Inside Pierrot lunaire Performing the Sprechstimme in Schoenberg's Masterpiece

Inside Pierrot lunaire makes a case for the importance of the notated pitches in a correct performance of the Sprechstimme. Acclaimed singer Phyllis Bryn-Julson and music theorist Paul Mathews provide a method for performing the Sprechstimme that considers Schoenberg's performing directions, his sometimes-contradictory statements, the recording Schoenberg conducted in 1939, and the burgeoning scholarship on speech-melody. Bryn-Julson and Mathews also examine the role played by Albertine Zehme, the singing actress who commissioned Pierrot, whose part in its creation has been minimized in previous studies. The discussion of Sprechstimme is informed by a genuine oral tradition running from Eduard Steuermann, the pianist who coached Zehme's premiere of the piece, to Ms. Bryn-Julson's own interpretation. The volume also provides a bibliography of sources and an index.