Monthly Archives: January 2026

Episode 433. Lois Marshall Revisited

January 31, 2026Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Canadian Singers, Comic Relief, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century MusicA Shropshire Lad, A.E. Housman, Anne Wilkinson, Anthony Bernarad, Arthur Gold, Cantiones Mysticae, Chansons de Bilitis, Claude Debussy, Eduard Mörike, Edward Kudlak, Elmer Iseler, Emanuel von Geibel, Ernest MacMillan, Ezio Flagello, Folksong, Francis Poulenc, Gabora String Quartet, George Frideric Handel, Godfrey Ridout, Greta Kraus, Harry Freedman, Healey Willan, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Schütz, Henry Purcell, Henryk Frydmann, Hugo Wolf, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, James Joyce, Jean Coulthard, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Alexander, John Donne, John Dryden, John Ireland, Karl Joseph Simrock, Kleine geistiche Konzerte, La Damnation de Faust, Leopold Stokowski, Lois Marshall, Luís de Camões, Manuel de Falla, Maureen Forrester, Maurice Ravel, Michael Carpenter, Mörike-Lieder, Moses Mendes, Newburgh Hamilton, Ophelia-Lieder, Oskar Morawetz, Pierre Louÿs, Richard Strauss, Robert Burns, Robert Fizdale, Robert Schumann, Robert Verebes, Roger Quilter, Ruben Gurevich, Samuel Barber, Seiji Ozawa, Shéhérazade, Siete canciones populares españolas, Solomon, Spanische Liebeslieder, Srul Anthony Glick, St. Matthew Passion, Stuart Hamilton, Taras Gabora, The Fairy Queen, Thomas Beecham, Tristan Klingsor, Weldon Kilburn, William Shakespeare, Yehudi Wynercountermelody

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Yesterday, January 29th, was the 101st anniversary of the birth of the Canadian soprano (later mezzo) Lois Marshall. Marshall was in so many ways a unique and treasurable artist. Afflicted with polio as a young child, she spent much of her early life hospitalized. It was there that she discovered the expressive power of her singing voice. Following her training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Marshall won two prestigious vocal competitions, including the Naumburg, she was taken on by such early mentors as Arturo Toscanini and Thomas Beecham and others. Audiences were captivated by both the spontaneity and directness of her artistry. Though she made occasional appearances in opera (and in particular televised opera, where her mobility issues could be more easily managed), she was primarily known as a concert singer. Recommended by the young Glenn Gould, she quickly became a favorite with Russian audiences and created the Canadian premieres of works by Poulenc and Britten, among others. This, the fourth Countermelody episode devoted to this artist, features her in a wide range of material, including in particular work by contemporary Canadian composers including Harry Somers, Oskar Morawetz, Srul Anthony Glick, Godfrey Ridout, Harry Freedman, and Jean Coulthard. The episode also emphasizes the purity and expressiveness of her singing in Baroque music, including Handel, Bach, Purcell, and Schütz as well as her unique way on the concert platform with both art song and folk song arrangements. Collaborating artists include Leopold Stokowski, Maureen Forrester, Glenn Gould, Seiji Ozawa, John Alexander, and Thomas Beecham. Once heard, Lois Marshall will never be forgotten.

Countermelody is the podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and author yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 432. Dan Picks YET AGAIN!

