Anton Webern Alban Berg Arnold Schoenberg - Schoenberg Berg Webern Orchestral Works Karajan (19 tracks) +Album Reviews

Careful -- Not the same as the LP of same name.

R. Caltabiano | 01/27/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"No arguments with other reviews, but although this has the same name and same cover picture as the old DG vinyl 2711-014, it has less than half the pieces of that LP. Not included: Verklarte Nacth and Webern's Op. 5, Op. 6, and Op. 21."

A milestone recording returns

Bruce Hodges | New York, NY | 11/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic produce ravishing sounds in this collection, which was their first foray into the music of these composers. There are many ways to play these pieces, but surely they have never sounded as sheerly beautiful and as refined as in this collection. Originally issued in the 1970's, DG has brought this back as part of its excellent "DG Originals" series. (There is also an all-Schoenberg disc with "Verklärte Nacht" and "Pelleas und Melisande," highly recommended.)Throughout this program, von Karajan and the orchestra confront this hair-raisingly difficult music with total coolness. (Some say, too cool.) Technical challenges that might overwhelm lesser orchestras are brushed aside like gnats. The Webern "Passacaglia" has probably never sounded so sensual, with the Berlin string section shimmering in dreamlike waves. The Berg "Lyric Suite" and "Three Pieces for Orchestra" are classics, and stunningly done here. But for many the summit will be the Schoenberg, with its rigorous structure complemented by the brilliance of the playing.

If you are not inclined toward this music, this collection might sway you otherwise, and if you do like these composers, you owe it to yourself to hear this. Excellent analog recording, newly remastered."

A Fantastic Disc!

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 01/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

".

This (now going out of print) was culled from: Second Viennese School (Berg, Webern, Schoenberg)/Karajan & Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (3 CDs) and I would highly recommed that set if you can find a copy (3CDs in double jewel box).

The other critics have just about said it all: I would only add that these realizations by von Karajan and the BPO are the CLEAREST available. Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra are especially fine: it's not as widely recognized as it should that Schoneberg was one of the greatest orchestrators of all composers: he surpasses Berlioz, Korsakov, and Mahler. Karajan effects crystal-clarity in a razor-sharp realization.

Berg's Three Orchestral Pieces are extremely difficult for an orchestra to properly realize, but here Karajan has the vision and technique to bring it to life. Abbado's realization with the VPO is more murky--I believe--however, it's still good, so see for yourselves: Berg: Pieces Orchestra (3)/Early Songs (7) (bonus Schiele cover art!) or Alban Berg Collection / Various (Coll).

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A seductive invitation to the Second Viennese School

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the pleasures of this superb collection is that an untutored listener can start with the first item, Webern's Passacaglia Op. 1, and feel more or less at home with its familiar post-Mahler idiom. Then by stages Karajan leads our ears deeper into the revolutionary heart of the Second Viennese School.

For me the apex of enjoyment was the central work, Berg's Three Pieces, which here are performed with all the richness and impact of Mahler. My ear can't follow Berg's 12-tone argument, but I am riveted by his overwhelming grip on emotion and drama. The music is harder to listen to than Wozzeck but is cut from the same Expressionist cloth. Finally, I was faced with the least accessible work, Schoenberg's Variations, but by that time the atonal world didn't sound so eerie or aggressively foreign and I could derive pleasure from surrendering to one of the most amazing sound worlds any composer has ever imagined. Superb sonics, by the way, to go with the high-voltage, totally committed performances."

Still one of the best

Ray Barnes | Surrey, British Columbia Canada | 06/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This anthology is part of a re-release from what was originally a 4-record set, with 2 discs for Schoenberg and 1 each of Berg and Webern. In the original release there was a comment that Karajan's rehearsal of Webern in the morning actually helped his Brahms performance in the evening. I find that this sort of music one can admire, in terms of craftsmanship, but for listening for pleasure it does not get played very often. Karajan himself did not record this music until quite late in his career, only after slowly coming around to Mahler, and unlike Beethoven for instance, he did not record it more than once. Nonetheless, these performances are marked by characteristically superb orchestral playing, and very fine sound quality. The strings in Verklarte Nacht are refulgent. This early post-romantic neo-Wagnerian score is very approachable to even the casual listener, and the other items, upon repeated hearings, will also prove enjoyable in their own right. Fans of Berg's orchestral writing should also seek out a recording by Claudio Abbado with the London Symphony Orchestra of the Opus 6 Pieces, and to be candid it is very hard to pick the better performance between them. Pierre Boulez also is a very strong contender in the New Vienna School and practically enjoys the same patrician reputation here as Eugen Jochum had with Bruckner. The documentation, so important in this sort of a release, is very thoughtful. Strongly recommended."

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