In all the discussion of the merits of the operas of Zemlinsky and Schreker, I have been remiss in neglecting to mention Othmar Schoeck, and in particular his radiantly beautiful opera, Venus. For me, and it's just a personal opinion, this opera is as fine as anything by the two other composers mentioned. It is an extraordinary outpouring of late-late Romantic lyricism, and the recording on MGB featuring that great Straussian soprano Lucia Popp is one of the neglected gems of the current catalogue. Excerpts here:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Othmar-Schoeck-Venus-op-32-Oper-in-3-Akten/hnum/7322530 (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Othmar-Schoeck-Venus-op-32-Oper-in-3-Akten/hnum/7322530)
OK, I'll go further: the end of Act 1 of Venus is among the most glorious in all opera - period. I'll take it over anything operatic by Schreker or Zemlinsky.
Fortunate we are - for there is no need to choose between Schoeck and Zemlinsky or Schreker!
Venus is, indeed, a glorious opera. And that MGB recording has not gathered any dust on my shelves since I bought it 15 years ago. Try also Erwin und Elmire, and the quite astonishing Penthesilea, the latter fully up there with Elektra. Two wonderful String Quartets, and a beautifully lyrical Violin Concerto.
It is hard to account for Schoeck's neglect, at least in the UK. Fischer-Dieskau championed his songs, but even that advocacy hasn't made much difference. For me, his music is firmly rooted in Brahms and Schumann, and yet (especially with the later works) is so bursting with expression that it approaches the world of Berg and Schoenberg (cf the 1st String Quartet). Ironical it is that Schoeck's music was cold-shouldered by 20th century composers and commentators who, if they bothered to listen to it, would have found their own prejudices rapidly evaporating.
Incidentally, a first rate life & works is to found in Chris Walton's biography published in 2009. And a curse on those Amazon sellers who want absurdly silly prices for the relatively small number of Schoeck recordings available.
I've heard tantalizing tidbits of that VC in the Time Warner Classical Masterpieces channel (always late at night, when I can't stay awake to hear the whole thing, drat!) What label is it on and what else is on that CD. IIRC the Genesis LP of the Goetz PC 2 was paired with a work of Schoeck (I think it was for strings). Anybody recall what it was?
My first acquaintance with Schoeck's music was with the cello concerto; I'm still most familiar with the cello and violin concertos (the horn concerto's really good too- but the violin concerto, whether or not I recognize it, I always catch before the announcer on the radio if only because of that unmistakable false ending!!!), but tend to enjoy most everything of his I hear...
Eric
Message from a very unsung-opera-savvy friend:
Yes I have this opera and like it very much. It is in Schoeck's more romantic style, like his violin concerto and some of his lieder, and is quite accessible. Schoeck can also be quite modern, and his opera Penthesilea does have some simillarities to Strauss' Elektra, although not quite as discordant. I can listen to Penthesilea and enjoy it while I find Elektra the one Strauss opera I can't abide. Schoeck's greatest works are his lieder. He was a fine vocal composer and I'm certain you would enjoy Venus.
However I don't agree with Mr. Howe in saying it is superior to all of Zemlinsky. I think Zemlinsky's operas like Der Zwerg, and A Florentine Tragedy are greater works. But if you want an opera from the same period that is superior to all of them it is Melartin's Aino which I've mentioned to you before. I think you, and the whole Unsung board, would find this glorious. Also Taktakishvili's Mindia, is of supremely high quality, as is Paliashvili's Absalom & Eteri which is superior even to his Daisi.
It's amazing how one's words can be twisted! I said I would take the end of Act 1 of Venus over anything by Schreker or Zemlinsky. A purely personal opinion, in other words. I don't think I said anywhere that Venus is superior to the operas of the other two: that's a much grander and more sweeping claim.
Aino by Melartin, eh? I must investigate...
OK, listened to the audio samples of Aino at Amazon and duly ordered it! Not sure it has Schoeck's ecstatic lyricism, but I'm certainly looking forward to hearing it in toto...
Fast work - you'll enjoy Aino.
The aforementioned operas by Taktakishvili and Paliashvili - of which I am fortunate to own one recording of Daisi - are gorgeous (Gorgeous Georgians?). Very hard to locate, though.
Any hint as to where those gorgeous Georgians can be found? (I've tried the usual sites and drawn a blank.)
