Concerto for piano op. 42, Part 4

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Title	Concerto for piano op. 42, Part 4
Playing time	00:03:32
Authors	Schönberg, Arnold [Komponist/in] [GND]
Contributors	Stokowski, Leopold [Dirigent] [GND] Steuermann, Eduard [Klavier] [GND] Stokowski, Leopold [Redner/in] [GND] NBC Symphony Orchestra [Orchester]
Date	1944.02.06 [Aufnahmedatum]
Place	New York, Ellis Island [Ortsbezug] New York City [Aufnahmeort]
Keywords	Musik ; E-Musik ; Gesellschaft ; Konzert - Konzert für Klavier und Orchester ; Instrumente - Klavier ; Vortrag ; Radio ; Besetzung - Orchester ; Radiosendung-Mitschnitt ; Unveröffentlichte Aufnahme
	20. Jahrhundert - 40er Jahre
Type	audio
Format	SCS [Schallplatte, Schellack]
Language	Englisch
Signature	Österreichische Mediathek, e11-00220_b02_k02
Media type	Mp3-Audiodatei

Gertrud, Nuria and Arnold Schönberg, arrival in New York, Arnold Schönberg Center, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT

Information

Content

Sketches for the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra op. 42 composed in California reveal autobiographical references to Schönberg’s situation in exile, following his emigration to the US in October 1933. The sections that structured this single-movement work with four inner movements were linked to the following contents: “1) Life was so easy (pleasant) / 2) Suddenly hatred broke out / 3) A grave situation was created / 4) But life goes on.” It is easily recognizable that this describes Schönberg’s everyday reality, the initial years of professorship in Berlin, the rise of the Nazis, his escape to America, and finally consolidation in exile.

The composer was able to follow the premiere from New York on February 6, 1944 on the radio, and sent a telegram to the soloist that same evening, expressing his positive impressions: “Brilliant performance, you surpassed yourself | all our friends are very enthusiastic and I am proud.” Three days after the concert, Stokowski told the composer: “Mr. Steuermann and everyone in the orchestra worked with enthusiasm to try to make the first performance of your Concerto adequate, so that music lovers who would be listening might have a clear impression of this wonderful music.”

Publisher Carl Engel wrote to Schönberg on February 7, 1944: “The acoustics in the studio are not good; it has been especially built for broadcasts. The piano sounded better on the radio than in the room. Stokowski and Steuermann tackled their difficult task with the utmost dedication.”
(Text: Arnold Schönberg Center)

Collection history

Sammlung Schönberg

Im Rahmen einer Kooperation mit dem Arnold Schönberg Center sichert die Österreichische Mediathek seit April 2019 die Schallplattensammlung des Komponisten digital. Der Nachlass Arnold Schönbergs steht seit 1998 im Arnold Schönberg Center in Wien zur Verfügung.

Die Sammlung umfasst über 400 Schallplatten mit eigenen Kompositionen, fremden Werken sowie vereinzelten Sprachaufnahmen. Professionelle Produktionen stehen neben dokumentarischen Mitschnitten. Schönberg war technischen Neuerungen aufgeschlossen und nutzte Medien zur Tonaufzeichnung auf vielfältige Weise. Die frühesten Audio-Dokumente gehen auf Arnold Schönbergs Zeit in Berlin und sein zunehmendes Engagement für den Rundfunk zurück, dessen Potenzial zur Verbreitung aktueller Musik er bereits früh erkannte. Frühe Tonträger der Sammlung entstanden oft als Versuchsaufnahmen im Kontext von Radioübertragungen. Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg wurden seine Schallplatten wichtiges Kommunikationsmittel im Kontakt mit Europa.

2011 wurde der Schönberg-Nachlass von der UNESCO in das Weltdokumentenerbe-Register (Memory of the World) aufgenommen.

Zur Sammlungsgeschichte siehe auch <link>https://www.schoenberg.at/images/stories/bilder_statische_artikel/archiv/ethikbewahrens.pdf<link>

In cooperation with the Arnold Schönberg Center, the Österreichische Mediathek digitally preserved the composer's record collection in April 2019. Arnold Schönberg’s Estate was made available at the Arnold Schönberg in 1998, after the collection had been moved from Los Angeles.

The composer owned over 400 phonograph discs with his own compositions, works by other composers, and also the occasional voice recording. Professional productions are found alongside documentative recordings. Schönberg was open to technical innovations and used sound recording media in various ways. The earliest audio documents stem from the composer’s time spent in Berlin and his increasing commitment to the radio, whose potential for broadcasting contemporary music to a larger audience was recognized by Schönberg at a very early stage. Early sound storage media from Schönberg’s collection often contain test recordings for radio broadcasts and only excerpts of the compositions played. And after the war, phonograph discs were an important means of communication with Europe.

In 2011 Schönberg’s Estate was inscribed onto the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

For the history of the collection see also <link>https://www.schoenberg.at/images/stories/bilder_statische_artikel/archiv/ethikbewahrens.pdf<link>

Location in the digital collection

Keywords

Musik ; E-Musik , Gesellschaft , Konzert - Konzert für Klavier und Orchester , Instrumente - Klavier , Vortrag , Radio , Besetzung - Orchester , Radiosendung-Mitschnitt , Unveröffentlichte Aufnahme

Part of the collection

Sammlung Schönberg

The medium in online exhibitions

This medium is used on these pages:

This medium is used on this page:
Arnold Schönberg – Biography