fergus wrote:Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht [Orchestral version]....
Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht Op. 4 is programme music based on a poem written at the time. To put it in its musical context this work immediately preceded Gurrelider so it is an extremely accessible Schoenberg composition. It was originally written as a string sextet and was later, apparently, re-arranged for string orchestra. If you came to this music for the first time via the string orchestra version you would be very impressed with the beauty of the music. The passion and the drama of the work are brought out very well in this version. But although it is a beautiful version, the heavy orchestral textures detract from the haunting simplicity and, above all, the intimacy of the original chamber version which is, for me, the essence of the work.
Thanks for that lovely, detailed description, Fergus. I must say that I have always been a little underwhelmed by VN, although I admit it is by it's very nature quite accessible. The only versions I own of it are the famous Karajan, and Runnicles, with the BBC Symph... both versions leave me with the impression that its the final word in late Romanticism.. where else can you go with a tone poem, after the uniformly rich, velvety mush which is VN? Maybe, as Ciaran says, I should listen to the string orchestra version for another opinion? As it is, I have been enjoying Gurrelieder recently, which I find to be a more satisfying statement.