Kirill Petrenko conducts Arnold Schoenberg On 3 CD and Blu-ray

As Schoenberg rejected repetition, his work is characterised by constant change. He sought a different expression for each subject: agitated passion characterises the lovers’ dialogue in Verklärte Nacht, sparkling humour the free-tonal Chamber Symphony. In the Variations, op. 31 – Schoenberg’s first orchestral work in twelve-tone technique, premiered by the Berliner Philharmoniker with Wilhelm Furtwängler –, each variation has its own individual character. The Violin Concerto (here with soloist Patricia Kopatchinskaja), on the other hand, written in exile in America, reflects the composer’s uncertainty in the face of a foreign culture, material shortages, and a world once again on the brink of war.

Die Jakobsleiter, another key work composed around the time of the First World War, impressively depicts the confrontation between a doubter and his God. Its twelve-tone nature becomes secondary to the poignant, almost existential experience that Schoenberg achieves through the precise design of spatial sound, among other things: the positioning of the main and remote ensembles that he demanded strikingly anticipates what can only be reproduced in our recordings today using Immersive Audio (Dolby Atmos).

In addition to the recordings on 3 CDs and a Blu-ray, the box set designed by American artist Peter Halley contains a comprehensive accompanying book with in-depth essays.

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