Saturday, April 30, 2016

Franz Schreker - Kammersymphonie - Two Versions


Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen
Conductor. Jonas Alber
Soloist. Wibert Aerts

score 


Arrangement for Piano Solo by Ignace Strasfogel
Emma Schmidt, piano



I found these in my bookmark list with other files about the activities of Schoenberg's Society for Private Performance, I don't recall if the piano solo version was one of the reductions of new orchestral music played there or not.  But these are performances I listened to when I was writing about that a few weeks back.   I'd not known any of Schrecker's music, though I do know that Schoenberg considered him a fine musician.  He was one of the major composers in Vienna, especially known for his operas, though his career faded even before his death in the early 1930s.  I don't get why, he was a very original and interesting composer.

This piece, in particular is quite magical, both in the orchestral version and in the authorized arrangement for piano solo.  In some ways I almost prefer the piano version.  The orchestration is quite something, though some of the textures and sounds were stolen by cheezy Hollywood composers later in the century.  It's a hazard that lesser composers will steal your inventions.




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