# Pfitzner's Palestrina - A Monumental Mystical Masterpiece



## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Hans Pfitzner (1869-1949) ,was an important German composer and almost exact contemporary of Richard Strauss .But his music never achieved the international popularity
of Strauss, whose success Pfitzner resented bitterly.
Pfitzner's late Romantic music has never been performed much outside of Germany and Austria, where it has maintained something of a place in the repertoire,although recordings of it have always been available everywhere.
His most famous work is without a doubt the great and profound opera Palestrina,loosely based on the life of the great 16th century Italian composer,which was premiered in Munich in 1917 with Bruno Walter conducting.
This is a vast ,complex and difficult opera, and not for every one. But any one who loves the operas of Wagner and Richard Strauss should definitely try it.
The story takes many liberties with historical fact, but that does not make it any less a masterpiece. There was a controversy in the 16thcentury at the Vatican about religious music; One of the Popes at the time felt that Masses and other religious works for a Capella choir were too frivolous and filled with complex polyphony which obscured the meaning of the texts, and there was a threat of demanding that only Gregorian chant be used in Catholic services. 
According to the story, Palestrina, the great religious composer,wrote the great Mass for Pope Marcellus to show that polyphonic church music should be retained, and greatly pleased the Pope with this work.
In the opera, Palestrina is an older man, depressed by the loss of his beloved wife and by the fact that he had been forced out of his prestigious position as director of the Papal choir because he was marred ,as this was a no-no at the time.
He has lost all interest in composition despite the urgings of his son Ighino and pupil 
Silla, who are close friends. Silla wants to go to the more secular Renaissance environment of Florence and to compose secular works ,and to escape the rigid and austere world of Roman church music.
The music-loving Cardinal Borromeo,also a historical figure, and a friend and admirer ,comes to Palestrina's home to urge him to write a great work to persuade the Vatican to avoid banning anything but Gregorian chant . 
But the composer refuses ,saying that he is completely burned out ,to Borromeo's
dismay. Borromeo threatens him with imprisonment and even torture if he refuses. Later,in a dream, great church composers of the past appear to him in a dream, and demand that he compose a masterpiece because of the musical crisis in the Vatican. They tell him that to refuse is presumptuous, and his late wife Lucrezia also appears in a vision. 
Later, Ighino and Silla discover Palestrina asleep in the morning, and are astonished to see the manuscript of a new Mass .
The second act takes place at the historic Council of Trent, and all the top religious leaders of Catholic Europe convene to discuss the musical crisis,among other theological and political matters. There is much bickering and infighting among all the Bishops and Cardinals, The Spanish delegation hates the Italians, and Martin Luther's reforms are discussed. Eventually he infighting gets so out of hand that a violent brawl ensues with dissident Protestants and the public getting involved, and Cardinal Madsdrucht, who chairs the council, orders guards to fire on the rioters.
In the final act, the Mass has had a very successful first performance, and the the public comes to Palestrina's home crying "Evviva Palestrina".
The Pope visits, and tells Palestrina how profoundly moved he was by the great Mass, and calls him "Prince of music for all times" Silla has already left for Florence.
Palestrina remains humble in the face of all the acclaim and thanks God for everything.
Pfitzner's music is very much in the Wagnerian tradition but very much in his own style. The action is rather-slow-moving and ponderous, but you can get accustomed to it, and if you take the effort to get to know this great opera, you will find it highly rewarding. 
Just don't expect the fast-moving action and instant gratification of opera such as La Boheme,Tosca, and La Traviata. 
I have the live recording on Berlin Classics from the 80s with the late Otmar Suitner 
conducting the Berlin State opera, before the unification of Germany and Berlin,where Daniel Barenboim is now music director.
Peter Schreier is Palestrina, and there is a large cast of not very well known but excellent singers from the old East Germany.
I have not heard the DG studio recording from the 70s with Nicolai Gedda as Palestrina and Detrich Fischer-Dieskau as Borromeo , conducted by the lat Rafael Kubleik with the Bavarian Radio orchestra and chorus, but very much want to,
You may be able to find these at arkivmusic.com, by far the best site on the internet for getting hard-to-find classical CDs. You won't regret it !
There is also a recent DVD which I very much want to get of a recent revival in Munich conducted by Christian Thielemann, who has long been been a a committed 
advocate of Pfitzner's muisic.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Thank you for bringing this opera to our attention, superhorn! I have to admit I don't know _Palestrina_ yet, but will be sure to look for it.

