Search - Anton Webern, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz [Vienna] Schubert :: Boulez conducts Webern, Vol. 2

Boulez's Romantic View of Webern

John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 05/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Admittedly this isn't a recording for everyone. Those who are devout admirers of Webern as a 20th Century composer might be taken aback with how Boulez and the Berlin Philharmonic perform these works. Boulez views Webern here as a composer more at home in late 19th Century romanticism, paying homage to Mahler. So Boulez does emphasis the lush, crisp playing of the Berlin Philharmonic's string section throughout these works. And he emphasizes Webern's links to 19th Century romanticism and earlier musical periods by conducting Webern's orchestrations of Bach's and Schubert's music. Deutsche Grammophon's state of the art recording technology does a splendid job capturing the rich textures of Webern's music."

Radiant Sonic Joy

Karl W. Nehring | Ostrander, OH USA | 08/09/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you have more than just a passing interest in classical music, then at some point it will do your heart and head some good to encounter the music of Anton Webern. You may like it, you may hate it, but you will never hear anything else quite like it. I like it, but I will readily confess that it is not something I listen to often. Maestro Pierre Boulez brings his masterly touch to bear on these masterpieces of Viennese orchestral expressionism, and the result is pure and radiant sonic joy.



As in the James Levine-conducted Sibelius disk reviewed above, what we have here is the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 4D sound, this time in music that seems far removed from the music of Sibelius, even though much of it was composed at about the same time that the two Sibelius symphonies on the Levine disk were composed. Even if the very thought of listening to anything by Schoenberg, Berg, or Webern makes you break out in a cold sweat, you ought to give this disk a try. Not only are there original compositions by Webern, but also orchestrations of Bach and Schubert, and the whole disk is an example of music well served by clarity of conducting, clarity of playing, and clarity of recording: in short, Boulez Conducts Webern II is a clear winner."