Schoenberg & Reger
CD710
Arnold Schoenberg's Variations on a Recitative were first published in 1943 in an edition which gave very detailed performance instructions based on the 1928 Skinner organ in Princeton University Chapel.
A restoration of this organ has made it possible to reconstruct the intentions of this edition, and this recording therefore brings the forensic practices of early music to the 1940s.
In addition, there are two amazing pieces by Max Reger. The 'Benedictus' provides a perfect foil to Schoenberg's monumental work and it is followed by Reger's own monumental piece, the 'Introduction, Variations and Fugue'.
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CD1
Arnold Schoenberg
Variations on a Recitative Op 40
1. Recitative
2. Variations
3. Fugu
Max Reger
4. Benedictus Op 59 No 9
Introduction, Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme in F Sharp Minor Op 73
5. Introduction
6. Theme and Variations
7. Fugue
Released: July 2013
Length: 63 minutes
Artist: Martin Souter (organ)
“Obsidian is known for its catalogue of scrupulously stylish recordings of early music, so a disc of organ pieces by Schoenberg and Reger might seem unlikely from a company that has never previously ventured beyond 1750. But Martin Souter's account of the Variations on a Recitative is an exercise in period performance, too”
The Guardian, 1st August 2013 ****