Tag Archives: Alain Lombard

Episode 262. Sylvia Sass Revisited

May 17, 2024Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Sylvia Sass, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAdalbert von Chamisso, Alain Lombard, Aldo Ceccato, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfred Grünwald, Alfred Maria Willner, András Kórodi, András Schiff, András Sebestyén, Andrea Maffei, Andrea Martin, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Béla Bartók, Béni Egressy, Charles Gounod, Cosi fan tutte, Cristina Brancato, Emmerich Kálmán, Endre Ady, Ervin Lukács, Ferenc Erkel, Ferenc Szőnyi, Fernando Previtali, Francesco Maria Piave, Frauenliebe und -leben, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Giorgio Moroder, Giovanni Foiani, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Gräfin Mariza, Heinz Reichert, Hunyadi László, I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata, Irene Cara, Iván Bradányi, János Kovács, Jesus Christ Superstar, José Carreras, Joseph von Eichendorff, Jules Barbier, Julius Brammer, Keith Forsey, La rondine, La Traviata, Lamberto Gardelli, Lili Áldor, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lucia di Lammermoor, Ludwig van Beethoven, Macbeth, Maria Grazia Piolatto, Michel Carré, Michel Plasson, Neil Shicoff, Nicola Ghiuselev, Patrizia Dordi, Péter Wolf, Richard Strauss, Richard Woitach, Robert Schumann, Roméo et Juliette, Rosanna Didonè, Ryszard Karczykowski, Salvadore Cammarano, Sylvia Sass, Temistocle Solera, Tim Rice, Tommaso Grossi, Tosca, Vier letzte Lieder, Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zsolt Durkócountermelody

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Several summers ago I published my first episode celebrating the artistry of Sylvia Sass which primarily featured her 1984 album of pop songs sung in Hungarian. At the time I called it, without any irony, the finest crossover album of the 1980s and one of the best of all time. Sass is an artist who continues to engage discourse. Many of the opinions, theories, and input encountered therein are predicated on dissecting the reasons for her short international career. My objective with today’s episode, however, is simply to celebrate Sass’s singing in all its glory, extending from the standard Italian operatic repertoire with which she is most associated through the thorniest contemporary idioms to the subtlest art song to the most refined Mozart singing, with, once again, a nod to the pop material which initially drew me to her. I always say that I believe in giving flowers to our favorite artists when they are still around to receive them, and today’s bouquet is a stunning display full of color and variety humbly presented to one of my favorite divas.

Countermelody is a 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 journalist 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 support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 173. Orchesterlieder I

December 2, 2022Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mirella Freni, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century MusicAlain Lombard, Alberto Ginastera, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Alphons Diepenbrock, André Caplet, André Jolivet, Andrzej Hiolski, Antal Dorati, Antoine Golea, Antonín Dvořák, Arthur Loosli, Bernard Kruysen, Bohumil Gregor, Brian Priestman, Charles Baudelaire, Charles Panzéra, Christoph von Dohnányi, Colette Herzog, Ernst Hermann Meyer, Francisco Araiza, Frank Martin, Franz Kafka, Franz Schreker, Giuseppe Martucci, Gundula Janowitz, Gwyneth Jones, Hans Effenberger, Hans Reisinger, Helen Donath, Herbert Kegel, Hermann Scherchen, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Irene Gubrud, Jan Krenz, Jean Sibelius, Kalevala, Karan Armstrong, Karl Friedrich Henckell, Kurt Sanderling, Lorin Maazel, Louis Fürnberg, Luonnotor, Mirella Freni, Ned Rorem, Nikolaus Lenau, Othmar Schoeck, Peter Schreier, Phyllis Curtin, Piero Coppola, Rabindranath Tagore, Rémy de Gourmont, Riccardo Muti, Richard Stamp, Richard Strauss, Roberto Abbado, Rocco Emanuele Pagliara, Tadeusz Baird, Theo Adam, Theo Loosli, Walt Whitman, Willem van Otterloo, William Shakespeare, Yi-Kwei Szecountermelody

