Anton Webern: Complete Works, Opp. 1-31

Webern is as 'classic' to Boulez as Mozart or Brahms are to most other conductors, and when he's able to persuade performers to share his view the results can be remarkable - lucid in texture, responsive in expression. There are many sides to Webern, despite his well-nigh exclusive concern with miniature forms, and although this set isn't equally successful in realising them all, it leaves you in no doubt about the music's variety and emotional power, whether the piece is an ingenious canon-by-inversion or a simple, folk-like Lied. From a long list of performers one could single out Heather Harper and the Juilliard Quartet for special commendation; and the smooth confidence of the John Alldis Choir is also notable. The recordings were made over a five-year period, and have the typical CBS dryness of that time. Even so, in the finest performances which Boulez himself directs, that remarkable radiance of spirit so special to Webern is vividly conveyed. It's a fascinating bonus to hear Webern himself conducting his Schubert arrangements - music from another world, yet with an economy and emotional poise that Webern in his own way sought to emulate.