January 26, 2026African American Singers, Arie antiche, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Countertenors, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAdelaide Hall, Alain Vanzo, Alan Jay Lerner, Alfred de Musset, Alfred Grünwald, Andrea del Sarto, Anton de Ridder, Art Simmons, Arthur Greenslade, Bayard Rustin, Béla Bartók, Bertice Reading, Bill Crow, Brigadoon, Bronislaw Kaper, Charles Kullman, Charles Kullmann, Charles Pothier, Claude Thornhill, Cole Porter, Daniel Lesur, Danny Boy, Das Land des Lächelns, Dave Bailey, David Clayton-Thomas, Die Zirkusprinzessin, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Eartha Kitt, Edith Lang, Emmerich Kálmán, Erik Werba, Eugène Bigot, Faye Robinson, Franz Lehár, Frederick Loewe, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Löhner-Beda, George Frideric Handel, Georges Thill, Germaine Cernay, Gottfried Hämpel, Gustave Cloëz, Harold Arlen, Hoffmanns Erzählungen, House of Flowers, Hugo Wolf, I Married an Angel, Jacques Offenbach, Janina Gillowa, Jean-Paul Jeannotte, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, Jeanne Landry, Jephtha, Jerry Ross, Jimmy Webb, John Ferrante, Johnny Franz, Johnny Mercer, Joseph von Eichendorff, Judith Raskin, Jules Barbier, Julia Hamari, Julius Brammer, Julius Hopp, Keith Mansfield, Larry Weiss, Léopold Dauphin, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Les Saltimbanques, Lorenz Hart, Louis Debruyère, Louis Ganne, Ludwig Herzer, Macolm Sargent, Madeline Bell, Manuel Rosenthal, Mária Basilides, Martin Isepp, Marty Paich, Maxine Sullivan, Michael Tippett, Michel Philippe-Gérard, Ned Rorem, Percy Bysshe Sheeley, Reginald Boardman, Reynaldo Hahn, Richard Hickox, Richard Lewis, Richard Rodgers, Richard Sgodova, Robert Hanell, Roger Quilter, Roland Hayes, Salena Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Susan Reed, Terry Donahue, Thomas Morell, Tommaso Giordani, Toni Harper, Tony Osborne, Truman Capote, Victor Léon, Walt Whitman, Walter Jurmann, Wiesław Ochman, Zdzisław Górzyńskicountermelody

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One of the things about my podcast that brings me the greatest joy is when I can introduce my listeners to a wide range of singers that need to be better-known. Back when I was preparing birthday episodes in October, I chose literally hundreds of tracks that I wanted to share with my listeners. At the time I made use of only a handful of them, so today I have once again dipped into that vat of gorgeous, expressive voices to bring another foretaste of what’s to come on the podcast. There’s a special section on some amazing tenors (Alain Vanzo, Wiesław Ochman, George Thill, Anton de Ridder, Richard Lewis, Charles Kullman and many others); I also introduce a plethora of singers of color who will be appearing throughout Black History Month (Madeline Bell, Bertice Reading, Maxine Sullivan, the late Iris Williams, Adelaide Hall, Roland Hayes, Faye Robinson, and Toni Harper, along with many others). It’s offered in a spirit of solidarity, communal sharing, and generosity as we face together the tough times ahead.

Episode 431. Hermann Prey singt Schubert Orchesterlieder

January 23, 2026Art Song, Great Baritones, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Schubert, Singers in Old AgeAnton Webern, Benjamin Britten, Christian Schubart, Die schöne Müllerin, Felix Mottl, Felix Weingartner, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Franz von Schober, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, Friedrich Schiller, Gary Bertini, Gesänge des Harfners, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Heine, Hermann Prey, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Johann Ladislaus Pyrker, Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Matthäus von Collin, Max Reger, Wilhelm Müller, Winterreise, Yukikazu Suzukicountermelody

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I’m sure many of you balked when you saw the title of this episode: “But Daniel: Schubert wrote no orchestral songs!” And of course you would be correct. And yet, what about when other composers orchestrate his songs? Therein lies the content of today’s episode. Historical evidence from some of Schubert’s contemporaries and closest associates indicate that he was strict in both tempo and affect in the performance of his Lieder. And yet, in the later 19th century (and beyond) many of his songs were orchestrated by such masters of orchestral color as Reger, Berlioz, Brahms, Liszt, Weingartner, and Mottl. In the twentieth century, individual songs have been orchestrated by such unexpected composers as Britten and Webern. In the late 1970s, Hermann Prey and conductor Gary Bertini made two LPs of the first recordings of these orchestrations and they make for fascinating listening, as these songs are transformed from the distinct genre of Klavierlieder to that of Orchesterlieder. These two records are supplemented by excerpts of a recording of a live performance by Hermann Prey of the world premiere of an orchestrated version of Winterreise by Japanese composer Yukikazu Suzuki. Even less than a year before his death, Prey’s connection to the music of Schubert remains palpable, and the slight vocal vulnerabilities from that performance serve only to intensify and deepen Prey’s interpretation.

