The Raphael Ensemble - Korngold: String Sextet - Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht (1990)

Tracklist

01. String Sextet in D Major, Op. 10: I. Moderato – Allegro
02. String Sextet in D Major, Op. 10: II. Adagio
03. String Sextet in D Major, Op. 10: III. Intermezzo. Moderato, con grazia
04. String Sextet in D Major, Op. 10: IV. Finale. Presto
05. Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4: I. Sehr langsam "Zwei Menschen gehn durch kahlen, kalten Hain"
06. Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4: II. Breiter "Ich trag ein Kind, und nit von dir"
07. Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4: III. Schwer betont "Sie geht, mit ungelenkem Schritt"
08. Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4: IV. Sehr breit und langsam "Das Kind, das du empfangen hast"
09. Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4: V. Sehr ruhig "Er lasst sie um die Starken Hüften"

These two works, so eminently suited as concert partners, disappeared after Hitler came to power. Korngold and Schoenberg were both victimized for being ‘non-Aryan’ and their works were banned. Verklärte Nacht quickly reestablished itself, but the Korngold had to wait for its reappraisal until it was discovered in 1987 by The Raphael Ensemble, who gave its first public performance in the United Kingdom at The Purcell Room in London that year.

In this recording, two of the finest examples of the string sextet repertoire have been re-united. Stripped of all the surrounding intrigue, they can be enjoyed for what they truly represent—the very summit of late Austrian romanticism from Imperial Vienna, just before it finally disappeared for ever.

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