MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berg: Violin Concerto 'To the memory of an angel' / Chamber Concerto

"Sometimes is said that Alban Berg is the most accessible of the composers of the Second Viennese School. This is, of course, a generalization; pieces like the almost neo-classical Chamber Concerto show Berg in a more severe and clinical style, closer to fellow Schoenberg student Anton von Webern. On the other hand, if one wants to look for a piece as proof of accessibility, one can't do better than to pick the Violin Concerto.

Composed in 1935, the concerto is dedicated "To the Memory of an Angel", Manon, recently deceased daughter of Alma Mahler and Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius. It is, indeed a very moving piece in two movements: an Andante/Allegretto, intended to portray several stages of Manon's life: youthful games, the gain of experience and the development of a human being. The second part, a stormy allegro ending in a mournful adagio is ... well ... the end.

Reiko Watanabe is the soloist. While certainly not displaying the virtuosity Pinchas Zuckerman displays in his recording with Pierre Boulez, Watanabe sounds completely emotionally involved with the work. She has a beautiful tone which together with her expressive playing makes for a very satisfying reading of a work that seems to call for such an approach.

What about Sinopoli? For all the controversy his interpretations stir up, in this case his approach works 100%. A very well paced, through not rushed reading allows the Staatskapelle Dresden to shine. The sound is lush, full and clear, aided by the great job the Teldec engineers did in this live recording.

Berg's Chamber Concerto for violin, piano and 13 wind instruments from 1925 is a tougher piece for this writer to review. I admit to being a newcomer to the music of the 2nd Viennese school and indeed a very recent convert, at least to the music of Berg and Schoenberg.

That said, Sinopoli makes a great case for this piece to present to people like me. Following an approach similar to the one used in the Violin Concerto, in his hands the hard edges as softened, while the lyrical sections are presented in the beautiful velvet 'cushion' the members of the Staatskapelle Dresden provide. Watanabe is, again the soloist and we find her in a more angular mode, with a harder attack and bolder sonorities. Pianist Andrea Luchesini does a great job complementing Watanabe's playing.

We have then, a great version of the work, in fact ideal as an introduction both to Alban Berg's and the 2nd Viennese school music. This is not to say that this version can't stand on its own right as a great performance of a noble work; a recommended recording."
(MusicWeb)

Born in Venice in 1946, Giuseppe Sinopoli began studying music at the age of twelve. He later studied both music and medicine (in which he received his doctorate), as well as, in recent years, archaeology.

In 1972 Giuseppe Sinopoli was appointed Professor for Contemporary and Electronic Music at the Venice Conservatory and also commenced studies in conducting with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. During the 1970s, Sinopoli became known initially as a composer and he received commissions from music festivals in France, the Netherlands and Germany. His opera Lou Salomé was premiered at the Bavarian State Opera, Munich, in 1981.

Major successes in Giuseppe Sinopoli's conducting career were performances of Aida and Tosca in Venice in 1976 and 1977, and his debuts in 1980 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Verdi's Macbeth, and at the Vienna State Opera with Verdi's Attila. Sinopoli made his operatic debut in London in 1983 with Puccini's Manon Lescaut, and his New York debut (at the Metropolitan Opera) in 1985 with Tosca. In 1994 he gave his debut at Milan's La Scala in a performance of Richard Strauss's Elektra. He has appeared regularly at the Bayreuth Festival, and is a frequent guest at the Salzburg, Lucerne and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals, as well as at the great opera houses in New York, London, Milan, Vienna and Berlin. In 1990 he became Director of the Taormina Arte Festival, Sicily.

Giuseppe Sinopoli has appeared with the Berlin, Vienna and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome, London's Philharmonia Orchestra and the Staatskapelle Dresden. From 1983-1987 he was Principal Conductor of the Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia. In 1984 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, London, and was their Music Director from 1987 until 1994. Sinopoli assumed the post of Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden in 1992.

In 1994 Giuseppe Sinopoli received Italy's highest award, the Gran Croce al Merito, for his contribution to the arts and music.

Sinopoli died suddenly on April 21st 2001