Hagen Fuerstenau asked:

>So here's my (obvious) question: What recordings can you recommend?

In my opinion a wonderful set is a 4xCD box by the La Salle quartet called
"Neue Wiener Schule" on DG.  It has all 5 quartets by Schoenberg plus Bergs
quartet and Lyrische Suite and a couple of string quartet works by Webern.
Great performances!  Another good recording of the Schoenberg quartes 1-4
is the 2xCD by the Arditti quartet on Avidis Montaigne (it has Dawn Upshow
for the second!).

>Also I'd be interested in what to go for after that in atonality /
>twelve-tone-music.

I can not tell you anything for operas (not my kind of genre) but for
more twelve-tone-music I would say try the 2 chamberg symphonies, the
string trio and the two concertos (piano and violin) by Schoenberg and
the violin concerto by Berg.  If you like these go for something by Webern
(e.g.  the quartet and trio works).  More interesting twelve-tone-music I
would recommend (as starters): the first sym. by H. Searl, the 3rd sym.
and the concerto f. orchestra by R. Gerhard, the violin and piano
concerto by F. Valen (there are also 4 great symphonies!), the violin
concerto by E. Wellesz and any of the symphonies of B. Frankel (maybe
the 4th and 6th).  Then you should try something by Messiaen and there
is Boulez, Barraque and Maderna...

Achim Breiling