Het Collectief - Robin Engelen

Because of their literary origins, 'Verklärte Nacht' and 'Pierrot Lunaire' are probably the most valued compositions in Schoenberg's oeuvre. In both masterpieces the moon symbolises the capriciousness of the human psyche. The poem 'Verklärte Nacht' by Richard Dehmel is a poetic rendering of a dialogue in which a woman confesses to her lover she is expecting a child by another man. During the Viennese fin-de-siècle, themes which alluded to Freud's 'eros and thanatos' theory were particularly fashionable. Originally this symphonic poem was written for string sextet. Het Collectief presents a colourful version for piano trio by Schoenberg's student Eduard Steuermann. 'Pierrot Lunaire' is based on the symbolic poems of the Belgian Albert Giraud. A moonstruck Pierrot takes the leading role. The particularly successful German translation by Otto Erich Hartleben inspired Schoenberg to create a hallucinatory masterwork. It is not only the introduction of the groundbreaking 'Sprechgesang' but also the sensual merging of text and music that give a magnificent presence to this work.