The premiere of Gurre-Lieder in Vienna on February 23, 1913, conducted by Franz Schreker, was one of Schoenberg's greatest public triumphs.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Jens Peter Jacobsen, the Danish botanist and writer whose poems Schoenberg set, translated Darwin into Danish and his writing was characterized by social alienation and religious skepticism, which appealed to Schoenberg.
Compositional Technique
Gurre-Lieder is scored for five solo singers, three four-part male choruses, an eight-part mixed chorus, and a massive orchestra requiring two dozen each of woodwind and brass, a large percussion section, and matching strings.
Composition History
Schoenberg began composing Gurre-Lieder after his string sextet Verklärte Nacht was rejected for its advanced harmonic idiom, and he took up a challenge from the Wiener Tonkünstlerverein to set poems from Jens Peter Jacobsen's Gurresange.
Composition History
Schoenberg broke off work on the orchestration of Gurre-Lieder for nearly a decade due to the difficulty of balancing the task with earning a living, despite encouragement from figures like Richard Strauss.
Interpretation
Schoenberg advised against taking the metronome marks in his score too literally, acknowledging that many of his tempo indications were exaggerated for their time.
Performer Biography
Robert Craft, the conductor of this recording, was Igor Stravinsky's constant companion, co-conductor, and musical confidant for over twenty years, making him a primary source for understanding Stravinsky's intentions.
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Schoenberg: Gurre-Lieder (Live at Semperoper, Dresden)
