# Rare Compositions from Artur Schnabel



## SottoVoce (Jul 29, 2011)

Quoted from the video,



> Despite his performing repertoire being concentrated largely on the works of Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart and Brahms, almost all of Artur Schnabel's own compositions (none of which are in the active repertoire) are atonal. (It is interesting, in this regard, to note that Schnabel was a close friend of Arnold Schoenberg, his Austrian-American compatriot, who was famous as a pioneering composer of atonal and twelve-tone music.) They are "difficult" yet fascinating and complex works, and are marked by genuine originality of style. Composers Ernst Krenek and Roger Sessions have commented that they show signs of undoubted genius (see biography of Schnabel by Cesar Saerchinger). Schnabel's list of compositions eventually included three symphonies, a piano concerto, a piano sonata (premiered by Eduard Erdmann at the 1925 Venice ISCM Festival[10]) and five string quartets, amongst various smaller works.


So, TalkClassical, what do you guys think? At times I feel like it doesn't grab my attention, but there are absolutely moments that just suck me in. He's clearly a genius at the piano, but as has been in other cases sometimes genius doesn't spread.


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## fnork (Mar 25, 2014)

Reviving an old thread that attracted no response at all. Recently, the 3 symphonies by Schnabel - all extremely large-scale works, long, dense, endlessly taxing for conductor and orchestra - were made available on youtube, which gives us an opportunity to get a better picture of him as a composer. This is by no means easy-listenable background music. The music seems to evolve and evolve, in a way that I find compelling and natural, but completely without recognizable thematic material. The Largo of the 2nd symphony develops slowly but surely, reaching very powerful climaxes for anyone willing to spend 17 minutes listening to it.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

The cadenza he wrote for the Mozart piano concerto stands out like a sore thumb. The first time I heard it, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.


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