Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid) is a fantasy for large orchestra in three movements by Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, based on the folk-tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen.
Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid) is a fantasy for large orchestra in three movements by Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, based on the folk-tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen.
In April 1901, Zemlinsky began a romantic liaison with his pupil Alma Schindler. However, Alma broke off the relationship in November after meeting Gustav Mahler whom she subsequently married in March 1902. [1] Die Seejungfrau was, in part, an expression of the heartbreak and sense of rejection that Zemlinsky felt as a result. [1] The work was begun in February 1902 with the orchestration completed in March 1903. [2]
The work was first performed on 25 January 1905 at the Musikverein in Vienna with the Wiener Konzertverein Orchester conducted by the composer in a concert that also included the premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande . [2] The critical response was largely favourable. [2] Further performances followed in Berlin in December 1906, conducted by Walter Meyrowitz, and in Prague in November 1907, conducted by Artur Bodanzky. [2]
Some time after the Prague performance, Zemlinsky withdrew the work. Later, he gave the score of the first movement to his friend, Marie Pappenheim, as a gift. [2] The second and third movements he took with him to New York after fleeing Austria in 1938. [3] These were eventually deposited, along with the rest of Zemlinsky's manuscripts, with the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. [2]
For many years after the composer's death, the score of Die Seejungfrau was presumed lost or destroyed. [2] The second and third movements were assumed by Zemlinsky's widow Louise to be the surviving fragments of a symphony in E-flat major. [3] In the early 1980s, two British Ph.D students, Keith J. Rooke and Alfred Clayton, working separately, compared the items in Vienna and Washington and established that they belonged together. [2] The first modern performance of the work was given by the Austrian Youth Orchestra conducted by Peter Gülke in 1984. [2] Since then, the work has become one of Zemlinsky's most frequently performed and several recordings have appeared. A critical edition of the score, edited by Zemlinsky scholar Antony Beaumont, was published by Universal Edition in 2013. [2] This includes a passage of 88 bars in the second movement, depicting the Mermaid's visit to the Mer-witch, which Zemlinsky expunged from the score before the première. [2]
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The work consists of three movements:
The total playing time is around 47 minutes for the critical edition.
| Year | Conductor | Orchestra | Label | I. | II. | III. | Total | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | John Storgårds | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | Ondine | 15:48 | 17:16 | 14:41 | 47:45 | [4] |
| 2016 | Emmanuel Krivine | Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra | Alpha | 15:26 | 17:38 | 13:04 | 46:06 | [5] |
| 2020 | Marc Albrecht | Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | Pentatone | 15:56 | 17:06 | 14:26 | 47:28 | [6] |
| Year | Conductor | Orchestra | Label | I. | II. | III. | Total | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Riccardo Chailly | Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra | Decca | 15:19 | 12:17 | 12:30 | 40:06 | [7] |
| 1997 | Thomas Dausgaard | Danish National Symphony Orchestra | Chandos | 15:37 | 13:42 | 13:33 | 43:02 | [8] |
| 2003 | Antony Beaumont | Czech Philharmonic Orchestra | Chandos | 14:26 | 11:56 | 12:36 | 38:58 | [9] |
| 2005 | Thomas Dausgaard | Danish National Symphony Orchestra | Dacapo | 14:26 | 12:32 | 13:08 | 40:06 | [10] |
| 2006 | James Judd | New Zealand Symphony Orchestra | Naxos | 15:30 | 11:54 | 13:27 | 40:49 | [11] |
| 2010 | Leon Botstein | American Symphony Orchestra | ASO | 16:48 | 13:43 | 16:30 | 47:01 | [12] |
| 2010 | Cornelius Meister | ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien | CPO | 17:05 | 13:36 | 14:35 | 45:16 | [13] |
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