Great Conductors of The 20th Century Vol.32 - Hermann Scherchen
Great Conductors of The 20th Century Vol.32 - Hermann Scherchen
CD 1 1. Beethoven - Coriolan Overture, Op.62 Beethoven: Symphony No.8 2. I Allegro Vivace E Con Brio 3. II Allegretto Scherzando 4. III Tempo Di Menuetto 5. IV Allegro Vivace Stravinsky: ‘The Firebird’ Suite 6. The Firebird And It's Dance 7. Variation Of The Firebird 8. The Princesses' Round 9. Danse Infernale Du Roi Kostchei 10. Lullaby 11. Finale Schoenberg: Suite in the Old Style for string orchestra 12. I Ouverture. Largo - Allegro 13. II Adagio 14. V Gigue. Moderato 15. Orff: Entrata After The Bells Wiener Staatsopernorchester (1, 15) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2-11) Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (12-14) CD 2 1. Reznicek : Donna Diana: Overture Haydn: Symphony No.100 ‘Military’ 2. I Adagio - Allegro 3. II Allegretto 4. III Menuet. Moderato - Trio 5. IV Finale. Presto Brahms: Symphony No.1 6. I Un Poco Sostenuto - Allegro 7. II Andante Sostenuto 8. III Un Poco Allegretto E Grazioso 9. IV Adagio - Piu Andante - Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Con Brio Wiener Staatsopernorchester Hermann Scherchen – conductor
Hermann Scherchen was born in Berlin. Self-taught as a musician, he soon began playing the viola in orchestras and in 1912 made his debut as a conductor in Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire, which he studied with the composer. After being interned in Russia during World War 1, he returned to Berlin and formed the Society for New Music in 1918. From 1922 to 1950, he was associated with the Winterthur Musikkollegium and started giving master classes in conducting. In 1922, he succeeded Furtwängler in Frankfurt but left Germany in 1933 and settled in Switzerland becoming Music Director of the Swiss Radio in Zürich (1945-50) before returning to Germany. He continued an active international career in Europe and South America and gave world premieres of works by Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Nono and Dallapiccola. He was guest conductor at La Scala (1963-4) and made his US debut in 1964. Scherchen is particularly remembered as a musical pioneer; devoted to furthering the cause of contemporary music and of new means of musical expression. The set brings together Scherchen’s acclaimed performances of Haydn and Beethoven and also his authoritative interpretations of three contemporary composers – Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Orff – with whom Scherchen worked during his career. With the exception of the Schoenberg, the recordings originate from the Westminster catalogue and have been available on CD only in Japan. Scherchen’s performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No.8, in which the conductor scrupulously observes Beethoven’s metronome marks, caused a sensation when it was first issued in 1954 and the Haydn, from 1958, was also a famous recording of its time. The compilation also includes two important recordings new to the catalogue: Orff’s Entrata (based on William Byrd’s keyboard work ‘The Bells’) and Schoenberg’s Suite for String Orchestra, recorded live in 1959. The recording of Brahms’s First Symphony from 1952 is a rare opportunity to hear Scherchen in the work of a composer he rarely conducted. --- bayreuthclassical.blogspot.com
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