Alexander Zemlinsky; Franz Schreker - Die Seejungfrau; Der Geburtstag der Infantin (Vasily Petrenko)

Information

Composer: Alexander Zemlinsky; Franz Schreker

• Zemlinsky - Die Seejungfrau
• Schreker - Der Geburtstag der Infantin

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Date: 2021

Label: Onyx Classics

https://onyxclassics.com/release/zemlinsky-schreker/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

Schreker’s Der Geburtstag der Infantin, based on Oscar Wilde’s short story The Birthday of the Infanta, is most commonly heard in the form of the orchestral suite published in 1923. Petrenko’s recording gives us the original dance pantomime score of 1908, scored for a chamber orchestra of double winds, percussion, harp and strings. It also features around 10 minutes of music not included in the suite, including the tragic moment when the dwarf recognises himself in a mirror and his death from a broken heart. For this reason, the full-length version comes across as a weightier affair than the suite, despite the smaller forces used. In both cases, Schreker’s music is full of melodic and harmonic appeal, and the orchestration is lithe and imaginative. Vasily Petrenko’s interpretation is a pleasure from first to last. The excellent playing of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic brings each of the episodes vividly to life and overall there’s a depth of feeling that outshines the earlier recording by John Axelrod and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra (Nimbus, 1/08).

For a work that was withdrawn by its composer and thought lost for nearly 80 years, Zemlinsky’s Die Seejungfrau has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence of interest in recent years, and at least a dozen recordings have appeared since Chailly’s pioneering 1986 account for Decca. Following the publication of the critical edition by Antony Beaumont in 2013, recent recordings have included a four-minute passage in the second movement removed by Zemlinsky before the first performance in 1905. I must admit I’m not wholly convinced that the additional music adds to the effectiveness of the work, and indeed the critical edition includes two versions of the movement so that performers can choose which to perform. Petrenko joins Storgårds, Krivine and Albrecht in including the extra music, and it may well be that this will become the standard version. The passage in question, depicting the realm of the Mer-witch, commences at 7'06". As in the Schreker piece, Petrenko directs a strongly communicative performance of Zemlinsky’s sumptuous score and the work’s many solos are beautifully rendered. The recording sounds slightly distanced but is detailed and well balanced. Altogether a very attractive release.

-- Christian Hoskins, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/orchestral/zemlinsky-die-seejungfrau-etc

https://www.allmusic.com/album/zemlinsky-die-seejungfrau-schreker-der-geburtstag-der-infantin-mw0003488343

https://www.amazon.com/Zemlinsky-Seejungfrau-Schreker-Geburtstag-Infantin/dp/B08XKVX14Y

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexander Zemlinsky (October 14, 1871 – March 15, 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher. Among his teachers at the Vienna Conservatory are Robert Fuchs and Anton Bruckner. His best-known work is the Lyric Symphony, which Zemlinsky himself compared to Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. Other works include the large-scale fantasy Die Seejungfrau, a three-movement Sinfonietta, eight operas, three psalm settings, and numerous song cycles. As a conductor, Zemlinsky was admired by Kurt Weill and Stravinsky. As a teacher, his pupils included Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Hans Krása and Karl Weigl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_von_Zemlinsky

***

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

***

Vasily Petrenko (born 7 July 1976, Leningrad, USSR) is a Russian conductor. Petrenko studied conducting principally under Ravil Martynov, and also learned from Mariss Jansons, Yuri Temirkanov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Since 2006 he has been principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and is chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013. The contract between Petrenko and the RLPO is an extended open-ended agreement with no specific scheduled time of conclusion. He is noted for his recordings of Shostakovich symphonies on Naxos and Rachmaninov on EMI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Petrenko

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!