Alban Berg: Lulu Suite/The Wine/Lyric Suite

superb Berg, superb Boulez

This is yet another recording that I am finally getting around to hearing on the occasion of Pierre Boulez's 80th birthday year, a superb entry in Sony's PIERRE BOULEZ series, with Boulez leading the New York Philharmonic. The most surprising aspect to me is finding that the "Lulu Suite" is mainly instrumental! Only one movement of five features Judith Blegen's soprano, the "Song of Lulu." So the main vocal feature on the disc is Jessye Norman's soprano on "The Wine," which sets to music verses of Baudelaire from "Les Fleurs du mal."

All three works use the 12-tone system created by Schoenberg. Berg is widely seen as the most listener-friendly of the Second Vienna School, and this music, while not as accessible as Mahler, has dramatic contours and lush orchestration that confirm that reputation. The story of the "Lulu Suite" is worth repeating -- Berg could not get the opera "Lulu" performed, as it was banned by the Nazis as "degenerate art." The suite was slipped past the censors by Erich Kleiber, who conducted the first performance in Berlin on November 30th, 1934. "Lulu" was left incomplete by Berg at his death in 1935, and parts of Act III existed with full scoring only in the "Suite." Friedrich Cerha only reconstructed the complete "Lulu" years later, and Boulez conducted the complete version for the first time in 1979, which was recorded, and was just reissued by DG.

"The Wine" was written concurrently with "Lulu," and not surprisingly the music is roughly similar, with Weill-like jazz elements, so it fits perfectly with the "Suite." Finally, the orchestral arrangement of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th movements of the "Lyric Suite," Berg's 12-tone string quartet, provides a fascinating contrast to the chamber version. A hidden love song, the "Lyric Suite" is famously the musical story of the unconsummated romance between the married Berg and a married woman. The Adagio appassionato, originally the fourth movement, here becomes the last movement, and so the work ends with tragic love in full flower, whereas in the full string quartet, the last two movements represent the parting and resignation that follow.

A gem, another splendid contribution by Boulez to spreading the word of the Second Vienna School, the cornerstone of modern music! August 25, 2005

Faster than Karajan, but with equal understanding

A wonderful Lulu suite. An exquisite Der Wein. And selections from the Lyric Suite done to perfection. Indeed a stellar Berg disc. I was used to the Lyric Suite pieces in the Karajan version (still not to be missed)with their languid and lush textures, but Boulez is just as good in his own way if more up-tempo. Highly recommendable. July 14, 2002

Powerful Expressionism

This is gut-wrenching stuff. Berg's music may be complex, but the impact of pieces like these is immediate and powerful. This recording of the Lulu-Suite, one of Berg's last pieces, is particularly startling--those who call Pierre Boulez' conducting "cold" have probably never heard this disc. I have hardly been more satisfied with any disc of classical music than I have with these performances. December 28, 2000

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