Schoenberg, A.: Pelleas Und Melisande / Erwartung

Featuring

Robert Craft
Anja Silja
Philharmonia Orchestra
Arnold Schoenberg

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Critical Reception

Schoenberg's tone poem Pelleas und Melisande provoked 'riots among the audience and even the critics' at its 1905 premiere in Vienna.

Compositional Technique

Schoenberg's Erwartung is notable for its continuous variation of orchestral textures and constantly changing tempi, with 111 tempo shifts in just 427 bars.

Performer Biography

Robert Craft, the conductor, was Igor Stravinsky's constant companion, co-conductor, and musical confidant for over twenty years, providing unique insight into Stravinsky's music.

Recording & Production

This recording of Erwartung is the first to include a viola solo at bars 252-253, an error that had been present in orchestra parts since 1924.

Performer Biography

Anja Silja, the soprano, began vocal studies at age six and made her stage debut at sixteen as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Compositional Technique

Pelleas und Melisande features an unprecedented number of intertwined counterpoint layers for a large orchestra, with all themes developed polyphonically.

Performer Biography

The Philharmonia Orchestra, founded in 1945, has been a pioneer in classical music, with millions experiencing classical music for the first time through their recordings.