Arnold Schönberg: Moses und Aron

1. Moses und Aron, biblical drama in 3 acts (unfinished)
   Composed by Arnold Schoenberg
   Performed by Leipzig Radio Symphony Chorus, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Catholic Church Boys Choir
   with Armin Ude, Karl-Heinz Stryczek, Renate Krahmer, Werner Haseleu, Leonard Mroz, Reiner Goldberg, Hermann-Christian Polster, Gisela Pohl
   
   

Arnold Schönberg: Moses und Aron,Gisela Pohl,Karl-Heinz Stryczek,Hermann-Christian Polster,Leonard Mroz,Arnold Schoenberg,Kapellknaben der Katholischen Hofkirche Dresden,Leipzig Radio Symphony Chorus,Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra,Renate Krahmer,Armin Ude,Reiner Goldberg,Berlin Classics,Classical,German/Austrian 20th/21st Century Opera,Opera,Opera / Operetta / Oratorio

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Average customer rating: Superb 20th Century Opera enigmatic Certainly the Best Realization of Schoenberg's Opera... Superb opera A Triumph

Schoenberg - Moses und Aron / Pittman-Jennings · Merritt · Boulez John Graham Hall , Laszlo Polgar , Siegfried Lorenz , Gabriele Fontana , Franziska Hirzel , and Yvonne Naef Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schoenberg | Schoenberg, Arnold | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Berg: Violin Concerto; Schoenberg: Piano Concerto; Violin Concerto Alban Berg Collection / Various (Coll) Schoenberg - Die Glückliche Hand · Variations for Orchestra, Op.31 · Verklärte Nacht / Nimsgern · BBC Orch. · NY Phil. · Boulez Alban Berg: Wozzeck (Opera in 3 Acts) - Franz Grundheber / Hildegard Behrens / Wiener Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado Complete Webern ASIN: B000001GRQ Release Date: 1996-10-15

Tracks:

1. Moses Und Aron: Act One - Einleitung (Sehr langsam)
2. Moses Und Aron: Act One - Scene 1: Einziger, ewiger, allgegenwartiger
3. Moses Und Aron: Act One - Scene 2: Du Sohn meiner Vater
4. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 3. Szene: Ich hab' ihn gesehn
5. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Bringt ihr Erhorung
6. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Der Einzige, Ewige, Allmachtige
7. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Schliesset die Augen
8. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Allmachtiger, meine Kraft ist zu Ende
9. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Ein Wunder erfullt uns mit Schrecken
10. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Dein Stab zwingt uns
11. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Alles fur die Freiheit
12. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Er hat uns auserwahlt

Tracks:

1. Moses Und Aron: Act One - 4. Szene: Zwischenspiel, Wo ist Moses?
2. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 1. Szene: Vierzig Tage liegen wir nun schon hier!
3. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 2. Szene: Wo ist Moses?
4. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 3. Szene: Diese Bild bezeugt
5. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 3. Szene: Tanz der Schlachter - Dance Of The Butchers
6. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 3. Szene: O Gotterbild, du strahlst
7. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 3. Szene: Frei unter eigenen Herren
8. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 3. Szene: Orgie der Trunkenheit und des Tanzes - Orgy Of Drunkenness And Dancing
9. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 3. Szene: Selig ist das Volk - Orgy Of Destruction And Suicide
10. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 3. Szene: Du goldener Gott
11. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 3. Szene: Erotische Orgie - Erotic Orgy
12. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 4. Szene: Moses steigt vom Berg herab
13. Moses Und Aron: Act Two - 5. Szene: Aron, was hast du getan?

Amazon.com essential recording

In every respect, this Netherlands Opera production of Schoenberg's problematic yet most personal stage work outclasses Pierre Boulez's 1974 BBC recording on Sony. The conductor elicits staggeringly precise yet supple and flexible playing from the Concertgebouw, quite different from the stentorian sheen of Sir Georg Solti/Chicago, even though the all-important chorus is heard to better advantage in the latter. As Moses, David Pittman-Jennings's eloquent Sprechtstimme emphasizes the intensity of his character's inner vision rather than his outward frustration. Chris Merritt's Aron, though, is marred by a wobbly high tessitura. While the perfect Moses und Aron still eludes our grasp, DG's superb engineering allows more of the uncompromising score to be heard than ever before. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Superb 20th Century Opera.......2007-01-11

