Zemlinsky: Complete Orchestral Songs

On this CD:

1. Waldgespräch, ballad for soprano, 2 horns, harp & strings
Composed by Alexander von Zemlinsky
Performed by Cologne Philharmonic with Soile Isokoski
Conducted by James Conlon

2. Mailblumen blühten überall, for soprano and string sextet
Composed by Alexander von Zemlinsky
Performed by Cologne Philharmonic with Soile Isokoski, Mile Kosi, Torsten Janicke
Conducted by James Conlon

3. Der alte Garten, song for voice & orchestra
Composed by Alexander von Zemlinsky
Performed by Cologne Philharmonic with Andreas Schmidt
Conducted by James Conlon

4. Erdeinsamkeit, song for voice & orchestra
Composed by Peter Sculthorpe
Performed by Cologne Philharmonic with Andreas Schmidt
Conducted by James Conlon

5. Songs (6) on Poems by Maurice Maeterlinck for voice & orchestra, Op 13
Composed by Alexander von Zemlinsky
Performed by Cologne Philharmonic
Conducted by James Conlon

6. Symphonic Songs, Op 20
Composed by Alexander von Zemlinsky
Performed by Cologne Philharmonic with Michael Volle
Conducted by James Conlon

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
James Conlon already has recorded several discs of Alexander von Zemlinsky for EMI, including the Complete Choral Works. The conductor continues his passionate advocacy with this revelatory CD. With each issue in this series, Zemlinsky's true genius becomes more apparent. The heady chromatic language of these pieces is emotional and immediately appealing. Conlon brings out the individual strands of the music while simultaneously evoking a plush, warm background of sound from his orchestra. Of the soloists, Soile Isokoski emerges as the star. Her clean diction, sure dramatic sense, and complete identification with Zemlinsky's idiom mean that one becomes immersed in the heady chromaticism of both Waldgespräch and the harmonically more advanced Maiblumen blühten überall. Both inhabit the same emotional world as Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht (to accentuate the comparison, the accompaniment to Maiblumen is scored for string sextet). Although marginally less involving than Isokoski, Andreas Schmidt's baritone still has just the right tonal weight for the Zwei Gesänge. Violeta Urmana's dreamy mezzo-soprano voice luxuriates in Zemlinsky's seemingly endless flow of melody in the Maeterlinck Songs. Finally, Michael Volle relishes the Mahlerian Symphonische Gesänge. --Colin Clarke

Tracks:

Psalm 13 Op.24 - Chor des Stadt. Musikvereins zu Dusseldorf
Psalm 23 Op.14 - Chor des Stadt. Musikvereins zu Dusseldorf
Psalm 83 - Chor des Stadt. Musikvereins zu Dusseldorf
Fruhlingsglaube - Andre Sebald
Geheimnis - Andre Sebald
Minnelied - Andre Sebald
Hochzeitsgesang - Lothar Blum
Aurikelchen - Mulheimer Kantorei
Horch! Vom Hugel, Welch Sanfter Klang - Deborah Voigt
Schoner Jungling - Deborah Voigt
Wie Lieblich Er Ruht - Deborah Voigt
Stumm In Wehmut Schaut Der Mond Herab - Deborah Voigt
Und Ein Specht Klopft - Deborah Voigt
Als So Weihevoll Der Alte Sprach - Deborah Voigt
Horch! Vom Hugel, Welch Ein Wilder Klang? - Deborah Voigt

Tracks:

Waldgesprach - Soile Isokoski
Maiblumen Bluhten Uberall - Soile Isokoski
1. Der Alte Garten - Andreas Schmidt
2. Erdeinsamkeit - Andreas Schmidt
1. Die Drei Schwestern - Violeta Urmana
2. Die Madchen Mit Den Verbundenen Augen - Violeta Urmana
3. Lied Der Jungfrau - Violeta Urmana
4. Als Ihr Geliebter Schied - Violeta Urmana
5. Und Kehrt Er Einst Heim - Violeta Urmana
6. Sie Kam Zum Schloss Gegangen - Violeta Urmana
1. Lied Aus Dixieland - Michael Volle
2. Lied Der Baumwollpacker - Michael Volle
3. Totes Braunes Madel - Michael Volle
4. Ubler bursche - Michael Volle
5. Erkenntnis - Michael Volle
6. Afrikanischer Tanz - Michael Volle
7. Arabeske - Michael Volle

