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ALPHA1058
Originally recorded in July 2023
Classical
Orchestral & Concertos
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About
No fewer than four major composers — Fauré, Debussy, Schoenberg and Sibelius — were inspired by Maurice Maeterlink’s play Pelléas et Mélisande (1892). Given that we celebrate anniversaries of Fauré and Schoenberg in 2024, Paavo Järvi offers his reading of their settings of Pelléas et Mélisande with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, whose Music Director he was for almost ten years. Debussy was so involved with his own operatic setting of Pelléas et Mélisande that the famous English actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell turned to Gabriel Fauré to write incidental music for the play; this music then became an orchestral suite in four movements that is considered to be Fauré’s symphonic masterpiece. Schoenberg followed advice given by his much-admired role model Richard Strauss in 1902 and composed his own symphonic poem based on Pelléas et Mélisande. Its complex combinations of musical motifs and the rich fabric of the large-scale orchestra not only captivate us but also reveal his own vision of this archaic and yet universal story.
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Reviews
“…The playing by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi is faultless, the recording is ideal. Adam Gellen’s notes in German, English and French are essential reading. The disc presents two wonderfully contrasting explorations of Maurice Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Both are a pleasure to listen to.”
“… warmly recommended.”
“… The haunted atmosphere established at the Schoenberg score’s opening Jarvi maintains with astonishing clarity, his instrumental forces relishing both their intimate moments and the startling transitions into massive effects…” *****
Editor’s Choice – Orchestral Section
“… all credit to Järvi’s Frankfurt orchestra for their total immersion into two such stylistically different sound worlds – a reminder, if such were needed, of music’s ability to move us in mysterious ways with the same story from different storytellers.”
“…Järvi has the full measure of the score. As expected, he ensures clarity even in the densest polyphony and elicits an astonishing range of color and dynamics from his Frankfurt players… This is expressionist storytelling and Järvi lets us hear both its beauty and horror.”
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