'Moses und Aron', the opera by Arnold Schoenberg is, to my inexperienced ears, the most distinctively 20th Century Opera I have heard (with the understanding that I have certainly not heard every one, especially not Berg's famous 'Lulu'). Not only is it relatively free of 19th century Wagnerian influences, it has some distinct family resemblences to 20th century popular German musical drama, especially that of Kurt Weill. One very noteworthy fact is that Schoenberg wrote both the music and the libretto, and the result seems, to my ear, to be one of the few German operatic pieces which did not sound as if the artists were trying to imitate Italian opera buffo (Even Mozart did that!).
The directions for singing the libretto is so modern it almost sounds like the sound track to a Robert Altman flick, where several voices are speaking at the same time. I certainly recommend this work over roughly contemporary operatic works by Stravinsky such as 'The Rake's Progress' and 'Oedipus Rex' from his 'neo-classical' period.

enigmatic.......2005-05-13

Schoenberg had not completed this work,his life with the rise of racism/fascism in Europa had magnetized culture and its creation,aside from that Schoenberg was a bit ambivalent on the very concept of opera.He had a grphic imagination for the theatre,as his earlier:Survivor from Warsaw" and "Erwartung" attests, also his setting of various texts, "Hanging Gardens",but for an opera dealing with the Jewish faith had more a problematical element, the idea of not representing, the use of icons, all items opera thrives upon, imagery that "represents". The stage performances of this work have proved to be equally successful as the earlier stage productions and even a film. The alternate of Moses a sprechstimme role(half-speaking,half-singing) and Aron a singing role against the chorus is ample materials for this work. Boulez has lived with this work conducting it many times prior to this recording.And his usuall affinity for clarity is here, separating countrapuntal lines in the dense textures.The roles here are well portrayed the powerful authoritative earthy basso Moses to the more pedantic intellectual high strung tenor voice of Aron. Boulez makes this work modern as opposed to other interpretations.

Certainly the Best Realization of Schoenberg's Opera..........2005-01-31

Certainly this is the best realization of Schoenberg's opera now available.

Superb opera.......2003-11-16

This is one of the best operas written in 20th century.

And the best 12-tone work of Schoenberg (with his Variations for Orchestra)

What a performance. Pierre Boulez's this recording is better than his early Sony recording (made in 60's). This is a 4D recording, so the sound quality is excellent. This box set was won many awards: Orphee d'Or, Tokyo Best Recording of Year, Le Choc du Monde de la Musique etc.

And there are two booklets, the first includes reportage with Boulez, synopses, some photographs from live recording, and in second booklet there is a full libretto and these are in four languages.

Highly recommended.

A Triumph.......2001-01-20

Schoenberg's works have survived their moment of creation for more than fifty years . As such, they deserve the title "classical music". Yet, it has been mentioned before, that the second fastest way to clear a full concert hall is by shouting "fire". The fastest way: the whispering of "Schoenberg". Just read all the negative reviews, and you'll know why. I was fortunate enough to be guided through the realm of music by someone that exposed me to the likes of Schoenberg, Berio, Varese and Stockhausen from age 7 on. As such, their idiom never was alien to me. That doesn't mean that I immediately enjoyed listening to them, but that was the same for Mozart. It took me at least 12 years of exposure to finally fall for "the nose".

About Moses und Aron. Let's be simple, but not uneducated. If people look back at the compositions of the twentieth century in a distant future, and compose a top two of the greatest works, this would be my guess. 1. Richard Strauss' Methamorphosen: the least politically correct piece of art in human history. 2. Arnold Schoenberg's Moses: the most successful encounter of the realms of music and religion, since the Mozart Requiem.

The human mind works by analogy and similar processes of comparison. As such both things that are purely abstract, take advanced math, and things that are unprecedented, like Schoenberg's twelve tone system, do not induce an immediate feeling of pleasing esthetics. How could you possibly like something that does not have a tune, or even harmony? By a learning process. After proper education, it's often more beautiful, the more abstract it becomes. Just listen to Bach's "Art of the Fugue".

While the story line of "Moses" is not abstract, its subject matter and language are. As a result this is not music for the millions, or included in the series music for your Baby's Brain. A category in which it should probably be included. This recording contains the best rendition of any of Schoenberg's works that I have encountered. By being precise, musical, dramatic, but never overbearing it is simply ideal. Even without a score it does not take more than a couple of playings to get a sense of the structure of the work, and the composer's technique of variation. Our friends at the Holland festival put a big chunk of change aside for the rehearsal, and the recorded results are spectacular. In addition, this is the best operatic recording that I own. Let Schoenberg open your ears and mind, and nourish your soul.