Average customer rating:

A stylish, moving collection...
Zemlinsky--Complete Orchestral Songs
Zemlinsky--Complete Orchestral Songs

Zemlinsky: Complete Orchestral Songs

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Zemlinsky - Der Traumgörge / Keubler, Racette, S. Anthony, Martinez, A. Schmidt, M. Volle, Kölner Philharmoniker, Conlon
Zemlinsky: Complete Choral Works

ASIN: B00004TR17
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Tracks:

Waldgesprach: Es Ist Schon Spat, Es Ist Schon Kalt - Soile Isokoski
Maiblumen Bluhten Uberall: Maiblumen Bluhten Uberall - Soile Isokoski/Torsten Janicke/Rose Kaufmann/Mile Kosi/Urara Seo/Daniel Cahen/Sylvia Borg
Zwei Gesange: 1. Der Alte Garten: Kaiserkron Und Paonien Rot - Andreas Schmidt
Zwei Gesange: 2. Erdeinsamkeit: O, Wir Sind Einsam - Andreas Schmidt
Sechs Gesande, Op.13: 1. Die Drei Schwestern: Die Drei Schwestern Wollten Sterben - Violeta Urmana
Sechs Gesande, Op.13: 2. Die Madchen Mit Den Verbundenen Augen: Die Madchen Mit Den Verbundenen... - Violeta Urmana
Sechs Gesande, Op.13: 3. Lied Der Jungfrau: Allen Weinenden Seelen - Violeta Urmana
Sechs Gesande, Op.13: 4. Als Ihr Geliebter Schied: Als Ihr Beliebter Schied - Violeta Urmana
Sechs Gesande, Op.13: 5. Und Kehrt Er Einst Heim: Und Kehrt Er Einst Heim - Violeta Urmana
Sechs Gesande, Op.13: 6. Sie Kam Zum Schloss Gegangen: Sie Kam Zum Schloss Gegangen - Violeta Urmana
Sym Gesange, Op.20: 1. Lied Aus Dixieland: Weit Unten, Im Suden, In Dixieland - Michael Volle
Sym Gesange, Op.20: 2. Lied Der Baumwollpacker: Komm, Bruder, Komm! - Michael Volle
Sym Gesange, Op.20: 3. Totes Braunes Madel: Schwarzbraunes Madel - Michael Volle
Sym Gesange, Op.20: 4. Ubler Bursche: Bin Ein Ubler Bursche - Michael Volle
Sym Gesange, Op.20: 5. Erkenntnis: Ich Mochte Wieder Einfach Sein - Michael Volle
Sym Gesange, Op.20: 6. Afrikanischer Tanz: Grollen Die Tomtoms - Michael Volle
Sym Gesange, Op.20: 7. Arabeske: Drunten In Georgia - Michael Volle

Amazon.com

James Conlon already has recorded several discs of Alexander von Zemlinsky for EMI, including the Complete Choral Works. The conductor continues his passionate advocacy with this revelatory CD. With each issue in this series, Zemlinsky's true genius becomes more apparent. The heady chromatic language of these pieces is emotional and immediately appealing. Conlon brings out the individual strands of the music while simultaneously evoking a plush, warm background of sound from his orchestra. Of the soloists, Soile Isokoski emerges as the star. Her clean diction, sure dramatic sense, and complete identification with Zemlinsky's idiom mean that one becomes immersed in the heady chromaticism of both Waldgespräch and the harmonically more advanced Maiblumen blühten überall. Both inhabit the same emotional world as Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht (to accentuate the comparison, the accompaniment to Maiblumen is scored for string sextet). Although marginally less involving than Isokoski, Andreas Schmidt's baritone still has just the right tonal weight for the Zwei Gesänge. Violeta Urmana's dreamy mezzo-soprano voice luxuriates in Zemlinsky's seemingly endless flow of melody in the Maeterlinck Songs. Finally, Michael Volle relishes the Mahlerian Symphonische Gesänge. --Colin Clarke

