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'?
