Kammersymphonie No. 1, Op. 9, by Arnold Schoenberg (1906): Considerations for the Conductor

5300 Glenside Dr., Suite 2207, Richmond,VA 23228 Table of Contents onductors T: (8o4) 553-1378;F: (804) 553-1876 E-mail: guild@conductorsguild. .uild net Commentary page I publications@conductorsguild. net " ..Advancing theArt and Profession W'ebsite: www. conductoriguild. org Kammersympbonie No. L, Op. 9, page 2 by Arnold Schoenberg (1906): Officers Considerations for the Conductor Emily Freeman Brown, President Micahel Griffith, Secretary by Kathleen McGuire, D.M.A. Tonu Kalam, President-Elect Harlan D. Parkeq Treasurer Sandra Dackow, Vice-President Harlan D. Parker, Past President Holst, Stock, and TIte Planets page 33 byJon Ceander Mitchell Board of Directors 'Wayne Abercrombie Otis French* Melinda O'Neal Toscanini and the Myth of page 49 Kristian Alexander Jonathan D. Green* Lyn Schenbeck Textual Fidelity James Allen Anderson Earl Groner Jonathan Sternberg* James Baker Alan Harler AltonThompson by Linda B. Fairtile Henry Bloch* Thomas Joiner MichaelVotta Glenn Block John Koshak Lisa M.W-hite Once More with Feeling: page 61 Nlark Cedel Anthony LaGruth Burton Zipser* William Henry Curry Michael Luxner *Ex-Officio A Polemic on Repeats Allan Dennis Kirk Muspratt by Bernard Jacobson Scores & Parts page 68 Advisory Council Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar and Charles Ansbacher Adrian Gnam Maurice Peress Orchestra Michael Charry Samuel Jones Donald Portnoy by Clinton F Nieweg and Stewart S. Sergiu Comissiona W'es Kenney Barban Schubert Serio with Jennifer A. Johnson Harold Farberman Daniel Lewis Gunther Schuller Lukas Foss Lany Newland Books in Review page 70 Theodore Thomas Award Winners Vincent J. Cincotta, Zarzuela, ClaudioAbbado Fredderick Fennel Robert Shaw Tbe Spanisb lyric Tbeatre Maurice Abravanel Margaret Hillis Leonard Slatkin reviewed Leon Barzin James Levine Sir Georg Solti by Henry Bloch Leonard Bernstein Kurt Masur Pierre Boulez Max Rudolf Rocco Di Pietro, Dialogues witb Boulez Thelma A. Robinson Award Winners reviewed by Thomas Erdmann BeatriceJonaAffron MiriamBurns Laura Rexroth Steven Marffn Zjke Eric Bell Kevin Geraldi AnnunziataTomaro Jane F. Fulchef, ed, Debussy and. ltis World Max Rudolf Award Winners reviewed by Kenneth Morgan David M. Epstein Gustav Meier Otto-W'erner Mueller Gunther Schuller ***** Programming and The page 74 Hummanities: The Mystique Journal of tbe Conductors Guild, of Legend Editor Jonathan D. Green byAlan Pearlmutter Founding Editor Jacques Voois Production Staff Etrata page 78 Executive Director R. Kevin Paul Publications Coordinator Sarabeth Gheith Production Quicker Printers Tbe publication date of tbe present doible tssue of tbe ! the Conductors is Nouernbef 2OO3.EffectiueVolume 13, tbe Journal of the Conductors Guild bas been publisbed semi-annually, tbe tuao issues being numbered I and 2;tbe seasonal refer- neces remain uncbanged, as is its lengtll Tbe Conductors Guild reserues tbe right to approae and edit all material submitted for publication. Publication of aduertising i, not necessariljt an endorsement and tbe Conductors Guild reserues tbe rigbt to refusr print any aduertisement. Library of Congress No.82-6447j3. copyrigltt @ 2oo3 Guild, Inc. All rigbts reserued. ISSN..0 73 4 I O3 2. Commentary Dear Friends: I trust this finds many of you in the throes of rich music making. This issue of JCG presents in-depth examinations of a diverse array of subjects related to literalness, precision, and the impressions thereof. Linda Fairtile does much to dispel the myths surrounding the widely believed, almost religious, adherence to the score associated with Arturo Toscanini, which is offered concurrently with a review by Thomas Erdmann of a text regarding a conductor whose strict commitment to the composers’ indications is undeniable in Dialogues with Boulez. Henry Bloch reviews a fascinating history of one of the most carefully crafted branch- es of ethnic art music, the Zarzuela, and Kenneth Morgan reviews Debussy and His World. No other compos- er so well balanced attention for detail and a love of laissez-faire than this French master. We also juxtapose examinations of very different detail-oriented works written at the end of the Romantic era: Schoenberg’s Kammersymphonie No. 1 and Holst’s Planets. As we all know, the latter work inspired by the mythological associations connected with Holst’s musical solar system, is a highly refined orchestrational tour de force. Jon Ceander Mitchell has researched the fascinating early performance history of this now stan- dard work and the conductor, Frederick Stock. The Schoenberg, while infrequently heard on contemporary programs, is a beautiful work of watchmaker’s precision that makes the most of considerably smaller forces. Kathleen McGuire’s article, derived from her dissertation on the subject, examines the intricacies of this work’s construction and the critical performance issues tied to its internal tempo relationships. Apropos Holst’s myth-based, astrological program, Alan Pearlmutter offers us a perspective from the world of myth for building concert programs. We have