Episode 430. Soukupová in Song

January 19, 2026Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Forgotten Divas, Great Contraltos, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral SongsAchim von Arnim, Adalbert von Chamisso, Antonín Dvořák, Biblical Songs (Dvorák), Biblické písně, Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Frauenliebe und -leben, Friedrich Rückert, Gustav Mahler, Ivan Moravec, Jan Horák, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Joseph von Eichendorff, Kindertotenlieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Liederkreis Op. 39, Robert Schumann, Václav Neumann, Věra Soukupovácountermelody

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Here’s a rare sampling of Countermelody favorite, the refulgent Czech contralto Věra Soukupová, in song repertoire, accompanied by both piano and full orchestra. The featured works are two song cycles of the so-called “late Romantic era,” one by Antonín Dvořák (his 1894 Biblical Songs), and one by Gustav Mahler, his 1901 Kindertotenlieder cycle. The Dvořák recording stems from 1967 and features Czech pianist Ivan Moravec; the Mahler is from 1963 and features the great Czech conductor (and Mahler specialist) Václav Neumann leading the Czech Philharmonic. The setlist includes two additional Mahler orchestral songs with Soukupová and Neumann as well as excerpts from Soukupová’s 1976 recording of two song cycles by Robert Schumann, accompanied by Czech pianist Jan Horák.

Episode 429. A Smattering of Sopranos

January 16, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Rescue Mission, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAlbert Samain, Albert Wolff, Aleksey Pleshcheyev, Alfred Wallenstein, Amilcare Ponchielli, Ángel de Saavedra, Anne Roselle, Ariettes oubliées, Arrigo Boito, August Wenzinger, Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Billy Rose, Brockes-Passion, Carl Maria von Weber, Carlo Gozzi, Carlo Maria Giulini, Cecilia Gasdia, Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Charles Woodward, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Claire Watson, Claude Debussy, Claudio Scimone, Cyril Diederich, Darius Milhaud, Eduard Mörike, Edvard Grieg, Edward Eliscu, Elena Souliotis, Elena Suliotis, Elisabeth Grümmer, Elisabeth Rethberg, Erwin Halletz, Euripides, Euryanthe, Flore Wend, Florence Quartararo, Folk Songs, Francesco Maria Piave, Françoise Pollet, Frederick Stone, Gabriel Faure, George Frideric Handel, Gerald Moore, Gérard de Nerval, Germaine Martinelli, Giacomo Puccini, Giacomo Rossi, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Heinz Neubrand, Helmina von Chézy, Henrik Ibsen, Hubert Giesen, Hugo Dietz, Hugo Wolf, Inge Borkh, Iphigénie en Tauride, Ivan Filev, Jan Chęciński, Janine Micheau, Jarmila Novotna, Johannes Brahms, Joseph Keilberth, Jules Barbier, Klaus Groth, Krassimir Gatev, Kurt Nachmann, La forza del destino, La Gioconda, La Reine de Saba, Louis Fourcaud, Luigi Boccherini, Luigi Illica, Maggie Teyte, Maria Stader, Martha Mödl, Mathilde Wesendonck, Michel Carré, Mörike-Lieder, Nicolas-François Guillard, Noël Lee, Olive Moorefield, Pamela Coburn, Paria (Moniuszko), Paul Verlaine, Peer Gynt, Pentti Koskimies, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Phyllis Curtin, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Raina Kabaivanska, Renato Simoni, Richard Wagner, Rinaldo, Rita Shane, Rolf Olsen, Silvio Varviso, Stabat Mater, Stanisław Moniuszko, Stefania Woytowicz, Stefka Evstatieva, Stephen Simon, Suzanne Danco, Torquato Tasso, Tosca, Turandot, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardou, Vincent Youmans, Wesendonck-Lieder, Witold Rowickicountermelody

