Schoenberg: Gurrelieder
$55.00
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ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
Schoenberg: Gurrelieder
Alwyn Mellor, Anna Larsson, Thomas Allen, Stuart Skelton / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Edward Gardner
[ Chandos SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD ]
Release Date: Sunday 16 October 2016
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Recorded live on SACD in the sumptuous acoustic of Grieghallen in Bergen, this mind-blowing interpretation of Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder involves 350 performers: large choral forces, six exceptional soloists, and the legendary Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra - extended for the occasion - all conducted by Edward Gardner.
Marking the pinnacle of the Orchestra's 250th anniversary celebrations, the same forces offered two evening concerts that met with unanimous acclaim in the press, including a five-star review from The Daily Telegraph praising the 'sweep of Gardner's conducting, by turns luminous and incisive'. It added, 'He unleashed the piece's volcanic passions while never becoming mired in its high-calorific density, and somehow avoided drowning the singers', and also congratulated the 'heroic' Stuart Skelton, 'warm' Alwyn Mellor, 'ethereal' Anna Larsson, and 'powerful' Thomas Allen.
"Gardner's grasp of scale and momentum is as strong as Stenz's, and his cast is more balanced...Gardner has the thrillingly heroic Stuart Skelton in the work's most prominent solo part, pouring out his love for Tove in ringing tones...The playing and singing of Gardner's Bergen forces are as intoxicating as any I know on disc." Sunday Times, 23rd October 2016
"The playing of the Bergen Philharmonic is rich, seductive and sensuous...Gardner's operatic experience means he's alive to the lyricism and drama of the piece in equal measure: there's ardent longing aplenty and a real willingness to explore the sheer gorgeousness of the score." Gramophone Magazine, Editor's Choice October 2016
"although this account was recorded over four days, it rolls onwards with the dynamism of a single live performance...for luminous atmosphere and edge-of-the-seat excitement, Gardner's Bergen forces offer something special." The Times, 30th September 2016 ****
"The hero is Edward Gardner, under whose wonderfully flexible beat this hyper-Romantic music positively breathes in long lyrical phrases and paragraphs. Nor are the excitements lacking: the coda to the Klaus episodes fizzes with crazy virtuosity and the final sunrise is as grandly summatory as any" BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2016 *****
"There is an amplitude of tonal richness, against which Alwyn Mellor and Stuart Skelton sing on a heroic scale" Financial Times, 2nd December 2016
"A top class performance and magnificent recording of this vast piece." MusicWeb International, 20th January 2017
