Monday 23 November 2015

Boulez, Schoenberg - and a Womble?


Whilst reading in the newly reopened library of the Arnold Schönberg Center, I came across an entry in the catalogue, entitled ‘Boulez, Schoenberg – and a Womble?’ Needless to say, more serious pursuits had to wait. It is the eye-catching title for a behind-the-scenes report from the late Edward Greenfield on recording sessions for Moses und Aron (High Fidelity, March 1975, 25/3). The following reveals all:
 


 
Might there be, hanging around in a vault somehere, a truly ‘objective’ recording of Underground, Overground, Wombling Free, unburdened by sentimental, pseudo-Romantic accretions of 'performing tradition'?