Average customer rating:

Schoenberg: Moses Und Aron / Solti, Mazura, Bonney, et al Arnold Schoenberg , Solti , Cso , Franz Mazura , Philip Langridge , Barbara Bonney , and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000E2XL Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Act One, Scene 1: Einziger, Ewiger, Allgegenwartiger - Franz Mazura
2. Act One, Scene 2 - Franz Mazura/Philip Langride
3. Act One, Scene 2: Ich Hab Ihn Gesehn/Moses? Der Den Fronvogt Erschlug?/Ein Lieblicher Gott! - Barbara Bonney/Aage Haugland/Chicago Sym Chor/Sir Georg Solti
4. Act One, Scene 2: Bringt Ihr Erhorung/Der Einzige, Ewige, Allmachtige/Der Gerechte Sieht Ihn... - Chicago Sym Chor/Sir Georg Solti/Franz Mazura/Philip Langridge

Tracks:

1. Interlude - Chicago SO/Sir Georg Solti
2. Act Two, Scene 1: Vierzig Tage! - Chicago Sym Chor/Sir Georg Solti
3. Act Two, Scene 2: Wo Ist Moses?/Volk Israels! - Chicago Sym Chor/Sir Georg Solti/Philip Langridge
4. Act Two, Scene 3: Dieses Bild Bezeugt/Preperations For The Feast/Tanz Der Schlachter/O Gotterbild... - Philip Langridge/Mira Zakai/Chicago Sym Chor/Sir Georg Solti/Herbert Wittges/Aage Haugland
5. Act Two, Scene 4 - Franz Mazura/Chicago Sym Chor/Sir Georg Solti
6. Act Two, Scene 4: Aron, Was Hast Du Getan?/Unvorstellbarer Gott! - Franz Mazura

Average customer rating: Moses und Aron on Naxos

Schoenberg: Moses und Aron Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schoenberg | Schoenberg, Arnold | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: From This Moment On ASIN: B000GNOHO6 Release Date: 2006-08-29

Tracks:

1. Scene 1: The Calling Of Moses
2. Scene 2: Moses Meets Aaron In The Wilderness
3. Scene 3: Moses And Aaron Annoucne To The People God's Message
4. Scene 4: Do You Bring News, A Message From The New God?
5. Almighty, My Strength Is At An End
6. All For Freedom

Tracks:

1. Zwischenspiel (Interlude)
2. Scene 1: Aaron And The Seventy Elders Before The Mount Of Revelation
3. Scene 2: Where Is Moses? That We May Tear Him To Pieces!
4. Scene 3: The Golden Calf And The Altar
5. Free, Under Their Own Masters
6. You Golden God, As Pleasure Your Glow Streams Through Me
7. Scene 4: Moses Descends From The Mountain
8. Scene 5: Moses And Aaron

Customer Reviews:

Moses und Aron on Naxos.......2006-09-05

Arnold Schoenberg (1874 -- 1951) was a revolutionary in music and a seeker in religion. As a revolutionary, Schoenberg became famous and, in some quarters, reviled for his development of atonal and twelve-tone music. As a seeker, Schoenberg was born Jewish but converted to Lutheranism in 1894. He returned to Judaism in 1933, after many years of reflection, with the rise to power of the Nazis. As Malcom MacDonald notes in his 1976 biography, Schoenberg "remained to the end of his day a searcher, both less and more than an orthodox Jew. His final literary work, the Modern Psalms, is among other things a critique of various aspects of Judaism." (MacDonald, "Schoenberg" at 55).

The revolutionary character of Schoenberg's music and his uneasy religiosity combine in his great opera, Moses and Aaron, composed between 1930 and 1932. The opera is a massive, monumental work which not only uses the twelve-tone scale throughout, but also constitutes a many-sided set of variations on a single row. Schoenberg wrote the liberetto for his opera, which gives the composer's highly personal version of the conflict between Moses, with his revelation of a totally incorporeal, infinite, and one God, and his brother Aaron, who argues that images are a necessary means for a finite and frail humanity to approach the divine.

In this new 2CD set on Naxos, Roland Klutting conducts the Stuttgart State Orchestra and Stuttgart State Opera Chorus, and Children's Chorus, and the Polish Radio Choir in a recording of live performances in Stuttgart in December 2003. The recording captures the craggy, gnarly character of Schoenberg's music and story. Wolfgang Schone and Chris Morritt perform impressively as the two brothers, but the outstanding performances on this recording belong to the orchestra and to the chorus.

The opera, as we have it, is in two acts. (Schoeberg wrote the libertto for a brief third act but never completed it.) The first act opens with God's revelation to Moses at the Burning Bush. It proceeds as Moses, slow and tounge-tied (he speaks haltingly rather than sings throughout the opera) tries to explain his revelation to Aaron and then, through Aaron to a skeptical Jewish people in Egypt. Only upon the performance of miracles do the people accept Moses and his God.

