Franz Schreker - Ausdruckstanz (John Axelrod)

Information

Composer: Franz Schreker

• (01) Der Geburtstag der Infantin
• (15) Valse lente
• (16) Festwalzer und Walzerintermezzo
• (17) Der Wind
• (18) Ein Tanzspiel

Lucerne Symphony Orchestra
John Axelrod, conductor

Date: 2005
Label: Nimbus Records
https://www.wyastone.co.uk/schreker-ausdruckstanz.html

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

A couple of decades ago there was a perfume brand whose slogan was “sensual, but not too far from innocence”. Well, if ever a composer fit that description, it’s Schreker. It’s a pity that they never used his music to back the television commercials. Basically, Schreker’s music is conservative: sweet tunes, harmonically traditional, and just a bit (as Berg noted) kitschy. But he surrounds these tried-and-true elements with the most extravagant orchestration: swirling strings murmur hypnotically, percussion and celesta tintinnabulations speckle the texture until it glitters, while harps add a sexy shimmer. Even in a piece like Der Wind, scored for chamber ensemble, Schreker’s aural imagination is quite evident, always operating at the highest level. This is, in short, deliciously decadent music, wholly captivating and (best of all) never too long for its material.

The five works included here represent Schreker’s contributions to “Ausdruckstanz”, a type of interpretive dance form pioneered in 1907 by the Wiesenthal sisters of Vienna. The Birthday of the Infanta has been recorded previously, both as here in its complete form, and more frequently as a suite, shorn of about 10 minutes of music (it lasts roughly half an hour). A couple more of these pieces (Valse Lente, in particular) also have appeared on previous releases, but this is the first disc to put all of Schreker’s ballets for the Wiesenthal sisters together, and none of the competing performances is better played or better recorded. Conductor John Axelrod does a splendid job revealing the music’s gleaming orchestration, and he has the Lucerne orchestra playing in an appropriately lush style, but without ever losing the feeling of the dance. The opening of Valse Lente is particularly magical and delicately done. Nimbus offers ideally warm, atmospheric sonics to match. Don’t miss this disc, for any reason. It’s absolutely luscious. [2/3/2006]

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nim05753a.php
https://www.allmusic.com/album/franz-schreker-und-ausdruckstanz-mw0001420539
https://www.amazon.com/Franz-Schreker-Lucerne-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B000CBEWN8

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Franz Schreker (23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Although Schreker was influenced by composers such as Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner, his mature style shows a highly individual harmonic language. Schreker's fame and influence were at their peak during the early years of the Weimar Republic when he was the most performed living opera composer after Richard Strauss. After decades in obscurity, Schreker has begun to enjoy a considerable revival in reputation in the German-speaking world and in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schreker

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John Axelrod (born March 28, 1966 in Houston, Texas) is an American conductor. He studied at the Harvard University and the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Ilya Musin. Among his other teachers are Leonard Bernstein and Christoph Eschenbach. Axelrod has conducted over 150 orchestras around the world. He was Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony (2004-09), Music Director of l'Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire (2009-13), Artistic Director of the Royal Seville Symphony (since 2014), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Kyoto Symphony (since January 2020).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Axelrod
https://johnaxelrod.com/

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