Is this the source...?
http://www.georgian-music.com/free_music/classic.php (http://www.georgian-music.com/free_music/classic.php)
Alan - My exposure to these has been through CDs from a friend who has managed to find the original LPs and who transferred the works to disc for me. These operas have not been commercially recorded in the modern (CD) age as far as I know.
That source appears to be a good one for information and for some sound clips - but it's very hard to find the operas themselves, unless you watch eBay and rummage through used vinyl.
They're chock full of robust, full-blooded music. The singers (whoever they are!) are marvelous and it's wondrous to imagine these operas locked up behind the Iron Curtain, for the most part, and unheard by the world outside.
They certainly sound as if they contain good music - although the recordings available online must be pretty ancient!
Quote from: febnyc on Tuesday 31 August 2010, 20:54
Fast work - you'll enjoy Aino.
The aforementioned operas by Taktakishvili and Paliashvili - of which I am fortunate to own one recording of Daisi - are gorgeous (Gorgeous Georgians?). Very hard to locate, though.
Was that a Gorgeous George joke?
Quote from: JimL on Wednesday 01 September 2010, 00:23
The aforementioned operas by Taktakishvili and Paliashvili - of which I am fortunate to own one recording of Daisi - are gorgeous (Gorgeous Georgians?). Very hard to locate, though.
Was that a Gorgeous George joke?
[/quote]
Uhhh....yup. (Thanks for noticing. :P)
Gotta fix that quote, febnyc!
JimL: Please feel free to unquote me anytime.
Alan: Herewith some information from my friend - perhaps it will be helpful:
Regarding your exchange with Mr. Howe about the availability and recording history of these rare operas perhaps I can shed some light on the situation. Paliashvili's Absalom and Eteri was recorded in the 1970's and released in the West on DG of all labels! I believe it was also reissued on CD, and used copies of both do pop up from time to time. Paliashvili's opera Daisi was recorded by Melodiya in 1960 and to my knowledge has only been issued on LP. As I mentioned, I saw a sealed copy of the opera at Academy Records a few weeks back, for $15. Don't know if it's still there. So if one still has equipment to play LP's, it too still pops up from time to time. I got my copy from Victor Dubiler's Rare Russian Records. Taktakishvili's opera Mindia, as well as his four marvelous oratorios, were also only issued by Melodiya on LP but occasionally surface on Ebay or Amazon marketplace. Putting an automatic search email notification on Ebay for the composer is a good way to not miss out. As for another unsung opera composer writing in a late romantic vein, Konstantin Dankevich, I know that the LP recordings by Melodiya of his two operas, Boris Khmelnetsky, and Nadar Stodolya, have been reissued on CD, because I have both of them. I got them from a gentleman in Ohio who imports CD's from Russia and former Soviet Republics. So with a little luck and patience, all of these marvelous operas can be obtained.
And...
By the way, that Georgian music site that offers CD copies of old LP's is not really reliable. I ordered some things from them a couple of years ago, the opera Kidnapping the Moon by Taktakishvili and some quartets by Tsintzadse. The opera disk cut off in the middle of an act, and the sound on half of the quartet disks was unlistenable. Better to get the original LP's or copies made from them by a reliable source.
Thanks. Much appreciated!
You are welcome.
In case you don't know Academy Records - they sell used LPs and CDs. Located in New York City. Academy does have a website: http://www.academy-records.com/ (http://www.academy-records.com/).
Rare Russian Records maintains a "store" at eBay. http://stores.ebay.com/Rare-Russian-Records (http://stores.ebay.com/Rare-Russian-Records) They presently have a copy of Absalom & Eteri and also Taktak's Otar - but at very high prices. I have found, although not specifically with this outfit, that an email request with a lower offer very often has positive results. Doesn't hurt to try. 8)
I remember a rather special Swiss LP recording (was it a Jecklin disk? - can't remember) of Schoeck's "Der Fisher und syner Frau", a wonderful dramatic cantata. I no longer have it, but I wish someone would reissue it - or give us a new recording. I really enjoyed that LP.
It looks like I need to explore Venus! Schoeck is not a composer who has moved my Earth so far, but I'm listening to some of Venus on YouTube and it's gorgeous.
I would also recommend the ravishingly beautiful Die Vögel (based on Aristophanes' The Birds) by Walter Braunfels (1882 - 1954), a 'degenerate' composer in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945 (being half Jewish). Luckily, he survived the War (despite being deprived of the right to work) and his music is receiving something of a revival nowadays.