The second Act moves to the wandering of the Jews in the desert and tells the story of the Golden Calf. As Moses is delayed for 40 days on the mountain, the people grow restless and prevail upon Aaron to make the Golden Calf. Moses returns from the mountain, destroys the Calf with a word, smashes the tablets of the Law, and rebukes Aaron. He falls to the ground believing he has failed in the mission to which God appointed him.

Schoenberg's score opens erily with light winds and voices capturing the revelation of the Burning Bush. Moses and Aaron argue together and try to convince the people with Aaron signing a high, melodious tenor and Moses stammering. The choruses are stunning and fugal and capture the fickleness of the people and the difficulty of the religious quest.

The highlight of Moses and Aaron is in the second act in a long scene of Dances around the Golden Calf. This is absolutely orgiastic music for orchestra and chorus, in which animals are led to the idol as sacrifices, the slaughterers dance, four naked virgins come forward to sacrifice themselves, and the scene deteriorates into a fury of rape, murder, and lust as Moses returns. Schoenberg's music captures this increasing fury and a tumultous score that reminds many listeners of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." At the conclusion of the opera, the remnants of the Israelites march off behind Aaron with Moses, seemingly, broken in spirit.

Moses and Aaron is atonal throughout, and there are no demarcations between arias and recitives. It is composed in large blocks of scenes. With all of that, the music is not terribly difficult to follow, as Schoenberg crafts his score to suggest the unknowability of God and the furious power of human passion. The opera is a work of religious music, one of the greatest of the Twentieth Century. Listeners with an adventurous and open spirit who want to explore the seminal work of a still controversial composer should turn to this Naxos CD of Schoenberg's great opera.

Robin Friedman

Average customer rating: Not the best Moses, but still very good... Schoenberg's music lasts Moses and Aron revealing of Schoenberg's religious ideas warning: the music on these cd's may induce nausea

Arnold Schoenberg: Moses Und Aron/Chamber Symphony No. 2, Op. 38 Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schoenberg | Schoenberg, Arnold | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Cassinelli, Ricardo | ( C ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Schoenberg - Gurre-Leider ~ 4 Songs, Op. 22 / Napier, Minton, Nimsgern, J. Thomas, BBC SO, Boulez Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade/Five Pieces For Orchestra Arnold Schoenberg: Suite, Op. 29, for 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello & Piano / Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (Sextet for 2 Violins, 2 Violas & 2 Celli) - Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No1; Die Jacobsleiter Schoenberg - Die Glückliche Hand · Variations for Orchestra, Op.31 · Verklärte Nacht / Nimsgern · BBC Orch. · NY Phil. · Boulez ASIN: B000002815 Release Date: 1993-07-13

Tracks:

1. Moses und Aaron: Act One, Scene I: The Calling Of Moses
2. Moses und Aaron: Act One, Scene II: Moses Meets Aaron In The Wasteland
3. Moses und Aaron: Act One, Scene III: Moses And Aaron Bring God's Message To The People
4. Moses und Aaron: Act One, Scene IV: Chor Bringt ihr Erhorung
5. Moses und Aaron: Act One, Scene IV: Moses Allmachtiger, meine Kraft is zu Ende
6. Moses und Aaron: Act One, Scene IV: Chor Ein Wunder erfullt uns mit Schrecken
7. Moses und Aaron: Act One, Scene IV: Aron Erkennt euch darin
8. Moses und Aaron: Act One, Scene IV: Chor Er hat uns auserwahlt
9. Moses und Aaron: Interlude

Tracks:

1. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene I: Aaron And The 70 Elders Before
2. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene II
3. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene III: The Golden Calf And The Altar - Aron Dieses Bild bezeugt
4. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene III: The Golden Calf And The Altar - Feierlich (Bar 320)
5. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene III: The Golden Calf And The Altar Tanz der Schlachter
6. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene III: The Golden Calf And The Altar Eine Kranke O Gotterbild
7. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene III: The Golden Calf And The Altar Rasch (Bar 497)
8. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene III: The Golden Calf And The Altar - Orgie der Trunkenheit und des Tanzes
9. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene III: The Golden Calf And The Altar - 4 nackte Jungfrauen O goldener Gott
10. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene III: The Golden Calf And The Altar - Ziemlich rasch
11. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene IV
12. Moses und Aaron: Act Two, Scene V: Moses And Aaron
13. Chamber Symphony No. 2, Op.36: I. Adagio
14. Chamber Symphony No. 2, Op. 38: II. Con fuoco

