Schoenberg: Transfigured Night

Give this a chance

I have little interest in the atonal period of music but still find plenty of post-romantic pieces which are engaging. This particular piece is one of those. I was not familiar with Schoenberg and had read about "Transfigured Night" in Ted Libbey's book: Building a Classical CD collection." After reading reviews on several, including Mr. Libbeys' suggested renditions, I settled on this one.

I have not heard any other recording to compare this with but have listened intently several times now to it. The quality of sound is rich and vibrant. The music is modern and beautiful in passages. One should not expect immediate gratification if you primarily listen to classical chamber music. I urge one to listen carefully several times before passing judgement on this piece. It will grow on you. It deserves full praise for it's place in history as revolutionary and the Julliard String Quartet with Walter Trampler and Yo-yo Ma play it beautifully. March 19, 2008

2 very distinct eras of Schoenberg...

This CD presents an opportunity to hear Schoenberg's justly famous and beautiful "Verklärte Nacht" in its original score for string sextet (the relatively more lush arrangement Schoenberg wrote for chamber orchestra - in 1917 and updated in 1943 - typically receives more performances in recordings and concert halls). Here the nuances of the piece along with its gorgeous harmonies, melodies, and counter melodies explode and reveal themselves more so than in the later re-arranged versions. "Verklärte Nacht" stands as one of the greatest achievements of early twentieth century music. As many have pointed out, it stands on the threshold of romanticism and the "new" tonalities of the twentieth century. Schoenberg experimented with dissonance in this piece and disturbed audiences at the time (though audiences today may wonder what was so offensive). In sextet, these dissonances have slightly more punch and are not as hidden behind a curtain of strings. Not only that, the piece still maintains its emotional impact even at this level of instrumentation.

The other piece on this disc journeys to the later half of Schoenberg's life. Schoenberg wrote "Verklärte Nacht" in 1899 near the beginning of his composing career (it carries the very early Opus number 4, which makes it even more remarkable). In contrast, the String Trio was written in 1946. The intervening years development between the Opus 4 and the Opus 45 shout forth rather saliently. The String Trio utilizes Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique. It is a wild piece, and a masterpiece of its genre. It followed a traumatic event in Schoenberg's late life. When he was 72 he suffered a severe asthma attack that caused his heart to stop. He had to be revived with an injection directly into his heart. A couple days of delirium followed. Schoenberg said that this trio played out the entire event musically (and called it his "delirium trio"). Just where the specific events occur in the piece are left to speculation, but nonetheless the story fits the mood of this incredible work.

This disc presents two incredible works of Schoenberg and also showcases his amazing development through the twentieth century by pure contrast of the works alone. And best of all, each piece receives an incredible performance from the always amazing Juilliard String Quartet (with two guests: the inimitable Yo-Yo Ma on Cello and Walter Trampler on viola). August 7, 2005

Excellent performance of fantastic music

Let me be the first to say that I am not a fan of 12-tone and other "modern" music. The first time I heard Verklaerte Nacht, I remember preparing myself to suffer through the first part of the concert. To my surprise, what emerged was music on a par with Brahms and Mahler at their most lush. Later I worked on this piece with a sextet and found it amazing that something so chromatic and rhythmically complex on paper could come out sounding so gorgeous (when, that is, we were able to execute it half-decently - it is a difficult work)... the Trio, despite its clearly non-Romantic nature, grows on one...

This ensemble pulls it off beautifully, energetically and coherently, making this disc a necessary addition to the classical music library. June 26, 2005

Excellent playing of two great masterpieces

I'll start out talking about the last work first, but please read the whole review. The String Trio Op.45 is one of the great works of the genre. One might see it in several ways. If one is tied to a "traditional" sense of melody and tonality, this piece is probably perplexing. For those who enjoy exploring new possibilities in sound, this is one of the most imaginitive works you could ever listen to - there's a surprise around every corner, and it's amazing that so many sounds come out of 3 instruments.
Verklarte Nacht is from much earlier in Schoenberg's career, during the last flowerings of the Post-Romantic style. This recording gives us the original string sextet version. I think the solo playing allows Schoenberg's beautiful melodies to sing much more than in the more commonly recorded string orchestra arrangement he did himself. While the beauties of the String Trio may take a while for some people to warm up to, Verklarte Nacht is about as "pretty" as you can get, even though you have to work through the turbulent first half before you get to the sweet stuff. And when it's sweet, it's very sweet. Schoenberg didn't take the "transfigured" part lightly. The last half is pure heaven and the coda will send shivers up your spine. It's one of my absolute favorite works.
The performances are wonderful. December 23, 2004

Fine Playing

The Verklarkte Nacht is an amazing work. The Juilliard Quartet play beutifully with Yo Yo Ma and Walter Trampler on viola. The ensemble meshes wonderfully together. Walter Trampler was a great viola player. He was so musical it is a shame he is gone and not recorded more. Definitely buy this recording. Do not buy the recordings with full orchestra. That is not how the work was meant to be played. January 4, 2003

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