Webern's compositions gradually moved away from classical tonality, becoming increasingly concise, with some pieces lasting less than a minute; brevity and concentration became hallmarks of his style.
Performer Biography
Svetlana Savenko, the soprano on this recording, is a Professor of Russian Music at the Moscow State Conservatoire and has authored over 100 publications.
Composition History
The four Lieder without an opus number, set to verses by Stefan George, remained unknown until their fortuitous discovery in 1965 and subsequent publication in 1966.
Recording & Production
Svetlana Savenko and Yuri Polubelov, the soprano and pianist on this album, have performed together as a duo since 1997, with a repertoire of over 350 songs.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Webern considered the song genre primarily a world of melodies and did not favor Schoenberg's Sprechstimme (speech-song), basing even his atonal songs on a drawn-out melodic line.
Composition History
Anton Webern studied composition with Arnold Schoenberg from 1904 to 1908, becoming a close friend and associate alongside Alban Berg.
Composer Biography
Anton Webern, born in Vienna in 1883, began his serious musical training as a pianist and cellist at the Gymnasium at Klagenfurt, where he also started composing.
