SCHREKER: Romantic Suite / Prelude to Memnon

Schreker, F.: 5 Gesänge / Ein Tanzpiel / Festwalzer Und Walz

After the ban the Nazi rabble-rousers had imposed on him, it took a long time for Schreker’s oeuvre to be rediscovered, excavated from the archives, subjected to a re-appraisal and acknowledged as an indispensable element in one of the most fascinating periods of musical history. Although being taken for granted may bear the risk of renewed negligence, Franz Schreker’s status should no longer be challenged today. This makes it possible, apart from dealing with all of his main works also to consider what he himself perhaps did not deem his most ground-breaking works, ones permitting interesting insight into a musician’s workshop and displaying cross-references to his other works like you can hear on this recording. Valda Wilson is the featured soloist on this release. Initially trained at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the soprano went on to win Opera Foundation Australia’s scholarship to the National Opera Studio London. She is one of the most versatile, exciting and musically curious sopranos of her generation, and is currently singing at the Saarlaendisches Staatstheater in several productions.

In 1929, Schreker was in the midst of a creative crisis: his publisher and the public had rejected his 2 most recent operas. The public demanded sensational successes like Krenek’s Jonny spielt auf, and his publisher was pressuring him to produce a box-office hit. Instead of making concessions, Schreker decided to pursue a different path and set out on a quest to write music for an ideal, unspoiled public: the everyday man.

Classical Music

End of the opera. 12 November 1918 (on the day of the declaration of the German-Austrian Republic and the union with the German Reich!). This sentence was written by Schreker at the close of the manuscript full score. The call for the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire and for unification with Germany was a genuine republican position and supported by all political parties.

REVIEW:

Schreker’s Der ferne Klang deserves a much wider audience than it has so far reached, especially in the English-speaking world, so this reissue of a fine 1990 recording from Capriccio is welcome indeed. The reasons for the work’s continuing obscuring are difficult to gauge; the music here draws heavily on Mahler and the Strauss of Salome and Elektra , all of which provide ample preparation for any audiences unfamiliar with Schreker’s work. Fortunately, the opera is now well represented on disc, so interested listeners can get the full measure of this magical score, even if seeing a staged production still remains an unlikely prospect.


The composer wrote his own libretto for the work. That’s almost always a recipe for disaster, but Schreker just about gets away with it. The story revolves around a hapless composer, Fritz, searching for a “distant sound” that he has heard in his imagination. The search ends up consuming his life and separating him from his one true love, Grete. As with Strauss’s (much later) Capriccio , the scenario here allows music to become the subject of the story, rather than just its accompaniment, giving Schreker license to write sumptuous music that in other contexts would run the risk of overwhelming the stage drama. The piece isn’t without its flaws—the narrative lacks focus and the music often seems overly indulgent—but the work’s strong melodic identity, and Schreker’s skillful writing for voices, ensure that everything in the score is engaging and that the music is always properly operatic.


This studio recording was made in Berlin in 1990. Conductor Gerd Albrecht takes a disciplined approach to the score, while still allowing the more expansive textures plenty of space. His many years of experience in the opera pit shine through in his conducting of the singers, who are always kept at the center of attention, despite the often heavy orchestration. When this recording was first released, some critics complained about Gabriele Schnaut’s performance in the lead female role of Grete. I’m inclined to agree that her singing lacks accuracy and that she has occasional tuning problems, but they are minor issues and don’t seriously detract from the listening experience. Few complaints could be raised about the remainder of the cast, who are uniformly impressive. Thomas Moser is certainly up to the challenges posed by the lead role of Fritz, and as well as accuracy and projection he also gives a distinctive and highly emotive performance. The recorded sound is good. In the balance of detail vs. atmosphere it leans slightly towards the latter, but clarity of texture is never seriously compromised.


