Arnold Schönberg - Verklärte Nacht • Pelléas Und Mélisande download free

for verklarte nacht: this is actually the 1917 reorchestration for a string symphony and not the 1903 original.this is a little less spastic than schoenberg's later works; it's fairly typical of it's time in that it's middle-era romanticist, not far from wagner, the man who defined the era. schoenberg was in the process of destroying music theory here, a little bit at a time, so there was scandal and anger, etc. it's hard to see why people got so upset. it's just a symphony....i'll admit to not being a large fan of this middle era (1875-1920) of romanticism, not when it's being so conscientiously obtuse. schoenberg understood exactly what he was doing, but you get the idea that he viewed what he was doing as some kind of a necessity; he comes off like pontius pilate, wiping his hands, saying "i see nothing wrong with this theory, but i will destroy it anyways because that is what i am supposed to do.".unlike his later work - which floated off into outer space - his early work is actually a little bit boring because of what sounds like his lack of interest in writing music and his interest in purely pushing boundaries. despite his education and understanding of the subject, schoenberg was never a particularly good composer; his early music often lacks any purpose or goal other than describing some kind of story, which, for him, usually even seems like a lie! he never knew quite when to rise a crescendo or change the mood; even his attempts to be unpredictable sound rather predictable.now, i'm not going to bash this work other than to say it often gives me a headache. the way it's written does not command attention, it's not supposed to, it's designed simply to piss people off. so, give the guy credit for being punk rock. but, it hasn't aged well at all - today it sounds ugly, unpolished, even unsophisticated at times. maybe it's all the bad movies it's been attached to...if you want middle era romantic music, i'd push you more towards something with a lead instrument - rachmaninov, perhaps. if you want schoenberg, i'd suggest his later serialist work....his composition style really works out better when he's making no attempt whatsoever to play by the standard rules.