also reprinted “Once More With Feeling,” which examines the intentions of the ever-vexing world of repeats. With all of this essential attention to detail, we must remember that all of our pleas for accuracy and attention to minutiae must maintain as their goal the pursuit of beauty and clarity of expression. “The devil is in the details” rings good and bad, as it is easy to miss the forest for all of the glorious trees. We must also keep the details of our work in perspective. I often bring up the axiom that only about ten percent of conducting is spent conducting. That’s actually a remarkable bargain because we actually get that ten percent. It’s a remarkable privilege that we too easily forget. Good reading! Jonathan Green JCG Vol. 24, Nos. 1 & 2 1 Kammersymphonie No. 1, Op. 9, by Arnold Schoenberg (1906): Considerations for the Conductor By Kathleen McGuire, D.M.A. The following considerations incorporate various ORIGINAL VERSION aspects of Schoenberg’s Kammersymphonie No. 1: The original version was completed in 1906 and pub- available scores and discrepancies, formal and the- lished in 1922 by Universal Edition. It is scored for matic structure, tempo problems, and brief refer- fifteen solo instruments: flute/piccolo, oboe, English ences to beating patterns and balance concerns. horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabas- Significant writings pertaining to the Kammersymphonie soon, 2 horns, 2 violins, viola, cello, and contrabass. are examined, particularly those by Alban Berg, Walter Frisch, and Norman Del Mar. TWO-HAND PIANO VERSION Transcribed by pianist Eduard Steuermann, the two- Deepest gratitude is owed David Epstein, whose inef- hand piano version was completed between 1906 fably generous encouragement and imparting of wis- and 1921, and published in 1922 by Universal dom contributed enormously to this article. His col- Edition. Schoenberg emphasized that this is a “tran- legial mentoring and friendship are sorely missed. scription” rather than an “arrangement.”1 Steuermann performed the transcription twice in The Kammersymphonie, composed now almost a 1921.2 An unpublished two-hand piano version also century ago, has survived as an important and chal- existed, created by Schoenberg himself. Alban lenging work in the chamber orchestra repertoire. Berg, who studied under Schoenberg, indicated this Scored for fifteen solo instruments, it was a turning when he wrote to Schoenberg: “Please may I bor- point for Schoenberg: row your piano reduction?” (Berg-Schoenberg Correspondence: 198, 1913). Students of my work will recognize how in my career the tendency to condense has gradually changed my SMALLER CHAMBER VERSION entire style of composition; how, by renouncing repe- Anton Webern, another of Schoenberg’s students, titions, sequences, and elaboration, I finally arrived at a style of concision and brevity…In the completed this version after 1911. It was published Kammersymphonie, I was only at the beginning of by Universal Edition in 1956. Duncan Druce sug- this slowly growing process…If this work is a real gests that Webern’s instrumentation, consisting of turning-point of my career in this respect, it is that even more in that it presents a first attempt of creating piano, flute, clarinet, violin, and cello, was selected a chamber orchestra (Schoenberg, Orchestra Concerts to duplicate the instrumentation Schoenberg used in Pas de Loup recording, liner notes, 1949). Pierrot Lunaire. The score also suggests that the flute may be replaced with a second violin, and the SCORES clarinet may be replaced with a viola. Five different versions of the Kammersymphonie are Webern’s arrangement follows the original available. The musical content of each is not altered: exactly…but the presence of the piano…led him to no music is omitted from, or added to, the original. recast the instrumental distribution completely. The 2 JCG Vol. 24, Nos. 1 & 2 effect is to emphasize the classical and chamber- of ten open rehearsals of the Kammersymphonie that musical qualities of Schoenberg’s work (Druce, The were conducted by Schoenberg in 1918.4 Fires of London recording liner notes, 1973). STRUCTURE FOUR-HAND PIANO VERSION The four-hand piano version, attributed to The Kammersymphonie is an extremely complex Schoenberg, was published in 1973 by Belmont work, and instrumentalists can easily become mired Music. It is possible that this version may have been in the intricacies of simply playing the notes. For the created, at least in part, by Berg. Berg completed a conductor, a thorough understanding of the formal four-hand piano version in late 1914 or early 1915, and thematic design is vital to a successful rendering. and correspondence about the arrangement ensued: FORMAL DESIGN Schoenberg: I’ll tell you now that you are definitely to The Kammersymphonie was the last work of the first do the 4-hand reduction (The Berg-Schoenberg period that consisted of only one uninterrupted Correspondence: 177, November 1913). movement. In approaching the piece for performance, it is critical that its formal design be under- Berg: I’m slowly working on the Chamber Symphony stood.

Load more