Anne Ozorio responding to my mentioning Anthony Beaumont recording of
Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony

>>Tell us about the Beaumont.  It is, for several reasons, an "important"
>>recording.

Chris Webber responds

>It certainly is.  I was slightly mystified by the (generally benign)
>indifference with which it was greeted here in the UK. Maybe we have
>not yet got the Zemlinsky bug, although Opera North's good production
>of "The Dwarf" may change some of that.

chris mentioned the new lucidity in the scoring that Beaumont produces.
I would add that in adition to what Chris pointed out, this and various
balance touches make the piece sound more modern and startling.  I was
just as struck as Chris was with the soloists and how they interpreted
as well as sang the texts.

>This is a profound, inexhaustible work; but for me the Beaumont version
>gets closer than any to its heart, illuminating the path of this splendid
>epic of the human tragedy of erotic love with clarity and musical
>understanding.  By its side most other versions seem superficial.

I quote this because it pretty well sums it up, though I still like
several other versions a lot.  Nevertheless, Beaumont presents Lyric
Symphony in a somewhat new light that adds to its stature as a dramatic
and psychological work.  It doesn't have to be played that way to produce
a great performance, but it is absolutely an important viewpoint.

>For me, this Chandos CD has been something of a revelation.  For the
>first time, I'm thinking about taking Zemlinsky's "Lyric" to my desert
>island in place of its incomparable model - Mahler's "Das Lied von der
>Erde".  Luckily we don't have to choose between these two masterpieces!

I have long felt this way about Lyric Symphony vis a vis Das Lied.  Now
I know I'm not alone!

Roger Hecht