This is why I like coming to this site--I learn so much!


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

I watched _Palestrina_ in Vienna, around ten years ago. For some strange reason my main recollection is a long scene in Act II, with Heinz Zednik (cardinal Novagerio) talking to Bernd Weikl (cardinal Morone), while eating some grapes.

This is a long and dense piece. The libretto is interesting, but a little bit untheatrical, and difficult to stage. The music is irregular, with some very beautiful moments, and others rather dull. This prelude is a wonder, though:


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*A Monumental Mystical Masterpiece*

By the way . . . that's always been my favorite Beatles album!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Oh wow, I think I'm obliged to check _Palestrina_ out. It sounds like my cup of tea.
I was trying not to buy anything until I get to the bottom of my unwatched/unlistened to pile (currently at 18, the smallest number in years) but I'm really tempted to buy _Palestrina_.

Advice on best version?


















































































These are the ones I could found on Amazon, some as cheap as $10, others as expensive as $87.
Can someone shed some light, and tell me whether these versions include the libretto with English translation?

Wait a moment, there is a DVD too, but with a different conductor.










Not Thielemann, but rather, Young, but also from Munich. Is this the one you were talking about, Superhorn, or is there another one with Thielemann?

Oh well, never mind for the advice, I've ordered the DVD already. $32.50 with shipping.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Oops.I got the conductors mixed up in the Palestrina DVD from Munich. I remember now that the conductor is Simone Young. But Thielemann has been a great champion of the opera., and several years ago, he conducted a production of it with Covent Garden in London, and brought the production with the Royal opera company to New York for the annual Summer Lincoln Center Festival.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I'm tempted, but it's very expensive. I'll wait and see if it comes down in price, or just get the CD.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

yes it's a terrific opera! 
I remember a performance at Covent Garden about a decade ago with Christiane Oelze, a very young Sophie Koch, Alan Titus, Kurt Rydl, Wiccus Slabert, Gwynne Howell, and Philip Langridge. Moll, however stole the show as the Pope. Thielemann was extraordinary in the pit.

If you don't need the booklet and are on a budget- the Brilliant Classics re-issue will do you just fine.


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## GeorgHann (Jan 5, 2019)

*Introduction*

By quick intro I'm a classical music junky (especially 4 opera & choral music) & have been 4 the better part of my life, & as you may guess by the user name I chose (GeorgHann) I'm a big Germanophile (but not that exclusively). I'd bet good $$$$ I've downloaded more music by Albert Lortzing (complete/near complete operas & excerpts) 2 my iPod Touch than anyone else in the Western Hemisphere. Now 2 the matter @hand, Pfitzner's Palestrina is actually oodles of fun in spite of its length & long stretches of seriousness, & maybe it is too German 4 export like Lortzing operas, STILL, I can't believe none of America's Big Three (Met, San Francisco, Lyric Opera of Chicago) have attempted the opera, & the only NORTH American performances 2 date were UC Berkeley based (I think) conducted by a young Kent Nagano (1982) & the 2000 or 2001 Lincoln Center visit of the Covent Garden production that originated in 1997 - that was the UK premiere of Palestrina, nearly a full century after its world premiere in Munich. Anyway, if you like or love Die Meistersinger (which like Palestrina also got its world premiere in Munich) you MUST try Palestrina if you hadn't already done so - both have clever allusions 2 Renaissance music, the banter & interplay among the Council of Trent dignitaries is a lot like what goes on in the latter part of DMVN's 1st act, & just like DMVN's 2nd act, the Council of Trent scene ends with with a brawl that necessitates the host (Cardinal Madruscht/Madruzzo) 2 order attendant soldiers 2 fire warning shots


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## GeorgHann (Jan 5, 2019)

The libretto very specifically states @a particular moment Cardinal Novagerio is eating a grape then spitting out a seed, & the music seems to suggest the action


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