Amazon.com

Pierre Boulez's 1974 recording of Schoenberg's brooding opera is sure to fascinate the audience for 20th-century music, but other opera lovers will probably find the disc somewhat tedious. Moses und Aron is a very curious work. Musical motives are mirrored in ramifications, but the overall conception is essentially plastic, rather than developmental or dramatic. Such a static canvas provides intriguing challenges for both the opera house and its audience. Gunter Reich as Moses and Richard Cassilly as Aron sing powerfully. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews:

Not the best Moses, but still very good..........2000-01-22

Once upon a time, there was a young, aspiring composer/pianist who loved music more than anything or anyone in the world. He played and listened to all sorts of music -- but for a long time he failed to understand Schoenberg's atonal and twelve-tone works. His favorites then were Beethoven and Brahms. But one evening he turned on the radio and heard the most intense, concentrated yet moving music he had ever encountered. He listened to the end to find out what the piece was. Lo and behold, it was Schoenberg's Moses und Aron -- specifically the second half of Act II, consisting of the Dance before the Golden Calf and the piercing dialogue between Moses and Aron that follows.

I offer you this little story simply to show how immensely moved I was when I first encountered Schoenberg's Moses und Aron that night. Schoenberg's music is rigorous, tight, austere, and demanding, yet there is beauty throughout it all. One doesn't need to know about post-tonal motivic development or serial procedures to love Schoenberg's music. I certainly didn't know a thing about the structure of atonal music when I listened to Moses und Aron that night! Yet it was love upon first listening, and now, ten years later, Moses und Aron is still my favorite work of Schoenberg. It's true that Schoenberg's music is not for everyone -- but then again, I know many so-called classical musicians who don't like Beethoven, or Mozart, or Wagner, or Bach (!). Aesthetics is a personal matter these days, but too many people love Schoenberg wholeheartedly for anyone with a heart and a head to question that he was one of the 20th century's musical titans.

And, believe it or not, this is the very recording that I heard over the radio so many years ago! As a performance, I still think it's superb, but it isn't an outright top choice. There aren't any "perfect" recordings of Moses und Aron out there (IMHO). Here are my thoughts: Michael Gielen recorded a performance for Philips (nla I believe) which is so intense that it's an emotional drain to listen to (one could almost say that it's bombastic), but it isn't entirely accurate in terms of pitch, and not as clear as Boulez. Solti's recording is OK but rather murky in its textures. Boulez's second recording of Moses und Aron on DG is perhaps the best all-around version at the moment -- it's more dramatic and intense than his Sony recording (though it doesn't quite reach the level of Gielen), more clear than Solti, and more accurate than Gielen. However, these discs -- Boulez's first recording of the work -- are still very good, especially if your budget is limited.

I thank Arnold Schoenberg for creating such wonderful pieces of music for anyone who is willing to listen. For those who are not, they deserve only pity.

Schoenberg's music lasts.......1999-12-10

For decades spoil sports like the one below have been attacking Schoenberg's 12 tone system, saying, for example, that his music has no relation to "natural acoustics" and to the way "human beings make sense of sound". Well, last I checked, I'm a human being, one who happens to love this music, and I join musicians and music enthusiasts around the globe in praise of Schoenberg's music. The music of a "mediocre musical talent" doesn't last 50 years after his death. A talentless hack is forgotten. Schoenberg hasn't been and never will be.

For those of you with open minds, I heartily recommend this recording of Moses und Aron as a classic. Boulez' approach emphasizes the music's many contrapuntal layers with his trademark interpretive clarity and painstaking attention to timbral detail. The ra files above will give you a good idea of this recording's merits. For those who prefer more passion than precision, a good alternate is Sir Georg Solti's version from the early 80s. Solti brings out Schoenberg's connection to the romantic tradition of composers like Johannes Brahms. Solti's is a dramatic interpretation that emphasizes "the line" rather than momentary detail. Unfortunately, Solti's performance is not offered at Amazon and may have been deleted; I hope not.

Shoenberg's music is not for everyone, but then there's a lot in music that isn't for everyone. Try to accept that, though you may not connect with this composer, there are many who honestly do, and you may be missing something.

