Weill Orchestral and Vocal Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Kurt (Julian) Weill
Label: Ondine
Magazine Review Date: 8/1992
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 51
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: ODE771-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Kleine Dreigroschenmusik |
Kurt (Julian) Weill, Composer
Kurt (Julian) Weill, Composer Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra Max Pommer, Conductor |
| Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra |
Kurt (Julian) Weill, Composer
Kurt (Julian) Weill, Composer Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra Max Pommer, Conductor Waltraut Wächter, Violin |
| Vom Tod im Wald |
Kurt (Julian) Weill, Composer
Kurt (Julian) Weill, Composer Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra Max Pommer, Conductor Waltraut Wächter, Violin |
Author: Patrick O'Connor
This is, I believe, the fifth recording of Weill's Concerto for violin and wind ensemble, a work composed in 1923-4; it's the earliest of his compositions to have a place in the repertory. Although obviously influenced by the music of his teacher, Busoni, and a product both of his flirtation with the theories of Schoenberg and his study of Stravinsky (in particular L'histoire du soldat), Weill's writing here, especially for the wind instruments, already contains a wealth of pre-echos of his later, more assertively characterful style. It is not an 'accessible' piece in the ordinary way, but one which reveals itself upon repeated hearings to be surprisingly confident (Weill was only 23 when he began work on it).
Less overtly, but still noticeable, the singing violin part, played with irresistible verve by Waltraut Wachter, is infused with dance-like melodies, while the pulsating orchestra, including some very merry staccato accompaniment in the central section of the ''Notturno'' second movement on what sounds like a xylophone (Weill's list of instruments published merely refers to ''tympani and percussion''), is evidence of the young Weill's mastery of orchestral scoring.
The Violin Concerto was given its first performance in Paris in June 1925, at the time of the opening of the monumental Art Deco exhibition—the springboard for the modern movement in visual and decorative arts in Europe. As such, it is a true piece of art deco music; Weill had yet to succumb to the influence of Afro-American music. By 1928 and Die Dreigroschenoper what he described as the ''healthiest, most vigorous expression of art''—jazz—had begun to permeate the neo-classicism which characterizes the Concerto.
The suite for wind instruments from Dreigroschenoper is Weill's most often performed piece. Max Pommer and the Leipzig orchestra take the opening Maestoso at a terrific lick. Those used to the famous Klemperer recording (EMI (CD) CDM7 64142-2) will find this quite a jolt (though Klemperer's original interpretation, 78rpm extracts from which can be heard on Capriccio (CD) 10 346, sounds much closer to the spirit of Pommer's performance). If I were choosing a recording of this, I would probably go for Atherton's much suaver reading with the London Sinfonietta (DG). Vom Tod im Walde is about the darkest, most pessimistic of all the Brecht poems that Weill set. Originally written as part of the Berliner Requiem, it was removed before the first performance. It is an isolated example of an orchestrally-accompanied Lied in Weill's canon. Tomas Mowes sings it eloquently, but it makes a gloomy finale to an otherwise attractive disc.'
Less overtly, but still noticeable, the singing violin part, played with irresistible verve by Waltraut Wachter, is infused with dance-like melodies, while the pulsating orchestra, including some very merry staccato accompaniment in the central section of the ''Notturno'' second movement on what sounds like a xylophone (Weill's list of instruments published merely refers to ''tympani and percussion''), is evidence of the young Weill's mastery of orchestral scoring.
The Violin Concerto was given its first performance in Paris in June 1925, at the time of the opening of the monumental Art Deco exhibition—the springboard for the modern movement in visual and decorative arts in Europe. As such, it is a true piece of art deco music; Weill had yet to succumb to the influence of Afro-American music. By 1928 and Die Dreigroschenoper what he described as the ''healthiest, most vigorous expression of art''—jazz—had begun to permeate the neo-classicism which characterizes the Concerto.
The suite for wind instruments from Dreigroschenoper is Weill's most often performed piece. Max Pommer and the Leipzig orchestra take the opening Maestoso at a terrific lick. Those used to the famous Klemperer recording (EMI (CD) CDM7 64142-2) will find this quite a jolt (though Klemperer's original interpretation, 78rpm extracts from which can be heard on Capriccio (CD) 10 346, sounds much closer to the spirit of Pommer's performance). If I were choosing a recording of this, I would probably go for Atherton's much suaver reading with the London Sinfonietta (DG). Vom Tod im Walde is about the darkest, most pessimistic of all the Brecht poems that Weill set. Originally written as part of the Berliner Requiem, it was removed before the first performance. It is an isolated example of an orchestrally-accompanied Lied in Weill's canon. Tomas Mowes sings it eloquently, but it makes a gloomy finale to an otherwise attractive disc.'
Weill Orchestral and Vocal Works
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