Mahler/Schoenberg/Riehn: Das Lied von der Erde. Robert Breault, tenor; Richard Zeller, baritone; Martingale Ensemble, Ken Selden conductor. MSR Classics MS 1406

What a WONDERFUL surprise and BEAUTIFUL recording! In what seems like a very long lifetime ago, DG came out with a surprise: A record performed by The Boston Symphony Chamber Players doing transcriptions of Johann Strauss by the Second Viennese School of Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, Alban Berg and Anton von Webern. A little history is essential here...

It was in the Autumn at the end of the First World War that Arnold Schoenberg founded his Society for Private Musical Performances (Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen). What Schoenberg hoped to do was to bring modern music to an interested Viennese audience. During that time, between February 1919 and December 1921, the Society presented a staggering 353 performances of 154 works over 117 concerts. The "interested public" were the only audience allowed to attend these concerts: Critics were forbidden, and there was no applause to be given at the end of the program. For the first two years, Schoenberg didn't allow any of his works on the programs! But he DID allow music by those who "had a real face or name." Those composers included Stravinsky, Debussy, Bartok, Ravel, and of course Berg and Webern, his students, and many more, including wonderful transcriptions of waltzes by Johann Strauss II. After all, this WAS Vienna, Strauss has just passed away in 1899 and his waltzes were "modern" music of the time! So in May of 1921, Schoenberg approached both Berg and Webern about scoring some waltzes for string quartet, piano and harmonium, which would have been very similar to what chamber ensembles would have performed during Strauss' lifetime. Schoenberg's contribution to this concert was to arrange Roses from the South, and in 1925, long after the Verein closed, Schoenberg added an arrangement of Strauss' Kaiser Waltz for string quintet, piano, flute and clarinet. And that long ago Deutsche Grammophon recording with The Boston Symphony Chamber Players was exquisite. DG re-released it as part of their Originals Series (463 667-20) and for some reason it doesn't seem to be available via Arkivmusic. But this brings us to Mahler's Das Lied.

In 1920 Schoenberg began to arrange Das Lied for string quintet, wind quintet, piano, celeste, harmonium and percussion. Because of the Verein ceasing performances due to bankruptcy, Schoenberg never completed Das Lied but left sketches. Sadly, Schoenberg's Das Lied was never performed in Schoenberg's lifetime, and was only completed from these sketches in 1983 by Rainer Riehn. What I can't believe is that it took until last year for the first recording of this remarkable arrangement to be set down, and I can't say it enough, in such a BEAUTIFUL recording! 

Eagerly I opened the package and placed the cd in my player and was rewarded with an exceptional arrangement and recording! What Mahler had orchestrated with a large ensemble Schoenberg captured with his small band, showing himself to be a master orchestrator. The decision to have tenor and baritone soloists alternate instead of the usual alto and tenor was a stroke of brilliance and lends a very nice difference to the many alto/tenor recordings (buy now http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=990378&source=VENEZ). There is a surprise in the notes where, in the middle of the booklet, there's an "also available:" Mahler's Symphony No. 4, also transcribed by Schoenberg with soprano Deanna Breiwick, and Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun as arranged by Benno Sachs, both with Ken Selden conducting his exquisite Martingale Ensemble (buy now http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=640204&source=VENEZ). Not having heard the Mahler 4/Debussy Prelude, if it's anything like Das Lied, we're in for something just as extremely unusual, sensually beautiful, aurally incredible, and performances and interpretations as close to perfect as you'll find as with Das Lied. I cannot recommend Das Lied highly enough, and I very eagerly wait for more recordings from Ken Selden and his Martingale Ensemble. And since it appears that the stores are starting to gear up for the Christmas season, these are two recordings that your hard to find something wonderful for your classical listener might not have in their collection...it wouldn't be a bad idea to start your shopping early here!

Donald Venezia