Moses and Aron revealing of Schoenberg's religious ideas.......1999-04-20

Moses and Aron does not, perhaps, contain all of the pathos of an opera such as Wozzeck, but it is a great work in its own right. The overall mood of the piece reflects Schoenberg's awe towards God. Schoenbergs' representation of the voice of God, for example, is ingenious. The chorus supports their voice on various pitches, creating a massive tone cluster. The sound evokes wind, but also power and majesty. There is little sense of dramtic progression (and schoenberg never finished the third act, so there could also be no climax) but the work revolves around the God of the Isrealites rather than the Isrealites themselves, making the personalities of the characters less important to the meaning of the work. It is a revealing look into the mind of Schoenberg and his spiritual ideas, perhaps more than any of his other works. Boulez's direction of the BBC orchestra is good, as always.

warning: the music on these cd's may induce nausea.......1999-03-26

the music contained on this cd is proof enough in and of itself that Arnold Schoenberg was a mediocre musical talent, and turned to composing in an alienist atonal style only after he could plainly see that he could not compete on tonal musical grounds with the likes of strauss, pfitzner, schreker, ravel, debussy, and the like. the man craved attention and success, and most of all, "historical significance" for himself, and therefore devised a system of composing that purposefully could not be understood, thus setting himself up as a pretended misunderstood "genius" in the romantic sense, and claiming that anyone who cried foul regarding his music was simply not sophisticated enough to comprehend his noise. Then he created a rigid mathematical system of organizing tones with no relation whatsoever to natural acoustics or the way human beings make sense of sound. If his ludicrous communistic regimentation of musical tones is not enough to prove that Schoenberg was a musical mediocrity at best, or incompetent at worst, then just listen to the garbage contained on this cd for confirmation.

Average customer rating: A fascinating compendium of Boulez' versatility.

Pierre Boulez: Artist's Album Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Berg | Berg, Alban | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Berlioz | Berlioz, Hector | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Boulez | Boulez, Pierre | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Mahler | Mahler, Gustav | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Messiaen | Messiaen, Olivier | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ravel, Maurice | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schoenberg | Schoenberg, Arnold | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Stravinsky | Stravinsky, Igor | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wagner | Wagner, Richard | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Debussy | Debussy, Claude | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Ballets & Dances | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Cleveland Orchestra | ( C ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Paris Symphony Orchestra | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00004R9F1 Release Date: 2000-03-14

Tracks:

1. Parsifal: Overture
2. LULU: Interlude Verwandlungsmusik (Act 1, Scene 2)
3. LULU: Ragtime: 'Seit ich fur die buhne arbeite' - English Waltz: 'Noch Etwas Bitte'
4. Iberia (Image pour orchestre no. 2): Le matin d'un jour de fete
5. The Rite Of Spring: Sacrificial Dance
6. Concerto For Orchestra: Intermezzo interrotto: Allegretto
7. Raposidie espagnole: Habanera
8. La Ville d'en haut (For Wind, Brass, Piano and Percussion)
9. Symphony No. 7: Scherzo: Schattenhaft - Trio
10. Moses Und Aron: Erotische Orgie (Act ll)
11. Symphonie Fantastique Op. 14: Un Bal Valse: Allergro non troppo
12. Repons: Introduction
13. Herzgewachse Op. 20: Herzgewachse Op. 20 (For soprano, Celesta, Harmonium and Harp)
14. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte: Lent

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating compendium of Boulez' versatility........2000-06-10

Compilations of classical music usually bring a bite-sized, dumbed-down view of the music at hand, but in the case of a musician of the stature and insight of Pierre Boulez, this is a compilation to be applauded. You will hear Boulez' amazing versatility in music from Berlioz to his own masterpiece Repons, with a powerful, unsentimental Parsifal Prelude, a charming, wonderfully grotesque Lulu excerpt, some ferocious, charged Stravinsky, ecstatic Messiaen, and luminous, gorgeous Ravel and Debussy in between. The playing is uniformly outstanding, and one can only hope that a collection like this will spur neophytes on to the riches of Boulez' discography. Highly recommended!

Average customer rating: Compromised By Poor Sound

Schoenberg: Moses und Aron Manufacturer: Opera D'oro ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schoenberg | Schoenberg, Arnold | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00005OKS7 Release Date: 2001-10-09

Tracks:

1. Act One, Scene 1
2. Act One, Scene 2
3. Act One, Scene 3
4. Act One, Scene 4
5. Act One: Dieser Stab Fuhrt Euch
6. Act One: In Der Wuste

Tracks:

1. Act One: Intermezzo - Orch Of The Deutsche Opr, Berlin/Hermann Scherchen
2. Act Two, Scene 1
3. Act Two, Scene 2
4. Act Two, Scene 3
5. Act Two: Frei Unter Eigenen Herren
6. Act Two, Scene 4
7. Act Two, Scene 5
8. Act Three, Scene 1

Customer Reviews:

Compromised By Poor Sound.......2004-05-29

I am second to no one in my admiration for Hermann Scherchen, particularly his recordings of modern music. So I looked forward eagerly to hearing this CD. What a disappointment! It all sounds a bit under-rehearsed - and the sound is distant and somewhat distorted. As usual with this CD label, there is no libretto and only vestigial notes.

