Schoenberg; Berg; Webern - String Quartets
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CD Details
Composer: SchoenbergComposer: Berg
Composer: Webern
Performer: LaSalle Quartet
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set, Import
CD Release Date: 2009-02-10
Music Label: Brilliant Classics
Music reviews of Schoenberg; Berg; Webern - String Quartets
Music Review: Legendary performances from LaSalle Quartet at bargain price
Rating: 5 Stars
Part I: Review
This set is a most welcome reissue of the legendary performances by LaSalle Quartet of all string quartets, with or without opus numbers, by Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg.(+) I missed it at its previous DG release, so I snapped it up immediately when an Amazon friend informed me of this Brilliant Classics reissue.
The performance here is outstanding, with well judged tempos and very tight ensemble. The sound is very polished, which is well captured in the CD transfer. There are only a few things I'd like to point out.
1. The first violin seems to have wider vibrato than commonly used these days.
2. The breathing is sometimes audible.
3. The soprano Margaret Price, with very wide vibrato, does not seem to have the right timber for Schoenberg's quartet in f sharp minor Op.10. (Yes, there is a soprano in the "string quartet"!)
4. The DG release is said to come with a very thick booklet, but the liner notes included this BC release have only a few pages.
5. If you have Alban Berg Collection, you already have 1 of the 4 discs.
However, these small quibbles need not deter you from buying this outstanding set at this give-away price. Buy it now before it disappears again. And by the way, if you like historic performances, the set In Honor of Rudolf Kolisch, which has almost all pieces performed here, is not to be missed. Kolisch Quartet premiered many of the pieces in the set, including Schoenberg's last 2 quartets, Webern's Op.28, Berg's Lyric Suite (and Bartok's 5th).
Very highly recommended.
*Added later: Amazon is showing out-of-stock already! You may, however, either purchase it from the third party vendors or go to Amazon's UK site.
(+) The detailed content can be found in Scaffa's review, or in the product page for DG's relase Neue Wiener Schule: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern Streichquartette.
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Part II: A music appreciation class, only for the uninitiated.
Since one of my music-loving friends was not sure if string quartets of the Second Viennese School is comprehensible, I am offering a music appreciation class *by* the dummy. As I don't have scores, this preliminary analysis is bound to have piles of errors. Corrections are most welcome! And if anyone knows of a good book on this, please also kindly let me know.
We will work on
Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 3 Op.30. [CD2, tracks 1-4]
This is the first of Schoenberg's string quartets which utilizes the 12-tone methodology.(*) However, it is in some sense as traditional as Papa Haydn's string quartets, only spicier. The new ingredient here is the 12-tone technique with a unifying basic tone row G-E-D#-A-C-F-F#-B-A#-C#-G#-D,(**) which will appear in all 4 movements under different guises. Schoenberg also isolates 2 motives in this tone row: The first 5 notes and the last 5 notes.(***) Let us call them part (a) and part (b).
The first movement is in the traditional sonata form.
+Exposition: (a) and (b) form the first subject group, which starts the piece. (a) starts at [Track 1, 0:00] and (b) at [0:07]. (All times are approximate.) (a) is presented in the persistent 8th notes rhythmic pattern, and (b) in a slower melody. Then they are juxtaposed. The second subject comes in at [1:21], which is the inversion(*) of the basic tone row.
+Development: The development starts around [2:15]. The 8th note pattern of (a) dominate the next 2 minutes or so.
+Recapitulation comes in at [4:08].
+Coda starts at [6:50], after a clear break. Tempo slows down significantly here.
The second movement, Adagio, is a theme and 3 variations. It's harder to find the original tow row here. I think Schoenberg put them in chords and give them to the Violins 1 and 2. For example, Violin 1 clearly plays the odd-numbered notes G-#D-C-F#-(F#)-A#-G#. Violin 2 must be playing even-numbered notes, with the first few clearly audible.
The third movement (Intermezzo) is in the ABA form. Section A is itself an (aba) form. The viola plays the basic tone row in the beginning of Section Aa. Then an inverse-retrograde of the basic tone row comes in. The Ab section starts at [0:39] and has a few distinct elements. The Section B (Trio) starts at [2:35]. With its very spicy outpour, it clearly indicates that this movement is a Scherzo. Section A reappears at [4:48].
The fourth movement is a Rondo. The main theme changes a little bit each time it repeats, but one can not miss it. It's has a few elements, and each has very distinct rhythmic pattern.
As it should be clear now the formal setting is just like Haydn's, with 4 movements in traditional forms: Sonata form, Theme and variations, Scherzo, followed by Rondo. -- And, no, these are not merely Augenmusik (eye music). Scores will help tremendously, but even a non-professional who does not have scores can hear something in the music. (Similar to the case of Haydn.)
Now, my friend, is this enough to get you into these wonderful pieces? By the way, if you are a Wagnerian, you will hear the opening chord of Tristan und Isolde in CD 4 [Track 6, 3:12].
(*) There is an article in Wikipedia explaining 12 tone technique in simple terms. See comment for the link.
(**) This one can find out in a library or internet search.
(***) How can one, who unfortunately does not have perfect pitch, hear these without a score? Well, Schoenberg was helpful enough to play it in the beginning of the piece. And a piano certainly can help a great deal too!
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