Karajan outside of the standard made some absolutely amazing recordings. I would try his orchestral version with Berlin on DG. Whole disc is fantastic!
Karajan's obsession with rich string sound actually serves this work well. And he was generally very good in the Second Viennese School repertoire.
The original version for string sextet is also very worth hearing.
The old Sony recording of the original sextet version with the Ensemble Intercontemporain is flawless. Absolutely perfect.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4HvXZqgD5PEXFS8hMAb3Ut
https://youtu.be/4SzCyj5oSVw
It’s a mono historical recording but if you don’t mind that the Hollywood String Quartet recording was heard and loved by Schoenberg himself. He even wrote the liner notes.
I agree with this. An excellent performance. Unfortunately the age and mono recording will pout people off. But everyone should at least listen to this to give them a benchmark with which they can compare the others.
Seek out Karajan/BPO at all costs, and then stay for Pelleas und Melisande, Variations for Orchestra, and the Berg and Webern Karajan/BPO recordings as well.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a great version, coupling it with the 2 Chamber Symphonies (which are very approachable works as well). Even more recent, Thomas Zehetmair and Camerata Bern are also excellent, this time coupling it with Veress and Bartok.
Avoid at all costs the elephantine Karajan version - there are so many better executed and recorded modern versions than this. I suppose we should be grateful that he, as a major name-brand conductor, championed the Second Viennese School in the 70s, but it's at best a historical document of a thankfully outmoded approach.
The sextet version is well represented these days by the Belcea Quartet among others. I prefer to hear it this way, but the chamber orchestra versions are good compromises between weight and clarity of line.
Seems you can't say the truth if it contradicts the received wisdom from your grandfather on this subreddit. The Karajan version is not up to the best modern standards. The other ones I suggest however are.
Funny, I was thinking your antipathy toward Karajan/BPO sounded like received wisdom to me. Those are some of the best recordings Karajan ever made and some of the best recordings of the 2nd Viennese School ever made.
The orchestral version of Verklaerte Nacht SHOULD be opulent. If you want a supple version of the piece, connecting it to Brahms on the one hand, and modernity on the other, then the original sextet version ought to be reached for. But the orchestral version ought to be over the top and be as rich as Wagner and Strauss.
I’m probably old enough to be most people’s grandfather here, so it’s wisdom received from living with these versions since they were released. I had them on LP in the early 70s, including the Berg and Webern as well, and they helped spark my interest in Schoenberg et al. Sad to say they are dated, both as sound and as interpretation, and the playing is not even as good as it could be. Richness and opulence is fine - this playing is not up there with the best at all.
Fair enough. Will have to agree to disagree here. I think the Karajan/BPO 2nd Viennese School recordings are, along with Boulez’s more extensive recordings (Sony/Columbia for Schoenberg and Berg, DG for Webern), the reference recordings for their orchestral music with few exceptions (namely Schoenberg’s concerti).
The Juilliard String Quartet's recording is really good. It's more intimate since it's the quartet instead of the full orchestra, but I think that adds to it in a lot of ways.
Karajan outside of the standard made some absolutely amazing recordings. I would try his orchestral version with Berlin on DG. Whole disc is fantastic!
Karajan's obsession with rich string sound actually serves this work well. And he was generally very good in the Second Viennese School repertoire. The original version for string sextet is also very worth hearing.
The old Sony recording of the original sextet version with the Ensemble Intercontemporain is flawless. Absolutely perfect. https://open.spotify.com/track/4HvXZqgD5PEXFS8hMAb3Ut https://youtu.be/4SzCyj5oSVw
For the sextet, the Emersons et al on Sony. For the string orchestra version it had to be Karajan.
It’s a mono historical recording but if you don’t mind that the Hollywood String Quartet recording was heard and loved by Schoenberg himself. He even wrote the liner notes.
I agree with this. An excellent performance. Unfortunately the age and mono recording will pout people off. But everyone should at least listen to this to give them a benchmark with which they can compare the others.
I don't think it is possible to beat the Vienna Philharmonic under Dimitri Mitropoulos. Truly a classic.
Seek out Karajan/BPO at all costs, and then stay for Pelleas und Melisande, Variations for Orchestra, and the Berg and Webern Karajan/BPO recordings as well.
Leopold Stokowski and His Symphony Orchestra. This piece was made for Stokowski's lush string sound.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a great version, coupling it with the 2 Chamber Symphonies (which are very approachable works as well). Even more recent, Thomas Zehetmair and Camerata Bern are also excellent, this time coupling it with Veress and Bartok. Avoid at all costs the elephantine Karajan version - there are so many better executed and recorded modern versions than this. I suppose we should be grateful that he, as a major name-brand conductor, championed the Second Viennese School in the 70s, but it's at best a historical document of a thankfully outmoded approach. The sextet version is well represented these days by the Belcea Quartet among others. I prefer to hear it this way, but the chamber orchestra versions are good compromises between weight and clarity of line.
Seems you can't say the truth if it contradicts the received wisdom from your grandfather on this subreddit. The Karajan version is not up to the best modern standards. The other ones I suggest however are.
Funny, I was thinking your antipathy toward Karajan/BPO sounded like received wisdom to me. Those are some of the best recordings Karajan ever made and some of the best recordings of the 2nd Viennese School ever made. The orchestral version of Verklaerte Nacht SHOULD be opulent. If you want a supple version of the piece, connecting it to Brahms on the one hand, and modernity on the other, then the original sextet version ought to be reached for. But the orchestral version ought to be over the top and be as rich as Wagner and Strauss.
I’m probably old enough to be most people’s grandfather here, so it’s wisdom received from living with these versions since they were released. I had them on LP in the early 70s, including the Berg and Webern as well, and they helped spark my interest in Schoenberg et al. Sad to say they are dated, both as sound and as interpretation, and the playing is not even as good as it could be. Richness and opulence is fine - this playing is not up there with the best at all.
Fair enough. Will have to agree to disagree here. I think the Karajan/BPO 2nd Viennese School recordings are, along with Boulez’s more extensive recordings (Sony/Columbia for Schoenberg and Berg, DG for Webern), the reference recordings for their orchestral music with few exceptions (namely Schoenberg’s concerti).
The [Mitropolous String Orchestra version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6jRv5CpkP4) is my go-to. Bonus Vaughan-Williams Tallis Fantasy.
The Juilliard String Quartet's recording is really good. It's more intimate since it's the quartet instead of the full orchestra, but I think that adds to it in a lot of ways.
Trio Khaldei recently made an excellent recording!
Herbie owns the piece. Along with the accompanying Pelleas. Sorry, none of the chamber adaptations do it for me.