Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Die ein wenig bewegt - zogernd
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Heftig
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Lebhaft (Rehearsal number 9)
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Sehr rasch (16)
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Ein wenig bewegter (33)
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Langsam (36)
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Ein wenig bewgter (43)
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Sehr langsam (50)
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Etwas bewegt (55)
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: In gehender Bewegung (59)
Pelleas und Melisande op. 5: Breit (62)
Siegfried - Idyll
Schoenberg's Pelleas & Melisande is just Opus 5 in Schoenberg's catalog, but it comes right on the cusp of the young composer's transition to serialism. Based on Maurice Maeterlinck's stage play, it's an exuberant, you... more »thful work that won the 29-year-old composer the recognition he had yet to receive. The work shows some influences of Richard Strauss, who had befriended Schoenberg in 1901 in Berlin. Mahler is also present. Still, for all that, this work is sui generis, a stand-alone masterpiece. It's followed by Wagner's Siegfried-Idyll, a tone poem based on the birth of his son, Siegfried. Both works are moody tone poems and maestro Christian Thielemann lovingly captures their spirit. Boulez might give Schoenberg more drama, but Thielemann sculpts both works with rounder edges and softer textures. Highly recommended. --Paul Cook« less
Schoenberg's Pelleas & Melisande is just Opus 5 in Schoenberg's catalog, but it comes right on the cusp of the young composer's transition to serialism. Based on Maurice Maeterlinck's stage play, it's an exuberant, youthful work that won the 29-year-old composer the recognition he had yet to receive. The work shows some influences of Richard Strauss, who had befriended Schoenberg in 1901 in Berlin. Mahler is also present. Still, for all that, this work is sui generis, a stand-alone masterpiece. It's followed by Wagner's Siegfried-Idyll, a tone poem based on the birth of his son, Siegfried. Both works are moody tone poems and maestro Christian Thielemann lovingly captures their spirit. Boulez might give Schoenberg more drama, but Thielemann sculpts both works with rounder edges and softer textures. Highly recommended. --Paul Cook
CD Reviews
Another Excellent CD From A Great Young Conductor
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 11/30/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Christian Thielemann's recording of these works by Schoenberg and Wagner should further enhance his reputation as one of the foremost interpreters of late 19th Century/early 20th Century German Romantic music. Both are spellbinding performances of these tone poems, played with ample grace and warmth from the Deutsche Oper's pit orchestra. Thielemann's interpretation of Schoenberg's tone poem, is more lush than Boulez's, opting to emphasize the Romantic ties which bind the early Schoenberg to predecessors such as Wagner and Mahler. Still, it is a truly original composition which foreshadows Schoenberg's interest in atonal music. The sound quality is exemplary, no doubt due to the splendid acoustics of the same studio used by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic in many of their classic 1960's and 1970's recordings."
Quite Compelling and Lovely
Karl W. Nehring | Ostrander, OH USA | 08/07/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I must admit to having been predisposed not to like this recording, because to my mind, at least, Maestro Thielemann was responsible for leading the worst renditions of the Beethoven 5th and 7th Symphonies that I have ever encountered on compact disc. Thank goodness, then, that this music seems much better suited to his style, and the end result is actually quite compelling. This is early (op. 5), Romantic-sounding Schoenberg, so don't be scared off (and of course the Wagner piece, which should be more familiar to most music lovers, but perhaps not to most audiophiles because of its peaceful nature, is simply lovely). If you enjoy the lush sound of which the symphony orchestra is capable, you will greatly enjoy this music and recording, which are rich and lavish."
Over an Hour of Beautiful and Languorous Romanticism
Moldyoldie | Motown, USA | 12/23/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"After having been introduced to Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande earlier in a roughly recorded live performance from Sir John Barbirolli that was often marked by severe, if stimulating undulations, this came as a pleasant surprise. Thielemann evens the peaks and troughs, sands down the rough edges, and expands the languid and overtly Romantic expression while giving fine clarity to the multiple textures and dynamics at play in this protracted work. In fact, Thielemann's account extends to nearly 46 minutes, over eight minutes longer than Barbirolli. The effect is one where the obvious influences of Wagner and Strauss are abetted by that of Debussy -- it's unmistakable! The dramatic narrative is still elusive here, the use of recurring leitmotifs notwithstanding, but one can hardly argue with the committed playing and sheer beauty of both the conception and execution.
Thielemann's rendition of Wagner's Siegfried-Idyll is played in the same languorous manner (I haven't heard it played in any other manner!), making for a fine coupling and homogeneous program of over an hour."
Making Schoenberg easier to hear
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/12/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The oung Thirleann was taking on two musical giants--Karajan and Boulez--when he made this recording of Schoenberg's immense, complex tone poem Pelleas und Melisande. Wioth hindsight it's hard to undestand how so many composers went wild for Maeterlink's play, which holds no interest today except as the basis for the music it inspired from Debussy, Schoenberg, Faure, and many more. Although a relative novice at composition, the 29-year-old Schoenberg here displays his enormous intellect and a taste for weaving a rapestry of inner detail that is nearly impossible to follow by ear. True, there are actual leitmotifs to identify the main characters and events in the play, but evey they are difficult to follow.
Karajan and Boulez offered readings that brought out as much of Schoenberg's counterpoint as humanly possible, and for that reason, along with the astonishing virtuosity of the Berlin Phil. and Chicago Sym., their recordings far outclass this one. But Thielemann has one advantage: he simplifies the work by emphasizing its sweep and downplaying its inner workings. In a sense he's made Schoenberg easier to follow, and for that I was grateful. If it weren't for his two great rivals, this recording would probably eke out five stars. The Siegfried Idyll gets a nice performance that is in no way memorable."
Excellent recording and performance
Mr. Allan K. Steel | Sydney, AUS | 04/01/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have a few recordings of P & M and this is probably the best.
This is such a vast piece with huge orchestra and lots of inner parts, etc. and this recording brings them out very well. The performance is great too: nice and over the top where it counts.
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1