Eighteen years after their first issue, these Schoenberg performances by the London Sinfonietta remain hard to beat. The reason is simple: the notes on paper have been so well assimilated. Even the second movement of the Suite, which can sound merely hectic, has a musicality reinforcing the awareness that Schoenberg was thinking of the world of cabaret as much as of the classroom and counterpoint.
In the earlier Wind Quintet Schoenberg was still feeling his way towards a 12-note style that was as well-characterized thematically as it was well-balanced in form. Yet the Sinfonietta players bring ample light and shade to the twining polyphonic lines, and the rather closely recorded sound, if a little dry by today's standards, ensures maximum clarity of textural perception. I should add that Decca are still using the notes I wrote for the original LP set.'