The Hollywood String Quartet plays Arnold Schönberg: Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (1950) (restored)

At the end of the Nineteenth Century the foremost representatives of the Zeitgeist in poetry were Detlev von Liliencron, Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Dehmel. But in music, after Brahms' death, many young composers followed the example of Richard Strauss by composing 'programme' music. This explains the origin of Verklärte Nacht: it is 'programme' music, illustrating and giving musical expression to the poem from 'Weib und Welt' by Richard Dehmel. However, my composition was perhaps somehow different from other illustrative compositions, first by not being for orchestra, but for a chamber group; second, because it does not illustrate any action or drama, but was restricted to portray nature and to express human emotions. It seems that, due to this attitude, my composition has gained qualities which can satisfy even if one does not know what it illustrates; or, in other words, it can be appreciated as 'pure' music. Thus, perhaps, it can make you forget the poem which many people today might call repulsive. Nevertheless, much of the poem deserves appreciation because of its highly poetic presentation of the emotions aroused by the beauty of nature, and for the distinguished moral attitude in dealing with a staggeringly difficult human problem. Promenading in a park on a clear, cold moonlight night, the wife confesses a tragedy to the man in a dramatic outburst. She had married a man whom she did not love. She was unhappy and lonely in this marriage, but forced herself to remain faithful, and finally, obeying the maternal instinct, she is now with child from the man she does not love. She even had considered herself praiseworthy for fulfilling her duty toward the demands of nature. A climactic ascension expresses her self-accusation of her great sin. In desperation she now walks beside the man with whom she has fallen in love, fearing his sentence will destroy her. But 'the voice of a man speaks, a man whose generosity is as sublime as his love.' The first half of the composition ends in E flat minor of which, as a transition, only B flat remains, in order to connect with the extreme contrast in D major. Harmonics, adorned by muted runs, express the beauty of the moonlight and introduce, above a glittering accompaniment, a secondary theme which soon changes into a duet between violin and 'cello. This section reflects the mood of a man whose love, in harmony with the splendour and radiance of nature, is capable of ignoring the tragic situation: 'The child you bear must not be a burden to your soul.' Having reached a climax, this duet is connected by a transition with a new theme. Its melody, expressing the 'warmth that flows from one of us into the other,' the warmth of love, is followed by repetitions and elaborations of preceding themes. It leads finally to another new theme which corresponds to the man's dignified resolution: this warmth 'will transfigure your child' so as to become 'my own.' An ascension leads to a climax, a repetition of the second part of the man's theme. A long coda section concludes the work. Its material consists of themes of the preceding parts, all of them modified anew, so as to glorify the miracles of nature that have changed this night of tragedy into a transfigured night. It should not be forgotten that this work, at its first performance in Vienna, was hissed and caused riots and fist fights. But it soon became very successful. A. Schoenberg, as album notes to the release of this same tutelaged recording. Studio recording. 21 & 22 August, 1950. Hollywood, California, United States of America. Felix Slatkin, Paul Shure (violins), Paul Robyn (viola), Eleanor Aller Slatkin (cello), Alvin Dinkin (viola) and Kurt Reher (cello). 00:00 I. Sehr langsam 02:59 II. Etwas bewegter 12:32 III. Schwer betont 14:55 IV. Sehr breit und langsam 24:32 V. Sehr ruhig https://www.discogs.com/release/38064...