Alban Berg

Brahms's string quartets are among the composer's most "difficult" works, and they take a bit of effort to get to terms with. It has been said that inside them there are symphonies struggling to emerge, and to some extent one does get the feeling that Brahms was less than fully comfortable with the medium, that it provided restrictions more than opportunities and that the music is too large-scale in feel for the intimacy of chamber music.

This is an impressive reading of the quintet, notable for its energy and lyrical beauty, and cellist Heinrich Schiff certainly throws the considerable weight of his tone behind the fine, blended sound of the Alban Berg Quartet. The original 1982 recording was first-rate. The only drawback is that the players omit the exposition repeat in the quintet's first movement, depriving it of the "heavenly length" it should have.

The Orchestre national d'Auvergne invite us to dive into the lyricism of the musical universe of Berg, Webern and Schreker. In the heart of Vienna, at the twilight of romanticism, Webern and Schreker embrace their beginning careers. With much spirit and expression, their works convey a surprising melodic breadth, as the first lights of expressionism loom on the horizon. On the other side, Berg's Lyric Suite echoes Beethoven and Mahler but also reveals all the extent of the serial modernism. The Orchestre national d'Auvergne, conducted by Roberto Forés Veses, brings us to Vienna as the musicians perform this programme with an exceptional verve.

This rare disc features both the original versions of the Seven Early Songs for soprano and piano–(in this case, Margaret Marshall and the wonderful Geoffrey Parsons), and the later (1928) orchestrated version, which is most frequently heard. In this reading we have Herbert Blomstedt conducting the North German Radio SO with soprano Kari Lövaas.
From AllMusic