When this recording was first released, it was one of two available, the other conducted by Michael Halász and released on the Marco Polo label. That version is now available on Naxos and is also good. The cast is not quite as good as here, but the detail in the orchestral sound is greater. The rerelease of the Albrecht recording in 2013 introduces it to a slightly more crowded market with at least one newer version now available, an SACD on the ARS label, conducted by Dirk Kaftan. The improved sound quality made possible by the SACD technology is of considerable benefit to Schreker’s often involved textures, which shine with a new clarity there. That said, Kaftan takes a more relaxed approach to the score, and the pace of the music occasionally drops, leading to longueurs we don’t experience with Albrecht. Kaftan’s Fritz, Mathias Schulz, is the weak link in the cast, although his Grete, Sally Du Randt, gives possibly the finest available performance of the role on record. The Kaftan version also excels in the Bühnemusik ; Schreker employs an onstage gypsy band, including D clarinet and cimbalom, all of which comes to the fore in Kaftan’s recording, but is disappointingly muted here.


The Kaftan probably gets the thumbs-up as the top recommendation, then, but in a competitive field where every available version has considerable merits. This Albrecht version is the pick of the budget releases, at least in terms of the recording. Given the paucity of information in the liner, you’ll probably need to consult the Internet if you want to find out more about the opera. All that’s provided is a brief essay from Schreker himself about the work’s genesis, a biographical note on the composer, and a brief synopsis. But it’s the music that matters, and on that count this release is strongly recommended.


FANFARE: Gavin Dixon

Strasfogel, I.: Franz Schreker Book / Scherzo No. 1 / Schrek

Franz Schreker’s career was cut short by the events of 1933 in Germany but he achieved real fame with his operas; and the huge success of 'Der Schatzgräber' (‘The Treasure Hunter’) in the 1920s was the high point of his career. In a complex and ultimately tragic tale of destructive greed; desire and toxic social hierarchy; the innkeeper’s daughter Els is forced to confront the consequences of her murderous intent in what conductor Marc Albrecht considers ‘a work of exceptional quality; concentration and significance’. Following the huge success of Korngold’s 'Das Wunder der Heliane' (Naxos DVD 2.110584-85 / Blu-ray NBD0083V); director Christof Loy continues his exploration of strong female characters and neglected 20th-century masterpieces with this highly acclaimed Deutsche Oper Berlin production.

Schreker is well known for his operas and wrote the libretto and composed his opera "Der Schatzgräber" after the great success of "Der ferne Klang" (1912) and "Die Gezeichneten" (1918). "Der Schatzgräber", questioning the value of materialism versus love, was to prove particularly powerful in post-War Europe. Musicweb International raves: “... this is one of those operas and recordings which ‘has it all’, from the drama and sublime beauty of the music to the glorious performance and sumptuous recording. If you are a fan of opera on record from any period this is a treat, but if you love your music-dramas exciting, moving and Romantic with a big-boned ‘R’ then this is one you will want to keep close to your media player for a long time to come.”

This collection opens with the symphonic interlude from Schreker’s opera Der Schatzgräber (The Treasure Hunter). A convoluted fairy tale it has at its poles the eternal themes of love and death, with supernatural elements in between. As this symphonisches Zwischenspiel from Act 3 celebrates a night of passion the music blossoms with extraordinary heat and vigour. It also swells and palpitates with a thrilling intensity that, in lesser hands, might spill over into excess. I hear the lofty languor of Wagner and the soft outlines of Debussy; there’s a Korngoldian sweep, too. Remarkably, all these echoes and influences are fused into a distinctive whole, broad and beautifully crafted.

As for the recording, the huge climaxes are fearless: no detail goes unremarked and perspectives are very convincing indeed. Schreker’s more delicate touches are also well caught, and timbres are always true. The playing combines body with boldness, passion with polish, and Renes shapes it all like a seasoned pro. Yes, this large-scale performance – with sonics to match – belongs firmly in the concert hall rather than the theatre, but it’s none the worse for that.

Next up is the prelude to Die Gezeichneten (The Stigmatized), set in 16th-century Genoa. It centres on a lurid love triangle that wouldn’t look out of place in a Jacobean tragedy. This opulent opener also has the feel of a Hollywood blockbuster of the 1930s or 1940s. That’s not a criticism, for many of those great film scores were penned by Austro-German composers who fled to the US before the War. There’s surprising delicacy in this score – I revelled in the gorgeous harp writing – not to mention a Romantic blush that reminds me of Gurre-Lieder at times. If this piques your interest see Rob Barnett’s review of Gerd Albrecht’s complete recording.