Schoenberg's subject is the birth of worship of a single God (monotheism). "Moses und Aron" is a work of awesome beauty and power. The libretto, written by the composer, is a kind of poetry itself - it is a sort of revisionist "Exodus" that shows the divisions (not the alliance) between Moses and his brother Aron. Moses sees the Word in its ideal sense, whereas Aron is earthbound in his realism - which ultimately translates into the golden calf and its degradation of the entire God-idea espoused by Moses.

Schoenberg's dramatisation of this contrast is rather unusual - he casts Moses as a speaking part versus the becoming, seductive high tenor of Aron. An enormous orchestra is used, with a generous allocation to percussion. All the music derives from a single twelve-note set. That may sound dry and academic - but the ingenuity with which Schoenberg develops it is astonishing - what an ear for orchestral colors he had!

The classic recording - and the very first - was the 1954 live radio broadcast conducted by Hans Rosbaud. It was originally issued on on a 3-LP Columbia set. The Moses of Hans Herbert Fiedler was superb. There were occasional mishaps incident to any live performance - but both the sound and the playing were far superior to what is heard in the Scherchen.

Columbia/CBS/Sony - whatever you call yourselves these days - could you PLEASE bring us a good CD transfer of Rosbaud's great recording?

Average customer rating:

Arnold Schönberg: Moses und Aron Manufacturer: Berlin Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Schoenberg | Schoenberg, Arnold | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B0000035MS Release Date: 2005-10-01

Average customer rating: A Fine Tribute To One Of The Great Conductors

Tribute to Hermann Scherchen "The Best-Known Unknown" Manufacturer: Tahra ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by J.S. Bach | Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Beethoven | Beethoven, Ludwig van | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Berlioz | Berlioz, Hector | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Kalinnikov | Kalinnikov, Vasily Serge | ( K ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Krenek, Ernst | ( K ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Schoenberg | Schoenberg, Arnold | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Prokofiev | Prokofiev, Sergei | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Organ | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | ( V ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music ASIN: B000003O76 Release Date: 1997-11-25

Customer Reviews:

A Fine Tribute To One Of The Great Conductors.......2005-06-21

This 5-disc set from Tahra (the label is owned and operated by Scherchen's daughter Myriam and her husband Rene Tremine) was issued to commemorate the 30th anniversay of the conductor's death. Hermann Scherchen (1891-1966) was one of the greatest conductors of the last century, and he has long been one of my "top ten" favorites. The set comes with a richly informative and lavishly illustrated booklet than runs 145 pages in length.

Scherchen had perhaps the widest repertoire of any conductor; by comparison, those of Furtwangler and Knappertsbusch were quite narrow. Scherchen began playing the violin at age 7 and was one of music's great auto-didacts: he was entirely self-taught and never attended any music schools. His mastery was achieved through intense ear-training excercises and by attending concerts. Few people today seem to be aware of just how important a musical figure Scherchen was. He played violin (and also viola) under such noted conductors as Nikisch, Fried, Weingartner, and Richard Strauss. Scherchen first conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in 1911, and that year he prepared Schoenberg's "Pierrot Lunaire" for performances by the composer. In 1912, with the Berlin Phil., he performed Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony #1 and also Mahler's 5th and the Bruckner 9th. He was interred in Russia during World War I while conductor of the Riga Symphony. In 1922 Scherchen succeeded Furtwangler as conductor of the Museum Concerts at Frankfurt am Main. He was also permanent guest conductor at Winterthur and Koningsberg.

Scherchen became well-known in the United States for the roughly 100 recordings he made for the Westminster LP label. Tahra here has collected many recordings of works otherwise not recorded by Scherchen. Frankly, it's a rather mixed batch, but there are some genuine treasures here.

To dispense with the lesser items first: the Czech Phil. does not play well and is foggily recorded in Prokofiev's Lt. Kije Suite and the Kalinnikov 1st Symphony. Scherchen's studio account (DG Westminster) of Lt. Kije is better played and better recorded: it's my favorite version along with the classic Desormiere account on Capitol LP. Golovanov's reading of the Kalinnikov (with a scorching account of Francesca da Rimini on a Boheme CD) remains unchallenged. And the "live" Schoenberg Chamber Symphony #1 with the Swedish Radio is inferior to Scherchen's wonderful stereo Westminster LP account (coupled with a superb reading of Berg's Chamber Concerto - sadly, neither is yet available on CD).

