

In his colossal orchestral song cycle Gurrelieder, Schoenberg audaciously tried to sum up the entire 19th-century ethos of German lieder and Wagnerian music drama. The score calls for one of the largest orchestras ever assembled on one concert platform, including 25 woodwind, 25 brass, 11 percussion, three four-part male voice choirs, and a mixed eight-part choir. Simon Rattle fondly remembers it as the "biggest score in Liverpool's Music Library." In the interview with him that's included in the liner notes, he adds: "although 400 people are involved, Gurrelieder is in fact the world's largest string quartet."

This set was nominated as a June 2002 Gramophone "Editor's Choice".

Read the New York Times appraisal of this recording (New York Times free registration required).

Read the Boston Phoenix review.

New in Bookstores:

New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini reviews Allen Shawn's new book, Arnold Schoenberg's Journey. (New York Times free registration required)

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