Artists across Europe adopted Pierrot as an alter ego to project their own concerns, assail societal hypocrisy, and imaginatively act out forbidden secrets.
Composition History
Claude Debussy's setting of Théodore de Banville's 'Pierrot', composed in 1881, was left unpublished until after the composer's death.
Composer Biography
Max Kowalski, a Jewish lawyer and composer, fled Nazi Germany for London in 1939 after the suicide of his wife and the repercussions of Kristallnacht.
Recording & Production
This album features world-premiere recordings of works by Joseph Marx, Poldowski, Max Kowalski, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Critical Reception
Schoenberg's 'Pierrot lunaire' remains groundbreaking and defies categorization a century after its premiere, despite the composer never hearing a pitch-perfect rendition in his lifetime.
Cultural Impact
The character of Pierrot, initially a lovelorn buffoon in 17th-century commedia dell'arte, transformed by the late 19th century into a complex figure exhibiting Hamletic self-awareness, cold humor, and irony.
Composition History
Arnold Schoenberg's 'Pierrot lunaire' was commissioned by actress and singer Albertine Zehme, who had developed a particular style of recitation.
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