Pieces (6) for orchestra, Op. 6
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Pieces (6) for orchestra, Op. 6
- Date: 1909
- Composer: Anton Webern
- Period: Modern (1910-1949)
Review
In 1909, Anton Webern wrote his Six Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6, as his first attempt to apply the atonal musical language to a large ensemble. It was a productive year for the 26-year-old composer, who had made startling progress in his compositional technique. Listening to his orchestral Passacaglia, Op. 1, from the previous year, reveals an unprecedented degree of musical growth. In terms of syntax and orchestration, his teacher Arnold Schoenberg was the trailblazer. Fate handed Webern the will and ability to uniquely realize his former teacher's compositional discoveries.Op. 6 plumbed the depths of Schoenberg's notion of Klangfarbenmelodie (tone-color melody) which fashions the different tone colors available in the orchestra with melodic shapes. Schoenberg created a famous example with his Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16, in the previous year. The third movement, named "Farben" (Colors), caused an enormous amount of speculation and study in attempt to discern a system that apparently does not exist. For Webern, the idea suited his need for pure expression, so that instruments and timbres recur quasi-thematically at key points in the same manner of tempo, pitches, and rhythm, to create coherence out of music's raw components. While Webern's Op. 1 was Brahmsian in style, his Op. 6 was Mahlerian. Gustav Mahler's symphonies had grappled with the nuances of orchestral color to an unprecedented degree, constantly recombining groups of instruments to heighten the nuances of late-Romantic expression. Webern's Op. 6 follows through with six different explorations of Klangfarbenmelodie that, while not revealing a codified system, uses sparse textures to clearly reveal the idea at work. Webern's orchestral movements come across as meditations of regret presented with great self-control. When the entire orchestra plays, which is rare, it is not an expressively wild gesticulation, but a swelling of emotion that is heartfelt, yet never released without extended anticipation. This represents a great inner intensity that never brushes shoulders with despair or madness. In this way, the spirit of Brahms' cool exterior and simmering undercurrent still held Webern fast and would continue to do so throughout his writing career. In spite of this, the Op. 6 premiere on March 31, 1913, ended in a full-scale riot. One uncharitable critic wrote that its instrumentation "can only be described in terms of a barnyard." Webern, traumatized by the event, fled to a spa near Trieste to recuperate. ~ John Keillor, Rovi
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work
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Pieces (6) for orchestra, Op. 6
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