Pierrot Lunaire “Who is this ‘moonstruck’ Pierrot, about whom Albert Giraud wrote 50 poems? Why was Schoenberg so engaged by the German translation that he felt driven to set 21 of them, in a 45-minute melodrama which has become his ‘signature’ piece? One clue is the texts, which seem to present a parentless child or waif, with adolescent yearnings, intense emotions, rich fantasies, torturous fears, and a need to be recognized, comforted and protected. Can it be that the music, at some level, is autobiographical? Pierrot, a character from the ‘Commedia dell’ Arte’ is known in other cultures as Petrouchka or Pinocchio. Perhaps Schoenberg is trying to tell us about the frailty of the human condition in pre-war 1912 (as did Stravinsky, Bartok and Ives in their major works from this same period). In any event, Pierrot Lunaire is a miracle of innovation, expressive depth, vivid orchestration, precision of form – absolutely unique and stunningly original. It is said that the composer Alban Berg cried throughout the premiere, stating, ‘I never imagined that there could be anything this beautiful.’ Stravinsky greatly admired the instrumentation, while also condemning the ‘cult of the bizarre,’ saying during the premiere, ‘I wish that woman would stop talking so I could hear the music!’ (Stravinsky did some bizarre things himself in The Rite of Spring one year later.) Consider the achievements: (1) the use of sound-alliteration and word-painting at a new level of concentration and urgency; (2) the development of Sprechstimme (‘speech-song’) as a powerful narrative device, with the specification of exact vocal rhythm and approximation of pitch, but precise indication of contour; (3) the establishment of a vibrant chamber music grouping (flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, with instrumental doublings) known today as a ‘Pierrot ensemble’ and widely used; (4) the presentation of so varied an instrumentation that no two songs sound alike; (5) the use of a coherent large form (Part I: impressionist, Part II: expressionist, Part III: a reconciliation), wherein each individual poem is a rondeau with lines 1-2 being repeated as lines 7-8 and line 1 returning again on line 13 (follow the myriad ways in which the music reflects this structure); (6) the development of a new musical language, free-atonality, which is rich in new harmonic, rhythmic, timbral and contrapuntal possibilities (bear in mind that Schoenberg preferred the term pantonality, meaning ‘inclusive of all tonalities’); (7) the continuing influence that Pierrot has held for the past 99 years (Berg, Webern, Stravinsky, Bartok, Messiaen, Ligeti, Lutoslawski and Schuller, to name but a few). Schoenberg once wrote, ‘My music isn’t modern, it’s just badly played.’ I hope you will find that, tonight, it is well-played. And without a conductor! This was first suggested to me by a dear friend and mentor, Rudolf Kolisch, Schoenberg’s brother-in-law, violinist, and distinguished NEC faculty member from 1971 to 1981. Time has proven Rudi to have been right, though this was never even tried until his students attempted it at NEC in 1975. When there is no conductor, the gain in rhythmic freedom enables a real chamber music to spring forth, based on intimate communication among the performers, who cue each other using their detailed knowledge of the entire score” - John Heiss .