Munich Philharmonic / Lahav Shani

Tamed revolutionaries

Even today, the name Arnold Schönberg still makes more than a few music lovers shrug their shoulders. Schönberg’s music is often considered cerebral and unapproachable. Well, that may even be true of his revolutionary »twelve-tone music«, but his late Romantic works are the exact opposite: they are powerful, emotional and stirring. The symphonic poem »Pelleas und Melisande« tells the story of two unhappy lovers who cannot be together because of their troubled past. The music runs through the entire emotional spectrum of its main characters – from the most tender sounds of love to raging jealousy and profound world-weariness.