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Track Listings
| 1. Sinfonietta, Op. 23 (1934) |
| 2. Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid Symphonic Fantasy (1903) |
Product Description
Review
''A fine achievement. James Judd certainly galvanises the NZSO into playing this challenging score with sensitivity and a good deal of virtuosity.'' --BBC Music Magazine
''This music needs to sounds elegant and louche. And in this performance from the NZSO, it does: the orchestra's rich inner warmth evokes the sound of the Vienna Philharmonic, while its string texture is remarkable - with a genuine, audible, gossamer-like sheen... James Judd offers [a stamp of direction and purpose], and his feel for the composer's aesthetic of beauty is acute.'' --Classic FM Magazine CD of the Month
''This music needs to sounds elegant and louche. And in this performance from the NZSO, it does: the orchestra's rich inner warmth evokes the sound of the Vienna Philharmonic, while its string texture is remarkable - with a genuine, audible, gossamer-like sheen... James Judd offers [a stamp of direction and purpose], and his feel for the composer's aesthetic of beauty is acute.'' --Classic FM Magazine CD of the Month
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The brilliant composer Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942) languished in obscurity for many years, but no more. As recently as twenty years ago there were no recordings of his late Romantic all-but-symphony, the three-movement, forty-minute 'symphonic fantasy', The Mermaid (Die Seejungfrau); now there are at least five: Conlon (in two editions), Dausgaard, Chailly, Antony Beaumont, and this present version by James Judd and this New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. I have heard Conlon's and Dausgaard's, and although I like them both, I like this one even better, at least partly because it seems more sumptuous and atmospherically descriptive of the Hans Christian Andersen tale of the mermaid who fell in love with a prince, persuaded a witch to turn her into a mortal in order to be with him (at the cost of her ability to speak) and then saw with horror that her prince was marrying a princess. She planned to kill him while he slept, but thought better of it and in the process achieved her redemption and returned to the sea as a mermaid. There is surely some personal meaning in all this for Zemlinsky who wrote the work in the midst of having lost his lover and student, Alma Schindler, to his colleague Gustav Mahler. This 'symphonic fantasy' (as Zemlinsky called it) calls for a huge Straussian orchestra and is replete with crashing or gently rocking waves, perfumed or dreamy passages, charming capriciousness and dramatic outbursts. It reminds one of the sort of thing Korngold, Steiner or Waxman wrote forty years later in their movie scores. It is immediately attractive yet pays rehearing as it reveals more and more clever, intriguing and moving things. This is easily one of the best things Zemlinsky wrote and it is no wonder that it has become one of his most often played scores.
The Sinfonietta was written thirty years later and it, too, is in three movements, but the score is only about half as long, is more acerbic and spiky, with elements of Hindemith and Stravinsky, not to say some of the sardonic tone of Mahler. The Sinfonietta, too, has been recorded a number of times and has its own fans. For all its astringency this score traces an ultimately tragic arc. Without using the huge forces or the highly upholstered orchestration of his earlier works, this piece is intense and moving.
There is no question in my mind, judging from their increasing numbers of recordings available in the US, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra are a first rate ensemble under their British conductor, James Judd. Among their excellent releases are the three symphonies of New Zealand's first internationally recognized composer, Douglas Lilburn 3 Symphonies and his symphonic poems Douglas Lilburn: A Song of Islands; Aotearoa Overture; Forest (especially the magnificent Aotearoa). Judd and his New Zealanders have also given us a excellent recordings of music by Frank Bridge Bridge: The Sea; Enter Spring; Summer; Two Poems for Orchestra and by Vaughan WilliamsVaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves; Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis; Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1; Concerto Gr as well as one of music by the Australian Peter Sculthorpe Peter Sculthorpe: Earth Cry; Piano Concerto.
Recommended.
Scott Morrison
The Sinfonietta was written thirty years later and it, too, is in three movements, but the score is only about half as long, is more acerbic and spiky, with elements of Hindemith and Stravinsky, not to say some of the sardonic tone of Mahler. The Sinfonietta, too, has been recorded a number of times and has its own fans. For all its astringency this score traces an ultimately tragic arc. Without using the huge forces or the highly upholstered orchestration of his earlier works, this piece is intense and moving.
There is no question in my mind, judging from their increasing numbers of recordings available in the US, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra are a first rate ensemble under their British conductor, James Judd. Among their excellent releases are the three symphonies of New Zealand's first internationally recognized composer, Douglas Lilburn 3 Symphonies and his symphonic poems Douglas Lilburn: A Song of Islands; Aotearoa Overture; Forest (especially the magnificent Aotearoa). Judd and his New Zealanders have also given us a excellent recordings of music by Frank Bridge Bridge: The Sea; Enter Spring; Summer; Two Poems for Orchestra and by Vaughan WilliamsVaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves; Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis; Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1; Concerto Gr as well as one of music by the Australian Peter Sculthorpe Peter Sculthorpe: Earth Cry; Piano Concerto.
