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Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte op. 41. Verses 10–16
Catalog slip
| Title | Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte op. 41. Verses 10–16 |
| Title addition |
First West Coast Performance 75th Birthday Concert |
| Playing time | 00:04:48 |
| Authors |
Schönberg, Arnold [Komponist/in]
[GND]
Byron, George Gordon Noel [Librettist/in] [GND] |
| Contributors |
Schallert, William [Rezitator/in]
[GND]
Koldofsky, Adolph [Violine] [GND] Selmont, David [Violine] Figelski, Cecil [Viola] [GND] Reher, Kurt [Violoncello] [GND] Stein, Leonard [Klavier] [GND] Fraenkel, Wolfgang [Dirigent] [GND] Magnadisc [Label] Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik [Veranstalter] |
| Date |
1949.09.13 [Aufnahmedatum] |
| Place |
Los Angeles, Campbell’s Bookstore [Ortsbezug]
|
| Keywords | Musik ; E-Musik ; Publizierte und vervielfältigte Aufnahme |
|
20. Jahrhundert - 40er Jahre
|
|
| Type | audio |
| Format |
SCS [Schallplatte, Schellack] |
| Language |
Englisch |
| Link |
Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte op. 41 on the website of the Arnold Schönberg Center |
| Signature | Österreichische Mediathek, e11-00356_b01_k02 |
| Media type | Mp3-Audiodatei |
Text Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte op. 41. Verses 10–16, Arnold Schönberg Center, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT
Information
Content
Schönberg’s “Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte” op. 41 was composed in the midst of World War II as an attack on National Socialist tyranny. His assistant Leonard Stein remembers how the composer found the text for his work: “He was looking for a book of poems which might contain some reference to tyranny, appropriate for expressing disdain of the tyrant let loose on the world at that time. In Campbell’s Bookstore Schönberg asked for a collection of poems by Lord Byron. […] Byron was a leading voice in the support of Greek independence and had even given up his life for the cause. Further, in the voice of Winston Churchill, greatly admired by Schönberg in the broadcasts transmitted from England, Schönberg may have heard the type of oratory he was searching for in his own musical mind.” (Leonard Stein, 1977)
As the “First West Coast Performance,” the piece was played in a concert celebrating Schönberg’s 75th birthday, and was recorded in full. The part of the Sprechstimme, which declaims Lord Byron’s poem following a rhythmically precise notation with a relatively free pitch, was performed by William Schallert, who was predominantly an actor in those days, and later enjoyed success on television and in movies (including “Singing in the Rain,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “Desperate Housewives”). His interpretation is most effective in verses 10–16, heard on Side Three, when use of the ensemble is mostly restrained. (Text: Arnold Schönberg Center)
As the “First West Coast Performance,” the piece was played in a concert celebrating Schönberg’s 75th birthday, and was recorded in full. The part of the Sprechstimme, which declaims Lord Byron’s poem following a rhythmically precise notation with a relatively free pitch, was performed by William Schallert, who was predominantly an actor in those days, and later enjoyed success on television and in movies (including “Singing in the Rain,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “Desperate Housewives”). His interpretation is most effective in verses 10–16, heard on Side Three, when use of the ensemble is mostly restrained. (Text: Arnold Schönberg Center)
