Ruth Leon recommends… Gurre-Lieder – BR-Klassik

Gurre-Lieder – BR-Klassik

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My friend Hazel has found us a new platform for online classical music concerts. It’s called Br-Klassik, check its Index, and it has a splendid roster of videos including this superb,”Gurre-Lieder”.
 
“Gurre-Lieder“ is an oratorio in three parts for soloists, speaker, choir and orchestra by Arnold Schoenberg, performed here at the Isarphilharmonie by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with the Bavarian Radio Choir and international singing soloists including Simon O’Neill,  Dorothea Röschmann, Jamie Barton, including Thomas Quasthoff as speaker.
 
Conductor Simon Rattle describes it as “the wildest, most beautiful, most romantic work imaginable.” And he describes why the performance of the Gurre-Lieder has special meaning for him: “As an eleven-year-old in Liverpool, I was fascinated by the largest orchestral score that was in the music library – Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder. The volume was almost as big as me and it was really difficult to bring it home! And now, many years later, I am here to celebrate the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra’s 75th birthday with this piece by Arnold Schönberg!”

With their gigantic effort of musicians and singers, Schönberg’s Gurre songs push almost every concert venue to its capacity limits. A border crossing that is, however, rewarded with an unforgettable music and sound experience, beyond the usual concert experience. The Bavarian Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra are reinforced by the MDR Broadcasting Choir.
 
I envisage that we’ll be dipping into the BR-Klassik catalogue often in the future.

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