Recommended.
Scott Morrison
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Bold, wholehearted and with an upfront recording at budget price. This Zemlinsky pairing has A LOT going for it. Hard to believe The Mermaid was overshadowed by Schoenberg's Pelleas... at its premiere. (I've always hated the Schoenberg: OTT.) Zemlinsky's piece is entrancing, and for me the Sinfonietta is even finer.
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Have no fear: if you don't know already, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is a highly accomplished ensemble. They've made a number of excellent recordings for Naxos that may be light on your pocket but could hardly be called cheap and cheerful. This current recording shows them in top form again with very clear sound engineering. Perhaps the sound is a touch dry but that's being really picky. I wasn't familiar with James Judd's work in the romantic, Germanic, repertoire but he more than matches the competition.
The two works are well described in the other reviews: "The Mermaid" is indeed a lush late romantic work that begins with more than a hint of Rachmaninov but for the most part is in the Mahler / early Schoenberg vein. The difference with Schoenberg is that Zemlinsky is a better orchestrator and whilst the music is often quite dense and complex it never descends into the grey jungle that some parts of Schoenberg's "Pelleas und Melisande" do. Both works were premiered at the same concert but the Zemlinsky, ironically, was overshadowed by the Schoenberg at the time.
The three movements tell the tale over about forty minutes with suggestions of an autobiographical stimulus to the work being his failed relationship with Alma Schindler. If that's so then there is plenty of drama but no real hint of bitterness in the music.
The much later Sinfonietta is a much leaner affair but there is still plenty to connect the two works. By 1934 Zemlinsky had adopted a more neo classical scope for his work but the beating heart of this work is still that of a romantic. Harmonically, Zemlinsky's heady chromaticism from the Lyric Symphony is pared down to sound similar to Hindemith but behind the classical structure more searching and heartfelt music lurks particularly in the slow movement and parts of the opening movement.
The piece manages to keep a balance between the spiky neo classical and the romantic. The music remains tonal, albeit very chromatic and perhaps provides a bridge between Hindemith and Schoenberg's music, which had, by then achieved a classical discipline too within the confines of dodecophany.
For a sinfonietta this is a work of real substance deserving the title "Symphony". It is a more tightly argued and satisfying work than "The Mermaid". Here the slightly dry acoustic works in the Sinfonietta's favour compared to "The Mermaid".
Both works are terrific finds if you're unfamiliar with them and it is easy to see why his music has aroused rather more interest in recent years. If this is the repertoire you like then this recording is a steal.
The two works are well described in the other reviews: "The Mermaid" is indeed a lush late romantic work that begins with more than a hint of Rachmaninov but for the most part is in the Mahler / early Schoenberg vein. The difference with Schoenberg is that Zemlinsky is a better orchestrator and whilst the music is often quite dense and complex it never descends into the grey jungle that some parts of Schoenberg's "Pelleas und Melisande" do. Both works were premiered at the same concert but the Zemlinsky, ironically, was overshadowed by the Schoenberg at the time.
The three movements tell the tale over about forty minutes with suggestions of an autobiographical stimulus to the work being his failed relationship with Alma Schindler. If that's so then there is plenty of drama but no real hint of bitterness in the music.
The much later Sinfonietta is a much leaner affair but there is still plenty to connect the two works. By 1934 Zemlinsky had adopted a more neo classical scope for his work but the beating heart of this work is still that of a romantic. Harmonically, Zemlinsky's heady chromaticism from the Lyric Symphony is pared down to sound similar to Hindemith but behind the classical structure more searching and heartfelt music lurks particularly in the slow movement and parts of the opening movement.
The piece manages to keep a balance between the spiky neo classical and the romantic. The music remains tonal, albeit very chromatic and perhaps provides a bridge between Hindemith and Schoenberg's music, which had, by then achieved a classical discipline too within the confines of dodecophany.
For a sinfonietta this is a work of real substance deserving the title "Symphony". It is a more tightly argued and satisfying work than "The Mermaid". Here the slightly dry acoustic works in the Sinfonietta's favour compared to "The Mermaid".
Both works are terrific finds if you're unfamiliar with them and it is easy to see why his music has aroused rather more interest in recent years. If this is the repertoire you like then this recording is a steal.
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