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Schoenberg: A Survivor from Warsaw; Variations for Orchestra; 5 Pieces for Orchestra; Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene (Boulez, 1976)

Overview

“Schoenberg: A Survivor from Warsaw; Variations for Orchestra; 5 Pieces for Orchestra; Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene” is an album that contains four pieces by Arnold Schoenberg, an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School.

Commentary

Pierre Boulez conducts B.B.C. Symphony Orchestra. The album was recorded in 1976. The original LP was released in 1978 from CBS Masterworks Records.

A Survivor from Warsaw (1947)

“A Survivor from Warsaw” Op. 46 (1947) is a cantata for narrator, men’s chorus and orchestra with use of twelve-tone technique, in which a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto in the Second World War narrates his experience in a concentration camp.

Variations for Orchestra (1926-1928)

“Variations for Orchestra” Op. 31 (1926–1928) is the first twelve-tone composition for a large ensemble.

Five Pieces for Orchestra (1909)

“Five Pieces for Orchestra” Op. 16 (1909) is an expressionistic piece based on atonality. Its third movement includes an early example of “Klangfarbenmelodie (sound-color melody)” which Schoenberg later advocated in his book “Harmonielehre” (1929).

Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene Op. 34 (1929–1930)

“Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene” Op. 34 (1929–1930) is an orchestra work based on twelve-tone technique. It was composed for the scene of a fictional film with the key words “threatening danger, fear, catastrophe”.

Arnold Schönberg: Accompaniment to a Film-Scene (BBC SO, Boulez)