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Today’s episode reveals and celebrates the opera queen in me: it’s a program entitled “A Smattering of Sopranos” that features twenty-five different singers who “happen to be” sopranos and whom have not yet been featured in full episodes of the podcast. I love producing these “potpourri” episodes, which allow me to offer a marvelous sampling of singers in a wide-ranging repertoire from French, German, Italian, (and Polish!) opera to religious music to orchestral song to Deutsche Schlager to Lieder and melodies to Russian romances to the Great American Songbook. Singers heard include Suzanne Danco, Rita Shane, Raina Kabaivanska, Françoise Pollet, Maggie Teyte, Phyllis Curtin, Jarmila Novotná, Florence Quartararo, Janine Micheau, Stefania Woytowicz, Olive Moorefield, Elisabeth Rethberg, and the late Stefka Evstatieva, among many others and each one puts her distinctive stamp on the material.

Episode 428. Alfreda Hodgson Sings Brahms

January 12, 2026Art Song, Forgotten Divas, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAlan Rowlands, Alfreda Hodgson, Altrhapsodie, August Heinrich von Fallersleben, Bernard Haitink, Edward Downes, Edward Elgar, Emanuel von Geibel, Eric Crozier, Friedrich Rückert, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Johannes Brahms, John Ireland, Keith Swallow, Lennox Berkeley, Lope Felix de Vega Carpio, Ludmila Navrath, Martin Luther, Otto Friedrich Gruppe, Paul Heyse, Ruth (Berkeley), Siegfried Kapper, Vier ernste Gesängecountermelody

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The English contralto Alfreda Hodgson (07 June 1940 – 16 April 1992) has been featured numerous times on Countermelody and when I recently acquired a copy of her 1980 solo recital recording originally released on Pearl Records, I decided that the time was right to do a full episode on this rich-voiced, profoundly musical singer. Though she was equally superb in Bach, Mahler, Handel, and Elgar, I have chosen to focus on her performances of the music of Johannes Brahms, including superb recordings of the Alto Rhapsody, the Songs for Alto and Viola, the Vier ernste Gesänge, and a posthumously-assembled collection of his Lieder published under the title Mädchenlieder. Artists accompanying Hodgson include Bernard Haitink, Edward Downes, violist Ludmila Navrath, and her long-standing pianist, the late Keith Swallow. I begin the episode with brief examples of Hodgson singing (in English) the music of her countrymen Lennox Berkeley, Edward Elgar, and John Ireland in the company of Peter Pears, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Steuart Bedford, and Alan Rowlands.

Episode 427. Representative Andrew Gray [AK] (Countermelody Conversations)

January 9, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Countermelody Conversations, Countertenors, Forgotten Divas, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Honor Your Mentors, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicA Shropshire Lad, A.E. Housman, Aida, Anders Eljas, Andrew Gray, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ann Murray, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Antonio Vivaldi, Ants Soots, Auguste Mariette, Benny Andersson, Betty Buckley, Birgit Nilsson, Björn Ulvaeus, Bonaldo Giaiotti, Chess, David Carroll, David Willison, Dotti Rambo, Edita Gruberová, Estonian National Male Choir, Evita, Ferruccio Mazzoli, Francesco Ellero d’Artegna, Francisco Araiza, Franco Corelli, Friedrich Schiller, Gaetano Donizetti, Gafira Adol’fovna Galina, George Butterworth, Giuseppe Bardari, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Helmuth Rilling, Iris Vermillion, Jakub Józef Orliński, Johann Sebastian Bach, Judy Kuhn, Kanteletar, Kathleen Battle, Magnificat, Margo Garrett, Maria Stuarda, Maxim Emelyanychev, Michael Starobin, Neal Joseph, Niccolò Beregan: Il Giustino, Patti LaBelle, Patti LuPone, Paul Bogaev, Prince, Rene Wiegert, Rupert Holmes, Sandi Patty, Sergei Rachmaninov, Steven Margoshes, Temistocle Solera, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Tim Rice, Veljo Tormis, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

