Because the release of this magnificent SACD of Arnold Schoenberg's Gurrelieder was intended to celebrate conductor
Michael Gielen's 80th birthday, the enterprise seems a fitting present to him, since few conductors have been more devoted to the composer's cause; this brilliant performance appears to be a fulfillment of
Gielen's long-held wish to record this mammoth oratorio with maximum clarity and lustrous sound. Few recordings of Gurrelieder can match this one for its crystalline details and clean textures, a necessity in this fantastically dense work; even though Schoenberg's orchestration is more layered and filigreed than anything found in Wagner or
Mahler,
Gielen makes the heaviest counterpoint sound utterly transparent, and the singers and orchestral parts are given ideal separation and balance. The lyrical parts of the lovers Waldemar and Tove are sung with beautiful tone and credible presence by tenor
Robert Dean Smith and soprano
Melanie Diener, and the supporting solos of mezzo-soprano Yvonne Naef as the Wood Dove, baritone Ralf Lukas as the Peasant, tenor
Gerhard Siegel as Klaus the Jester, and
Andreas Schmidt as the speaker, are suitably characterized and welcome for the dramatic contrasts they provide. The combined ensembles of the
SWR Baden-Baden and Freiburg Symphony Orchestra, the
Bavarian Radio Chorus, and the Middle German Radio Chorus, Leipzig, make this a truly potent recording in terms of volume and sonorities, so audiophiles who want to hear music of vast physical dimensions and extraordinary dynamic range will luxuriate in the sumptuous reproduction. Highly recommended.