The balance of this set contains some truly extraordinary items. The 1950 recording (excellent sound!) of Bach's Musical Offering is quite simply the finest interpretation of the work I have ever heard. The Krenek Symphony #1, which Scherchen felt was that composer's most finely crafted work, is expertly handled (Krenek dedicated his 2nd symphony to Scherchen). The Act I Ballet Music from Berlioz's "Les Troyens a Carthage" is brilliantly performed (it quite blows away the otherwise estimable account by Colin Davis in his fine Philips LP set of the complete opera). Verdi's "Nabucco" Overture receives another winning account. The "live" Bartok "Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta" has a few ensemble clinkers and the sound is rather dull, but Scherchen was a great Bartok conductor and there are some wonderfully illuminating touches here (save for odd ritards at the end of the 2nd & 4th mvts.). It's a far cry from the icy brilliance of Reiner/Chicago (RCA) and the deeply tragic ironies of Mravinsky (Melodiya). Scherchen is closer here to the lighter, more dance-like Fricsay reading (DG).

One of the genuine highlights of this entire set is the played-through rehearsal of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. My greatest disappointment in Scherchen's Westminster LP studio set of all 9 Symphonies was his ponderous, ill-played 9th with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. By contrast, the 9th here is simply breathtaking. The microphones must have been attached to the conductor's podium, for what is heard here is VERY much how the conductor would hear it: VERY close-up and immediate, with a wealth of orchestral details I have never heard in ANY other performance. The 1st mvt. is played straight through, with many shouts from the conductor: "crescendo!", "pianissimo!", "merci!", and so on. The other mvts. are more stop and go, with wonderful examples (in German) of how Scherchen motivated and ignited his players. What a shame that the concert reading itself is not here - this is one of the GREAT Beethoven 9ths, even though the last mvt. is a shade hard-pressed (the Lugano players do a great job of it).

Likewise, the Beethoven 8th rehearsal shows a very "modern" approach, somewhat similar to what is heard today from Roger Norrington (but Scherchen's is played at a far more supreme level of command). The interpretation is quite similar to his extremely fast and furious studio 8th with the Royal Phil. (included on Scherchen's volume in IMG's "Great Conductors" CD series). Scherchen's approach is the diametric opposite of Knappertsbusch, whose live readings are VERY slow and attempt to make the 8th a true precursor to the 9th. I love them both, along with older accounts by Weingartner (Opus Kura) and Busch (Dante LYS).

Finally, a most remarkable epiphany: Scherchen's 1951 WORLD PREMIERE performance of "The Dance Before The Golden Calf" from Schoenberg's opera "Moses und Aron." This is a true landmark in the history of Schoenberg interpretation, and both the sound and the performance are FAR superior to Scherchen's later "live" recording of the complete opera (Opera d'Oro CD set). Tahra has thoughtfully included a separate libretto for the Schoenberg (which lasts a little over 33 minutes).

This set is utterly indispensable for Scherchen admirers.

Very Highly Recommended.

Jeff Lipscomb

Meditation Music:

1. Arturo Toscanini Collection, Volume 58: Giuseppe Verdi~Otello
2. Arturo Toscanini Collection, Volume 62: Arrigo Boito/Giuseppe Verdi
3. Auber: Les diamants de la couronne (Diamonds of the Crown) / Edmon Colomer [Box set]
4. Benjamin Britten: Peter Grimes, Op. 33
5. Berlioz Odyssey · LSO Live ~ Béatrice et Bénédict / Shkosa · Tarver · Gritton · Mingardo · Wilson-Johnson · Naouri · D. Robinson · Sir Colin Davis
6. Birthday of the Infanta Complete Opera
7. Boito: Mefistofele
8. Carl Loewe: Lieder & Balladen
9. Charpentier: Médée / Christie, Les Arts Florissants
10. Cherubini: Medea

Meditation Music

meditation music

Meditation Music

Pretty Together

C. P. E. Bach & J. Ch. F. Bach: Sacred and Secular Songs

Britten: Phantasy Quartet in Fm Op2; Bliss: Quintet Op44

Music: Party Mix

Best of Baha Men [Import]

Brazilectro: Latin Flavoured Club Tunes, Session 6 [Import]

Das Beste: Bis Jetzt [Import]

Bratz: Rock Angelz

Bellowing Room/Tinct

Best of The Gomelsky Years

Canadian Giant [Import]

Best of Ska, Vol. 6

Bangin' on Wax, Vol. 2: The Saga Continues [Explicit Lyrics]

Alientar

Destinations du Monde: Mykonos Island