In this episode of Radio Romantica you will hear a recording of a recital by mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn and pianist Joseph Breinl, with the varied Lieder of Franz Schubert, Alban Berg and Hugo Wolf.
The recital opens with seven Lieder of Schubert. Successively you will hear An den Mond, with clear references to Beethoven’s Mondscheinsonate; Nachtstück, about an old man singing his last song in the night; Der Zwerg, a ballade about the angry gnome, who feels rejected by the princess. Christianne Stotijn and Joseph Breinl continue their recital with Abendstern and Auflösung. Next follows Nacht und Träume, en they conclude with the famous and dramatic ballade Erlkönig, the famous ballad of Goethe.
The duo continues with 4 Lieder opus 2 of Alban Berg. Berg wrote this cycle in 1911. The young composer is clearly already moving in the direction of free atonality. The images in the text of Mombert and Hebbel are flooded with dreamy fantasies full of expectation and hope. Schlafen, schlafen, nichts als schlafen; Schlafend trägt man mich; Nun ich der Riesen Stärksten überwand and Warm die Lüfte are the titles of the 4 Lieder opus 2 of Alban Berg.
The recital is concluded with six Lieder of Hugo Wolf. From 1886 on, Hugo Wolf let himself be inspired by poems of Mörike. He wrote more than fifty songs to text of the German poet. Christianne Stotijn and Joseph Breindl have chosen six. Die Geister am Mummelsee is a funeral march of water sprites. Gesang Weylas is followed by Elfenlied, in which an elf is portrayed in a humorous way. In Um Mitternacht we dive into mysterious bewitched depths. In Auf der Christblume again an elf dances to fast notes. To round off, in Lied vom Winde, the wind literally blows through the grand piano, ending in a quiet: ‘adieu’.
- Franz Schubert, An den Mond, Nachtstück, Der Zwerg, Abendstern, Auflösung, Nacht und Träume, Erlkönig, Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano and Joseph Breindl, piano
- Alban Berg, Vier Lieder, Op. 2: Schlafen, schlafen, nichts als schlafen; Schlafend trägt man mich; Nun ich der Riesen Strärksten überwand; ‘Warm die Lüfte, Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano and Joseph Breindl, piano
- Hugo Wolf, Mörike Lieder, Die Geister am Mummelsee, Gesang Weylas, Elfenlied, Um Mitternacht, Auf eine Christblume I, Lied vom Winde, Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano and Joseph Breindl, piano