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This week is the first of a series of episodes focusing on songs with orchestral accompaniment. The genre is almost a contradiction in terms: the intimacy and textual focus of art song with the sometimes strenuous vocal demands of singing over an orchestra. The most celebrated and successful of such songs (by Berlioz, Mahler, Ravel, Barber, Strauss, and others) are heard over and over on symphonic concerts when vocal soloists are the featured guests. And rightly so, for they are among the most glorious classical music written for the human voice. Typically for Countermelody, however, today’s episode, however, will focus on repertoire and composers that are less celebrated to the point of being virtually unknown. Composers heard include Frank Martin, Alexander Zemlinsky, Jean Sibelius, Giuseppe Martucci, Franz Schreker, Othmar Schoeck, Antonín Dvořák, Alberto Ginastera, Alphons Diepenbrock and the two Andrés, Jolivet and Caplet, alongside many others, performed by such favorites as Gwyneth Jones, Phyllis Curtin, Peter Schreier, Gundula Janowitz, Yi-Kwei Sze, Mirella Freni, Francisco Araiza, Elisabeth Söderström, and Bernard Kruysen. Also heard are Helen Donath and Andrzej Hiolski, singers soon to be featured on their own episodes, alongside lesser-remembered names such as Arthur Loosli, Irene Gubrud, and Colette Herzog. Conductors include Kurt Sanderling, Antal Doráti, Herbert Kegel, Bohumil Gregor, Hermann Scherchen, and Lorin Maazel. I “guarantee” that your ears will be enchanted and your musical horizons will be expanded by this episode.

Episode 61. Margaret Price I: The Voice of Consolation (Music for a World in Crisis V)

November 15, 2020Art Song, Giuseppe Verdi, Lieder, Margaret Price, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, SchubertAdrian Boult, Alain Lombard, Alban Berg, Andre Previn, Carl Maria von Weber, Claudio Abbado, Cosi fan tutte, Der Freischütz, Don Carlo, Edward Elgar, Ein deutsches Requiem [A German Requiem], Enrique Granados, Franz Schubert, Geoffrey Parsons, Giuseppe Verdi, Hans Sotin, Heinz Wallberg, James Lockhart, Johannes Brahms, John Pritchard, Lamberto Gardelli, Margaret Price, Otello, Otto Klemperer, Phyllis Tate, Renato Bruson, Riccardo Muti, Robert Schumann, Simon Boccanegra, The Kingdom (Elgar), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yvonne Mintoncountermelody

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Our world seems to be falling apart, both in the personal and in the global sense. I sustained an enormous personal loss this week when my dear friend Fred Berndt, the great German stage director, died suddenly on Friday. But we are all feeling an enormous sense of despair, of hopelessness, even of rage. Even before Fred’s death, I recognized that this episode needed to offer a message of hope to those who are finding it difficult to negotiate the world right now. The voice that has spoken to me most in my sadness is the Welsh soprano Margaret Price (1941-2011), whose distinctively cool yet engaged timbre, scrupulous musicianship, and communicative gifts prove unfailingly capable of conveying comfort and consolation to those who are distressed or grieving. I offer a survey of the career of this exemplary singer, a personal favorite of mine, in a wide range of repertoire including opera, oratorio, and art song. Composers include her specialties Mozart and Verdi, as well as Brahms, Strauss, Schumann, Schubert, Weber, Elgar, and the undervalued British composer Phyllis Tate. Collaborators include Otto Klemperer, Claudio Abbado, John Pritchard, Alain Lombard, Adrian Boult, and her mentor, the pianist and conductor James Lockhart, among many others. I hope that Margaret Price and her voice of consolation bring you much solace.

Countermelody is a 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 journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available, including a new extra episode further exploring today’s topic.