Engagements

The Scottish-German mezzo shot to fame as the winner of the main prize and joint winner of the song prize at the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition; she has continued to enjoy success in opera not only in Germany (where she is based) but also more widely in concert and recital halls around Europe. Lieder continues to form an important part of her repertoire – amongst which Elgar’s marine evocations also hold an honoured place.

• Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
  • • Dein blaues Auge hält so still Op. 59 No. 8
    • Die Mainacht Op. 43 No. 2
    • Mädchenlied Op. 107 No. 5
    • Meine Liebe ist grün Op. 63 No. 5

• Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
  • • 6 Gedichte von N Lenau und Requiem Op. 90
• Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
  • • Sea Pictures Op. 37

Programme

Poems by John Donne and Thomas Hardy – Reading in English

BENJAMIN BRITTEN
The Holy Sonnets of John Donne Op. 35

BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Winter Words Op. 52

Lied und Lyrik, a concert series conceived by pianist Julius Drake, explores the rich relationships between poetry and music: works of selected poets, read by renowned actors in the original language, are juxtaposed with a wide range of settings by composers from different eras. For the series’ third instalment, Drake is joined by tenor Mark Padmore and actor Paul Rhys for an all-British program presenting works by John Donne and Thomas Hardy and their musical adaptations by Benjamin Britten.

In collaboration with the Franz Schubert Association of Barcelona and the Centro Nacional de Difusión Musical, the Palau de la Música presents a recital by the Scottish mezzo-soprano Catriona Morison and pianist Julius Drake, one of the most experienced pianists in Lieder repertoire. The concert programme takes a tour of the catalogue of the four composers who best represent the genre: Grieg, Schumann—with one of his most moving works, Opus 90–, Brahms and Elgar.

The “Death of a Pudel” is not only the title of a pointedly cheerful Beethoven song, but also of this witty program by two local stars! Cabaret meets classic.
Austria’s popular cabaret artist and sarcastic artist Alfred Dorfer and world star, the Austrian mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager work on what it’s like when a cabaret artist and an opera singer meet for the first time.

“He” wants to get to know the bizarre world of classical singing and learn to understand the strange background of the classical music business. And who would be better suited to bring him closer to the industry than “her”!
Many of the scenes are based on real, funny personal experiences of the two artists themselves. You can expect interesting symbioses of different musical styles, as well as numerous parodies by politicians, piano tuners and provincial jurors.

Will Alfred Dorfer even learn classical singing in the end? Take a look for yourself!
A recital like no other! classic to laugh,

Dutch dramatic soprano, Eva-Maria Westbroek, joins Julius Drake for a stunning programme traversing the Atlantic and featuring Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, the result of a passionate love affair and which the composer attested as his best composition, and Spanish and South American canciones.

A Journey from Europe to the Americas

Strauss Six Songs
Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
Turina Poema En Forma De Canciones
Guridi Seis Canciones Castellanas
Guastavino Seis Canciones
Piazzolla Los pájaros perdidos

Drang in die Ferne (Leitner), op. 71 (D 770)

Four Lieder, op. 8

Der Jüngling auf dem Hügel (Hüttenbrenner), D 702

Sehnsucht (Mayrhofer), D 516

Erlafsee (Mayrhofer), D 586

Am Strome (Mayrhofer), D 539

Three Lieder, op. 13

Der Schäfer und der Reiter (Fouqué), D 517

Lob der Tränen (A. W. v. Schlegel), D 711

Der Alpenjäger (Mayrhofer), D 524

Four Lieder, op. 105

on poems by Johann Gabriel Seidl

Widerspruch, D 865

Wiegenlied, D 867

Am Fenster, D 878

Sehnsucht, D 879

Intermission

Widerschein (Schlechta), D 639

Alinde (Rochlitz), D 904

Rastlose Liebe (Goethe), D 138

Geheimes (Goethe), D 719

Versunken (Goethe), D 715

Der Winterabend (Leitner), D 938

Die Sterne (Leitner), D 939

Strophe aus »Die Götter Griechenlands« (Schiller), D 677

An den Mond (Goethe), D 259

Schubert’s Emotion

An anthology of formidable song oeuvre

An anthology of Schubert, that is what the great lyrical tenor Ian Bostridge brings. Together with Julius Drake, his companion behind the wing for a quarter of a century. With this selection, all periods from Schubert’s formidable song oeuvre are discussed, with well-known songs such as  Der Wanderer and An die Freude  and lesser-known pearls that are not inferior in expressiveness. With Bostridge these are all emotionally charged stories, with which he caress not only the mind and the ears, but also the heart.

British tenor Ian Bostridge has been a regular guest since the start of the Grote Zangers series. He likes to visit the Muziekgebouw and is also a vocalist who knows how to embrace himself by the audience. Because whatever is on the program, Bostridge makes it an unforgettable and profound journey, especially together with Julius Drake.

