This London double decker provides two different perspectives on
Schoenberg's works. The first disc reflects
Schoenberg's persistent formal concerns in the face of post-Romantic extravagance and modernist challenges. In Verklärte Nacht, a work strongly influenced by
Liszt and
Wagner,
Schoenberg's writing is densely chromatic and expansive, though tonality is constant throughout and the music is formally balanced. The quartal harmony of the almost neo-Classical Chamber Symphony and the dodecaphonic Variations demonstrate radical changes in
Schoenberg's resources, but the recognizable forms still show an affinity for
Brahms and the Viennese tradition.
Zubin Mehta's performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra are rich in color and detail. The second disc may be taken as a portrait of
Schoenberg's Expressionist side. His powerful music strains form to the breaking point. The hypersensitive Pieces (5), the uneasily lush Songs (6), and the devastating Erwartung all emphasize emotion over intellect and push beyond abstraction into the realm of psychology.
Christoph von Dohnányi's performance of the Pieces (5) with the
Cleveland Orchestra has a nervous quality, and the fragile orchestration is sharply delineated. Erwartung, with
Anja Silja and the
Vienna Philharmonic, is even more agitated and gives a telling picture of
Schoenberg at his most angst-ridden and subjective.