Composed in 1933 Schreker’s Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (Prelude to a Drama) is an expanded concert version of the prelude to Die Gezeichneten, which the conductor Felix Weingartner had commissioned 20 years earlier. At 22 minutes it’s the longest piece here. It’s also one of the most satisfying, as it combines a powerful sense of drama with a strong, tight musical structure. There are some startling things here, not least the extended passage in which the timpanist plays a quietly insistent two-note figure as part of a magical dialogue with the orchestra. The recording is especially effective at this point, the timps ideally placed in a deep, wide soundstage.

Although Schreker’s two-act opera Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin (The Music Box and the Princess) failed miserably in both Frankfurt and Vienna the prelude to this fairy tale is delightful. Textures are wonderfully transparent and those warbling woodwind figures are a telling touch. Rhythms are subtly articulated, tuttis are always proportionate and it all hangs together very well. That said, there’s a rather dated feel to the score, which might explain its poor reception. Still, the playing is alert and refined, the recording warm and clear.

Nachtstu?ck (Nocturne) – the Act 3 interlude from Schreker’s opera Der ferne Klang (The Distant Sound) – was actually premiered three years before the work from which it’s taken. The opera tells the story of Fritz, a composer who loves one Grete Graumann but who can’t marry until he’s written a great piece and found the mysterious sound that haunts him so. The nocturne – which begins with a rocking theme underpinned by gentle tam-ram strokes – manages to be both refulgent and restrained, blending Straussian amplitude with an iridescent fan of ravishing colours.

I suspect most people who listen to operatic ‘chunks’ know little and care less about the narrative that surrounds them. One certainly doesn’t need to know the details of Wagner’s Ring to enjoy the splendid excerpts. That’s also true of these Schreker pieces, which work rather well on their own. Would this collection tempt me to try the full operas? Perhaps, but for all its craft and colour Schreker’s sound world seems at odds with the times – rather like the later novels of Thomas Hardy – his medieval/fairy-tale plots equally so. Music to relish, if not to love. The detailed liner-notes are by Horst A. Scholz.

Little-known repertoire, superbly played and recorded; go on, treat yourself.

– MusicWeb International (Dan Morgan)

While recognizably indebted, mainly to Strauss and Puccini, Irrelohe as drama with music holds you almost from start to finish. The characters and the vocal lines are drawn with care and the orchestral textures are sumptuous. My only reservation is that although there is a great deal of highly imaginative material and a sophisticated orchestral resource, Schreker's music is predominantly a succession of finely realized atmospheres: melodic inspiration of a strongly individual profile is less in evidence though there are inspired passages – the Prelude to Act 3 is one, though the act as a whole strikes me as the least interesting musically. Everything is dramatically effective and indeed masterly.

The performance under Peter Gulke is thoroughly committed and the cast is a strong one. The recording derives from a concert performance given in the Grosser Musikvereinsaal in Vienna and although the singers are favoured there is an excellent and well-balanced orchestral detail. Those who know Der ferne Klang or Der Schatzgraber will probably need no prompting to investigate this set; for those who don't, Irrelohe is for the most part a gripping and imaginative score, well served by all involved in this production.

– Gramophone

After the great success of the Golem by Eugen d’Albert, the Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn under its conductor Stefan Blunier now presents with the opera Irrelohe by Franz Schreker yet another enthralling programme idea and a key work of musical modernity. The orchestra mightily enters the musical fray with six percussionists and lavishes in passion and nonstop dynamic power. MDG’s technicians have produced a fascinating live recording in the challenging acoustic architecture of the Bonn Opera House.

This thoroughly modern view of Die Schatzgräber is only the opera’s second recording (the first was in 1989). Composed during World War I with the hope of a better future, Schreker’s operas reflect the situation of the early 20th century. Although the composer enjoyed amazing success during his lifetime, he was nearly forgotten after the end of World War II.

Schreker: Der Ferne Klang