THERESIENSTADT COMPOSERS

We all know that where words fail music can speak yet it is still remarkable to think that during times of unimaginable horror the musicians held in Theresienstadt were able to garner any creativity at all, let alone enough to compose works as meaningful and moving as these. However, they did so to promote survival and signify hope for a better world one that so many of them did not get to see, and as such, more so perhaps than with any other music, it is our duty and privilege to give these works a voice now and long into the future, so that generations current and future can enjoy them and reflect upon them.

This concert features two young artists hand-picked by Julius Drake; BBC New Generation Artist and Kathleen Ferrier Prize winning mezzo soprano Ema Niklovska and multi-award winning baritone Konstantin Krimmel.

Ilse Weber Ich wandre durch Theresienstadt | Ade, Kamerad! | Wiegenlied
Viktor Ullmann Berjoskele from Three Jewish Songs | Five Love Songs of Richarda Huch | Three songs on poems by Friedrich Hölderlin | Three songs on poems by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer | Little Cakewalk
Gideon Klein Wiegenlied
Pavel Haas Four Songs on Chinese Poetry
Adolf Strauss Ich weiss bestimmt, ich werd dich wiedersehen!
Carlo Taube Un niño judío

The Scottish mezzo and her experienced pianist place Mahler in the context of one of the earliest masters of Lieder and one of his own greatest contemporaries. With the exception of the first of the Op. 15 group (whose text is by Michelangelo), Strauss’s 1884-6 collection set texts by the poet and art collector Adolf von Schack.

• Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
  • • Die junge Nonne D828
    • An den Mond D193
    • Nacht und Träume D827
    • Rastlose Liebe D138
    • Frühlingsglaube D686
    • Gretchen am Spinnrade D118
• Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
  • • Kindertotenlieder
• Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
  • • Madrigal Op. 15 No. 1
    • Winternacht Op. 15 No. 2
    • Lob des Leidens Op. 15 No. 3
    • Aus den Liedern der Trauer Op. 15 No. 4
    • Heimkehr Op. 15 No. 5

In their Festival debuts, mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron and pianist Julius Drake perform several powerhouse miniatures, including Brahms’s atmospheric “Nachtwandler” and Ives’s distinctive arrangement of “At the River” as well as the Chinese folk song “Northeast Lullaby” and the Uyghur art song “Ananurhan,” which Zubaida Azezi wrote for Ms. Barron. The program also features Chen Yi’s two-song collection Meditation, which draws its text from ancient Chinese poetry, and two landmark song cycles: Berg’s Four Songs, Op. 2—a youthful, exploratory work that dates from Berg’s student days with Schoenberg—and Dvořák’s much-loved Cigánské melodie, Op. 55.

BERG “Schlafen, schlafen,” Op. 2, No. 1

BRAHMS “Wie traulich war das Fleckchen,” Op. 63, No. 7

BERG “Schlafen trägt man mich,” Op. 2, No. 2

BRAHMS “O wüßt ich doch den Weg zurück,” Op. 63, No. 8

BERG “Nun ich der Riesen stärksten überwand,” Op. 2, No. 3

BRAHMS “Nachtwandler,” Op. 86, No. 3

BERG “Warm die Lüfte,” Op. 2, No. 4

DVOŘÁK Cigánské melodie, Op. 55

CHEN YI “Know You How Many Petals Falling?” from Meditation

IVES “My Native Land”

ZUBAIDA AZEZI & EDO FRENKEL “Ananurhan”

IVES “At the River”

CHEN YI “Monologue” from Meditation

TRADITIONAL “Northeast Lullaby”

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797–1828)Die Nacht (Uz), D 358

Der Abend (Matthisson), D 108

Seufzer (Hölty), D 198

Der Sänger am Felsen (Pichler), D 482

Wiedersehn (A. W. v. Schlegel), D 855

Three Lieder, op. 80

on poems by Johann Gabriel Seidl

Der Wanderer an den Mond, D 870

Das Zügenglöcklein, D 871

Im Freien, D 880

Two Lieder, op. 81

on poems by Johann Friedrich Rochlitz

Alinde, D 904

An die Laute, D 905

Two Lieder, op. 93

on poems by Ernst Schulze

Im Walde, D 834

Auf der Bruck, D 853

HENRI DUPARC (1848–1933)

Chanson triste (Cazalis)

Soupir (Sully-Prudhomme)

Le Manoir de Rosemonde (de Bonnières)

Phidylé (Leconte de Lisle)

L’invitation au voyage (Baudelaire)

FRANZ SCHUBERT

Three Lieder, op. 56

Willkommen und Abschied (Goethe), D 767

An die Leier (Bruchmann), D 737

Im Haine (Bruchmann), D 738

Four Lieder, op. 59

Du liebst mich nicht (Platen), D 756

Daß sie hier gewesen (Rückert), D 775

Du bist die Ruh (Rückert), D 776

Lachen und Weinen (Rückert), D 777