Search - Arnold Schoenberg, Contempoartensemble, Pietro De Maria :: Arnold Schenberg: Pierrot Lunaire

Pierrot Lunaire is a Masterwork worthy of Study

04/01/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Pierrot Lunaire is one of the masterworks of the 2oth century, one of the first easily comprehsible atonal music pieces to be written, and is a good starting place to those who would wish to familiarize themselves with the exciting worlds in music made possible by the 2nd Vienese school, and those musicians in the 1950 - 70's revival of the avant garde. Pierrot Lunaire is set in 21 short movements of varied thematic material, which allows those with no experience in the atonal medium to aurally grasp the structure of each movement with relative ease. (Although Boulez and other later composers chided him for his reliance on traditional form). It is always a joy to see the different affects which are shown in the work, and how they are interprited by various performers. There is so much in the music to remember, that too often one emphaszies (for example) the nightmareish affect of expressionism at the expense of all other meaning in the piece. While this particular CD offers a good representation of the multifaceted symbolism in the work, a somewhat more 'objective' , 'humorous' and technically unsurpassed recording is available on Deutsche Grammophon, conducted by Pierre Boulez. Boulez has an amazing ability to balance all the aspects of the work, and show the expressionism while also showing the clever pranks that Schoenberg included."