The Dwarf
Donald Macleod focuses on Zemlinsky's most painful - and brutal - musical self-portrait: his opera The Dwarf, written in Prague in aftermath of the First World War.
Donald Macleod explores Zemlinsky's most painful - and brutal - musical self-portrait: his opera "The Dwarf", written in Prague in aftermath of the First World War.
Alexander Zemlinsky may have been famously ugly. But his music is amongst the most beautiful, intense and passionate ever written. Pilloried through his life for his gawky, bespectacled appearance and diminutive stature, he lived a life in the shadow of his friend and brother-in-law Arnold Schoenberg, and his one-time lover, the beautiful socialite Alma Mahler. "My time will come after my death", the composer said - and in the last half century audiences have come to love the shimmering details and epic Romantic sweep of his music. Often compared musically to Mahler, Zemlinsky weathered the build-up to two world wars from his beloved home city of Vienna, only to die prematurely in exile in the USA.
As Europe descended into war in the mid 1910s, Zemlinsky found himself cast out of his beloved Vienna, to take up the reins of the German Opera in Prague. He was to forge a dazzlingly successful career there as a conductor, yet as his workload increased to almost breaking point, he composed his brilliant, unsettling opera "The Dwarf" - the tale of a Princess's charming new companion who, to his horror, suddenly becomes aware of his physical grotesqueness. It would be Zemlinsky's most brutal musical self-portrait.
Die drei Schwestern (Three songs after poems by Maeterlinck)
Anne-Sofie von Otter (mezzo)
NDR Symphony Orchestra
John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) (opening)
Iride Martinez, soprano (Ghita)
Juanita Lascarro, Machiko Obata, Anne Schwanewilms, sopranos (Maids)
Natalle Karl, Martina R眉ping, sopranos (Playmates)
G眉rzenich-Orchester K枚lner Philharmoniker
James Conlon, conductor
Der Zwerg (excerpts: Seltsam, die Launen... - Bist du es, feundliches Bild? - Weinst du? Liegst du am Boden?)
David Kuebler, tenor (Zwerg)
G眉rzenich-Orchester K枚lner Philharmoniker
James Conlon, conductor
String Quartet No 3 (3rd movt. Theme and Variations)
Brodsky Quartet.
Last on
Music Played
-
![]()
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Die drei Schwestern
Singer: Anne Sofie von Otter. Orchestra: Netherlands R S O. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.- DG RECORDS : DG 439-928 2.
- DG RECORDS.
- 6.
-
![]()
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Der Zwerg Op17 - opening
Singer: David Kuebler. Singer: Soile Isokoski. Singer: Iride Martinez. Orchestra: COLOGNE Gurzenich Orchestra. Conductor: James Conlon.- EMI : 566247-2.
- EMI.
- 9.
-
![]()
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Der Zwerg Op 17 - excerpt
Singer: David Kuebler. Singer: Soile Isokoski. Singer: Iride Martinez. Orchestra: COLOGNE Gurzenich Orchestra. Conductor: James Conlon.- EMI : 566247-2.
- EMI.
- 9.
-
![]()
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Der Zwerg Op 17 - excerpt
Singer: David Kuebler. Singer: Soile Isokoski. Singer: Iride Martinez. Orchestra: COLOGNE Gurzenich Orchestra. Conductor: James Conlon.- EMI : 566247-2.
- EMI.
- 9.
-
![]()
Alexander von Zemlinsky
String Quartet No 3 Op 19 - Theme and Variations
Ensemble: Brodsky String Quartet.- CHANDOS : CHAN-10845(2).
- CHANDOS.
- 2.
Broadcasts
- Thu 23 Mar 2017 12:00成人快手 Radio 3
- Thu 23 Mar 2017 18:30成人快手 Radio 3
Beethoven Unleashed 鈥� the box set
The complete set of Radio 3 Beethoven Unleashed podcasts, with Donald Macleod.
What was really wrong with Beethoven?
Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh examine the composer's numerous health problems
Composers A to Z
Visit the extensive audio archive of Radio 3 programmes about Composers and their works.
Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week
The production team reflects on 5 of Donald Macleod鈥檚 best stories from the last 20 years
Five reasons why we love Parry's Jerusalem
What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep?
A man out of time 鈥� why Parry's music and ideas were at odds with his image...
The composer of Jerusalem was very far from the conservative figure his image suggests.
Composer Help Page
Find resources and contacts for composers from within the classical music industry.