Pierre Boulez rather unkindly published an essay when Arnold Schoenberg passed away titled "Schoenberg est mort." But as a conductor he was a great contributor to very good recordings of the music of both Schoenberg and Stravinsky. And so, in commemoration of this being the 150th year since Schoenberg's birth in 1874, Sony has released a handsome box of thirteen CDs containing all Boulez' recordings of Schoenberg on Columbia and Sony. These were recorded in the 70s and 80s, but the sound is excellent. Here are the contents:
- Gurre-Lieder (two discs)
- Moses und Aron (two discs)
- Pierrot Lunaire
- Verklärte Nacht and Berg: Three pieces from the Lyric Suite
- A Survivor from Warsaw, Variations for Orchestra op. 31, Five Pieces for Orchestra op. 16 and Music for a Movie Scene
- Serenade op. 24, Lied der Waldtaube and Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte op. 41
- Die Jakobsleiter and Erwartung op. 17
- Die glückliche Hand, Chamber Symphony no. 1 and 2, Three Pieces for Chamber Orchestra and Four Orchestral Songs, op. 22
- Suite op. 29, Verklärte Nacht (sextet version)
- Choral Works: Friede auf Erden, Kol Nidre, 3 Volksliedsätze and 2 Kanons and 3 deutsche Volkslieder
- 4 Pieces op. 27, 3 Satiren op. 28, 6 Pieces op. 35, Dreimal Tausend Jahr op. 50a, Psalm 130, Moderner Psalm Nr. 1
Interesting omission: no concertos! I've only listened to the Gurre-Lieder so far. This, plus the piano music and the string quartets and you have Schoenberg pretty well covered. Oh, and the concertos!
UPDATE: Boulez did record both the violin and piano concertos, but it was on Erato.
This looks like a mere reissue of the same Sony box set released over a decade ago? I bought mine circa 2013.
ReplyDeleteBoulez recorded the Piano Concerto with Mitsuko Uchida and the Cleveland Orchestra on Philips in 2001. That's my go-to recording of the piece.
Yes, I'm sure it is! All the recordings are from decades before. The Piano Concerto with Uchida and Boulez is on YouTube--very fine performance.
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