Franz Schreker's Irrelohe from MDG

[M. Henriksen]

Now this is highly interesting for the Schreker fans (me included): A 3 SACD live recording of Schreker's opera Irrelohe with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn conducted by Stefan Blunier, the same forces that recorded Eugene d'Albert's Der Golem for MDG.
I own the 1995 live recording of Irrelohe on Sony, but this new one is certainly a release I'm looking forward to hear!
It's already available at jpc, unfortunately MDG's own website is not up to date.

Excerpts here:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Franz-Schreker-1878-1934-Irrelohe/hnum/9902643


Morten

[kolaboy]

Wonderful news

[albion]

Great news - many thanks for this forewarning!

[M. Henriksen]

Here are mdg's own details about this exciting release:

http://www.mdg.de/pdf/1687e.pdf

Have anyone invested in this 3 SACD set? I wonder how it will compare to that Sony recording... Superior sound for sure!


Morten

[albion]

Have anyone invested in this 3 SACD set? I wonder how it will compare to that Sony recording... Superior sound for sure!

Not yet, but the fact that it is spread over three discs (instead of Sony's two) is interesting - I've not seen total timings for this new set but I think there are some cuts in the 1989 Peter Gülke performance (127 minutes).



Now, come on CPO, how about releasing Der Schmied von Gent?

[M. Henriksen]

I'm not so sure about possible cuts in the Gülke performance. I found the tracklisting for the MDG recording (the jpc-link), and the interesting thing is that the performance time is also roughly 127 minutes! But each of the three disc lasts around 40 minutes and there are fewer tracks in total on this new recording. Anyway, it's three discs for the price of two according to MDG.


Morten

[erato]

Anyway, it's three discs for the price of two according to MDG.


Morten

Not according to mdt's pricing, nor to amazon.co.uk's pricing, unfortunately.

[M. Henriksen]

Very true!


Morten

[albion]

I'm not so sure about possible cuts in the Gülke performance. I found the tracklisting for the MDG recording (the jpc-link), and the interesting thing is that the performance time is also roughly 127 minutes!

Morten, you're quite right - timings for the new MDG set are as follows:

CD 1 - Act I (40:37)
CD 2 - Act II (45:54)
CD 3 - Act III (41:19)

TT - 127:50

perhaps the Gülke was uncut (I've not listened to it for years).

[Alan Howe]

The new MDG set will have to be good to approach the excellence of the Sony recording which, by the way, is available cheaply as an ArkivMusic reissue here...
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown?name_id1=10879&name_role1=1&bcorder=1&comp_id=45909
The MDG set is surely vastly over-priced at nearly £40...
TT for the Sony set: 126:25

[Alan Howe]

FWIW I agree with Robert Layton's review of the Sony recording in which he commends the opera as music drama but makes the point that the music doesn't have a very memorable melodic profile. This, for me, is what finally militates against Schreker's music - it's all very gorgeous, but hardly any of it sticks in the memory...

[britishcomposer]

Now, come on CPO, how about releasing Der Schmied von Gent?

CPO plans to release the 2010 performance at the Theater Chemnitz. However, don't know when.
I recorded a live broadcast of this performance.
Uploading or waiting for CPO?