Opus 15 Oratorio Essay

Five Selected Recordings: The Performers

1. Margot Hinnenberg-Lefèbre – soprano, Helmut Roloff – piano, Deutsche Grammophon 16129, mono (1956)

Margot Hinnenberg-Lefèbre (21 July 1901 – 7 September 1981), a German soprano, studied singing with Constance Lacuielle and von Walter at the Conservatory in Cologne, with Eugen Robert Weiss in Munich and Oscar Daniel in Berlin. She started her career as an oratorio singer, but sang much Lied and was well known for her interpretation of Schönberg’s music. She did not sing opera on stage, although she sang opera roles in radio. Hinnenberg-Lefèbre had her breakthrough in 1926 when she sang the soprano part of Schönberg’s f minor string quartet op. 10 at the introduction of his masterclass at the Berlin Academy.

The text on the LP sleeve, written by the singer’s husband, contains mostly a discussion of the work, its artistic background and importance while revealing little about the performers. Although this review acknowledges that voice and piano are equal partners in Opus 15, it is notable that while photographs of both musicians are on the cover, only Hinnenberg-Lefèbre’s achievements are mentioned.

Although Roloff was not primarily known as an exceptional accompanist, the recording is of particular interest to this project because of Hinnenberg-Lefèbre, who sang this cycle together with Schönberg’s preferred accompanist Eduard Steuermann in many European cities and whom Schönberg addressed as “liebe Freundin” (dear friend) in a letter from 1947. She worked intensely with Schönberg on his early songs, Tove from Gurrelieder and her soloist role in “Von heute auf morgen”. It can be assumed that she shared her vast, firsthand knowledge with the ten years younger Roloff.

2. Carla Henius – soprano, Aribert Reimann – piano, Bärenreiter Musicaphon BM 30 L 1523