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In the past I have featured interviews with wonderful guests (including Ira Siff, Janet Williams, Nicholas Tamagna, August Ventura, David Savran, and others), but they have been few and far between. The vast majority of my episodes consist of me talking solo about whatever singer or topic I am presenting on a given day. But today, alongside the new season of Countermelody, I also initiate a new series called “Countermelody Conversations,” in which I interview friends and colleagues in (and out of) the music business, discussing music, singers, singing, and all the issues that come up in such discussions. My first guest in this series is my good friend Andrew Gray. Many years (and lifetimes) ago, Andrew was a voice student of mine. Most voice teachers, when bragging about their students, tell you what opera houses they have been singing in. But Andrew is associated with an altogether different house, the Alaska State House of Representatives, of which he is a recently re-elected member. In this episode, Andrew describes how he went from being a Broadway wannabe to a politician. As he himself states, he is content that he has now found his true calling, but it is wonderful to trek that journey with him. I interviewed Andrew last summer when he and his son visited Berlin. He brought along a fascinating setlist of some of his favorite music, which we also discuss in detail. Andrew has a way of listening to and evaluating music which is distinctly different from mine, which means that he presents music and singers that you might otherwise not encounter on Countermelody. I’m so proud to have him as the first guest on this new series, for which I’m already planning subsequent conversations.

Episode 426. Teresa Stratas [Season Seven Premiere]

January 5, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Crossover, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlban Berg, Alberto Pestalozza, Alexander Pushkin, Antonín Dvořák, Ariadne auf Naxos, Bela Jenbach, Bernd Weikl, Bohumil Gregor, Boris Abramovich, Božena Němcová, Carlo Gozzi, Carlo Tiochet, Carlos Surinach, Charles Strouse, Claude Debussy, Der Zarewitsch, Elizabeth Harwood, Eric Stern, Florence Quivar, Francesco Maria Piave, Frank Wedekind, Franz Lehár, Franz Mazura, Franz Schubert, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Fritz Wunderlich, Gabriela Zapolska, Georg Ots, Giacomo Puccini, Giovacchino Forzano, Giuditta, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Hedwig Lachmann, Heinz Reichert, Henri Murger, Herbert von Karajan, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Isai Sherman, James Levine, János Kulka, Jaroslav Kvapil, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Karel Jaromír Erben, Karl Böhm, Konstantin Shilovsky, La Boheme, La Traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Lorenzo da Ponte, Luigi Illica, Lulu, Maurice Maeterlinck, Modest Tchaikovsky, Nausicaa, Nello Santi, Oscar Wilde, Paul Knepler, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Pelleas et Melisande, Pierre Beaumarchais, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Renato Simoni, Richard Strauss, Robert Graves, Rudolf Bing, Rudolf Schocki, Rusalka, Stephen Schwartz, Suor Angelica, Sylvain Cambreling, Teresa Stratas, Tom Krause, Turandot, Vasile Moldoveanu, Wiesław Ochman, Willy Mattes, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Ebert, Yevgeny Onegin, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

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I wanted to start off the year (and the new season of the podcast) with something momentous, and who better to take us there than one of the great operatic artists of the twentieth century: Canadian soprano Teresa Stratas. I have not yet done a full episode on this artist, though she provided me with what was probably my greatest night in the opera house (I get into that in the episode, as well as featuring a rare excerpt of her in that shattering performance). As always with my podcast, I like to provide unexpected glimpses of such a great singer, alongside many of her most legendary moments. So not only do we hear Stratas’ legendary interpretations of her favorite roles (Mimì, Mélisande, Lulu, Violetta, and Salome [the latter a role she never portrayed onstage]), we also hear her in Mozart, her favorite composer, as an operetta singer, as an interpreter of Lieder, in her single Broadway role in the short-lived Rags, and in another of her creations, the title role in Australian composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ Nausicaa, as well as two late career Met roles, Liù and the Komponist, roles she had sung there at the beginning of her career, more than thirty years earlier. Along the way, we hear her with artists who have already been featured in previous seasons (Gabriel Bacquier, Florence Quivar and Fritz Wunderlich), but also singers who will each be featured in the upcoming series of the podcast, including Tom Krause, Wiesław Ochman, Bernd Weikl, Elizabeth Harwood, and Vasile Moldoveanu. Also much discussion also about what makes Stratas unique as an interpreter, and why she deserves to be ranked among the very greatest. Welcome to Season Seven!