Der Stein der Weisen:The Philosopher's Stone

"…remarkable…inspired numbers, vividly etched characters, a good story and some genuine comedy…Pearlman's enthusiasm has spread to his polished, incisive Boston Baroque period-instrument orchestra." - Opera News

"The Schikaneder company were a very talented crew…Pearlman directs…with a firm hand, and does well to let us hear the orchestral detail…He draws sure singing from the choir…Mozartians will certainly want to hear this set, partly for the 'new' pieces, partly for the fascinating context it provides for Die Zauberflote." - Gramophone

"…delightful…The great discovery is the music of…J.B. Henneberg, much of which might be considered better Mozart than the atypical cat duet Mozart actually wrote." - BBC Music

"Listening to music that may be by Mozart but no one can be sure is a wonderful exercise in analysing just what makes Mozart Mozartian." - Classic CD

"The performance is excellent, contributing greatly to the positive impression of the work as a whole. Pearlman directs with dramatic verve and sympathy…" - Fanfare

"For the light it throws not just on Die Zauberflote specifically but on Viennese theater life generally in Mozart's day, The Philosopher's Stone is a most welcome accession to the repertoire…But it makes thoroughly delightful listening aside from such historical considerations…" - Fanfare

"Most people will begin listening to Der Stein der Weisen because they are interested in Mozart. Most are likely to find themselves enjoying the music and even the story…without considering who composed what. If there are many shows like this one gathering dust in an archive somewhere, it may be time for someone to launch a recorded series of 'Schikaneder's Greatest Hits.'" - The Washington Post

"The Philosopher's Stone was a study for The Magic Flute, as this first recording conclusively proves…The score is beautifully served by Pearlman's vocal soloists and the spirited, stylish playing of his excellent period-instruments orchestra. Warmly recommended." - Chicago Tribune

"I might point out that this work gives fascinating insight into what the public demanded and got during Mozart's lifetime and is therefore invaluable to students of music and the theater…But when I pronounce the work a thing of joy in its own right…then you should all wish to give this Telarc recording a hearing right quick." - Amazon.com

"A stylishly performed premiere recording…a charming, enjoyable experience. For Mozart completists, it's obviously self-recommending." - CDNow.com

"This is no indifferent pastiche in which pieces are just brought together one after another, but the result of intimate cooperation…a lively recording with…beautiful voices." - De Telegraaf

"This first recording is valuable. Great musicianship by, in most cases, very capable soloists, and a superb ensemble, playing on period instruments." - De Haagsche Courant

While scholars have long known that The Magic Flute was not the only fairy-tale opera to be produced by Emanuel Schikaneder at his Theater auf der Weiden in Vienna, they did not, until recently, have definitive evidence that Mozart himself contributed to any of the other extant works. In the summer of 1996, University of Northern Iowa musicologist David J. Buch discovered a previously unknown copy of Der Stein der Weisen (The Philosopher's Stone), a collaboratively composed Singspiel with a story based on the same set of fairy-tales from which The Magic Flute was drawn, in the archives of the City and University Library of Hamburg, Germany. The manuscript had been taken to Russia by the Soviet army following World War II, and had only recently been returned to Germany.

Two other copies of the opera are known to exist, but the new find contains the names of contributing composers above nearly every section of the work, including Mozart's, whose name appears in connection with a comic "cat" duet, as well as over substantial sections of the second-act finale. There is illuminating evidence, in the correspondence of Mozart's wife Constanze, that Mozart may have participated in the composition of other parts of the opera as well. However, says Buch, "The evidence points in one direction, but that doesn't mean it's true. We may never know the extent of Mozart's involvement."

Besides having its story derived from the same source as that of The Magic Flute, The Philosopher's Stone has other connections with Mozart's final operatic work. All of the collaborators in the composition of …Stone (which was premiered in September of 1790) were closely associated with the development and first production of The Magic Flute, one year later. Emanuel Schikaneder (who sang the role of Lubano in …Stone) both commissioned the work and wrote its libretto; Benedikt Schack (the original Astromonte) sang the role of Tamino in its premiere; Franz Xaver Gerl (the original Eutifronte) was the first Sarastro; and J.B. Henneberg (conductor of the first performance of …Stone) also conducted the first performance of The Magic Flute.

The period instruments orchestra and chorus Boston Baroque, founded and directed by Martin Pearlman, was chosen by David J. Buch to give the modern-day world premiere of Der Stein der Weisen. The work was presented in concert form in Boston's Jordan Hall last October, and was then recorded by Telarc, marking the ninth recording by the ensemble on that label.

In the concert version, the spoken dialogue (thought to be lost, but found and identified by Buch in time to be used for the premiere) was translated to English, but it is given in its original German on the Telarc recording. The 3-CD set contains an additional disc in which Pearlman discusses the work and its similarities to The Magic Flute.

"What was remarkable was how seamlessly [Mozart's contributions] fit into the whole," wrote James Oestreich in The New York Times, of the premiere. "Here, after all, were four unknown composers who were mainly performers, producing music on the level of minor Mozart…[The] release will be most welcome for the further opportunity to get to know this odd lot of composers better, and take their measure alongside the master."