Franz Schreker - Kammersinfonie

[brendangcarroll]

Schreker rarely gets performed in the UK and his unique and beautiful Kammersinfonie deserves to be far better known.

So I am delighted to announce that Sir Mark Elder will conduct it on Oct 22, in a concert with the BBC SSO (online only) and if you do not know the work, I recommend it. Composed at the same time as his opera Die Gezeichneten, Schreker spins a ravishing, pellucid sound world in this work, like no other.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/eqqfbp

[Alan Howe]

It is indeed all that you say. In my view it's much more attractive than his operatic writing which is so tiring on the ear and often poorly sung.

[FBerwald]

@Alan I'm not very familiar with operatic works to say the least of Schreker. When u said "tiring on the ear" do you mean his music or as you said, the way it's sung?   

[Alan Howe]

I've always thought that the gorgeous orchestral writing in the operas is somehow at variance with the lack of melody and preponderance of declamation. No doubt that's my problem, but Korngold shows that the two can be combined. Nonetheless, as a purely orchestral composer, albeit in the Chamber Symphony for smaller forces, Schreker has few equals among his contemporaries.

[Alan Howe]

In addition, I've yet to hear a Schreker opera recording featuring really beautiful voices. Mind you, it's the same problem in the modern era with many post-Wagnerian opera performances; we just don't have the voices to do them justice.

[Alan Howe]

I managed to track down a second-hand copy of the Kammersinfonie conducted by Michael Gielen on Koch Schwann dating back to 1981. To my ears it's a magnificent achievement - and I maintain that Schreker was at his very best in this concise, bejewelled masterpiece rather than in his overlong and frankly tiresome operas. 

[Gareth Vaughan]

Well, I can't agree with you about Schreker's operas being tiresome (though, alas, most of the available recordings contain some disappointing singing - we certainly agree on that), but I do wholeheartedly endorse your praise of the Kammersinfonie. It's a little masterpiece IMHO - exquisitely scored and full of melodic beauty.

[brendangcarroll]

I am pleased to report that there will be another performance of this fabulous piece in November in Munich, with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Franz Welser-Moest:-

https://www.br-so.com/franz-welser-moest-bruckner-7-2-p26580/

I think that exquisite and spare scoring, which lends itself so well to socially-distanced performance, may also be playing a part in the number of new performances that it's suddenly receiving.