A very fine disc indeed that shows how the Second Viennese School built upon the harmonic language of Mahler and presents it in a most enjoyable light.

Opening with the Sieben frühe Lieder by Berg, the bi-polar Nacht is spine-chilling and lush by turns. The remaining songs are just as vividly characterised, helped by the use of a chamber orchestra in clarifying textures and the audibility of the multitude of effects enlisted by Berg. As with the other vocal items on this disc, one frustration for the non-German speaker would be the lack of translations (the German text is provided but this would merely confirm the quality of Claudia Barainsky's diction).

Next come the Three Pieces from Berg's Lyric Suite which contains more agitated music - the Swiss ensemble (not a music college ensemble but a collegiate ensemble) adopts the traditional central European seating position: from left to right 1st violins, 2nd violins, cellos, violas; some will like this (I do) but others will not. The ghostly sul ponticello effects in the second piece are quite wonderfully realised. This performance does not have quite the intellectual coherence that Karajan bought to the last movement in particular but is by no means unsatisfactory, instead it is more emotional in approach.

Between the Three Pieces and the Schönberg (also arranged for string orchestra) sits the short but complex Variations for Orchestra by Webern. This is the most audibly Serial composition on this disc and is very intense, especially in the performance here were every detail in the score is made to tell on the ear. Jac van Steen manages to lend a unity and a sense of emotion that is often missing from recordings of this work.

To finish, we are offered Schönberg's marvellous second string quartet (in the version for string orchestra) with soprano. As before, Barainsky offers gorgeous singing with great tonal beauty that is allied to emotional sensitivity. The strings of the Winterthur ensemble are a willing and flexible instrument in van Steen's hands and give a convincing reading of the score that conveys the impressionism of Schönberg's score.

The sound is good, if not absolutely top drawer (a possible limitation of MDG's continued insistence of using the 2+2+2 format).

Recommended for the Berg in particular but all of the work deserves a good listen.

Copyright © 2007 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

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