Customer Reviews:

A stylish, moving collection..........2003-02-21

One often reads in reviews of Zemlinsky's works that he didn't "change with the times". This must certainly be code for "didn't copy his friend Schoenberg by writing atonal music", because, as this album amply demonstrates, Zemlinsky's style definitely underwent a metamorphosis. The first song, "Waldgesprach", written in the late 19th century, reminded me strangely of "Erlkonig" by Schubert, though with obvious echos of Wagner. The second, accompanied by string sextet, is filled with Tristanesque chromaticism. But it's with the "Two Songs for Baritone and Orchestra" that the album really starts to take off, and to sound like the Zemlinsky of later years. The famous Maeterlinck songs are jewels. They rank among his greatest masterpieces--archetypes of the 20th century romantic art song. Every detail has been lovingly thought out and put in it's place. The orchestration is startlingly original, and the harmonies filled with compelling strangeness. The texts, too, are fascinating fragments that are melancholy and evocative. The "Symphonic Songs" premiered 16 years later than the Maeterlinck songs, and are typical of Zemlinsky's later style--less lush, and filled with dark, unsettled harmonies. I do prefer his middle period, but there's still much about this group that is compelling, and the music suits these dark poems about the suffering of slaves in "Dixieland", with references to lynchings, domestic violence, etc. There are few composers who can compete with the richness of Zemlinsky's art, and this album is a catalogue of that richness.

Zemlinsky--Complete Orchestral Songs.......2000-10-16

The music of Gustav Mahler and Richard Wagner echoes strongly in Alexander Zemlinsky's orchestral song Waldgensprach (Forest Talk). Zemlinsky is a little-known link in the line of Austrian/German lied composers stretching back to Schubert and through Richard Strauss. In a short time at the end of the 19th century, this musical world produced Gustav Mahler and Hugo Wolf, then Richard Strauss, Alexander Zemlinsky, and Arnold Schoenberg in succession. That Zemlinsky's works, few as they are, do not feature prominently in the modern repertoire is not for their lack of quality--Zemlinsky was a great composer, but unfortunately he wasn't a great composer often enough. His oeuvre consists of eight operas, three symphonies, and a relatively small number of chamber ensembles and songs--in fact, also like Mahler, Zemlinsky spent a large portion of his professional life as a conductor, which must have been a contributing factor in his limited compositional output. But when Zemlinsky is at his best, as in his Lyric Symphony, or in his Two Songs for Baritone and Orchestra, his work is as fine as any of his contemporaries, and this is a highly recommended CD for fans of the genre.

There is an oddity of this CD, though: although it is titled the Complete Orchestral Songs, it includes a fragment of a song cycle and a song for soprano and string sextet, both of which were abandoned by Zemlinsky uncompleted. Resurrecting the music of forgotten composers is one thing; but resurrecting the incomplete works of forgotten composers strikes me as a rather odd thing to do, although in this case, it works. The song for soprano and string sextet, originally intended as a companion piece for Arnold Schoenberg's Verkarte Nacht, is a beautiful work worthy of attention. The "Grand Gesture" is not the only thing that Romantic music is about, and Zemlinsky is as compelling with the intimate caress as with the passionate spasm.

This more intimate approach, again probably derived from Mahler in his Das Lied Von Der Erde, is featured in one of the most interesting pieces on the disc, the Symphonic Songs, op. 20. These songs are based on the poetry of African-American writers of the `Harlem Renaissance' about the black experience in America, particularly the experiences of oppression and death. These poems must have resonated strongly in Zemlinsky, who had recently lost his wife and who was soon to be forced to emigrate to America as a result of Nazi oppression. The cycle ends with a tremendously haunting scene of a white girl holding and kissing a black baby as they smile at one another on a beautiful summer day, while the corpse of a black man hangs from a tree, silhouetted by the sun. The poem is made all the more haunting by the simple language used--we are left to ourselves to feel the horror of the scene rather than having the details of the death grimace on the dead man's face told in exacting detail; and Zemlinsky captures this effect perfectly.

Zemlinsky--Complete Orchestral Songs.......2000-10-16

Music Track: