Tag Archives: Bruno Walter

Episode 462. Get to Know Charles Kullman

May 11, 2026French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Gustav Mahler, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAbbé Prevost, Alexander Pushkin, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfred Grünwald, Arturo Toscanini, August Bernhard, Bidu Sayao, Bruno Walter, Carl Haffner, Carlo Gozzi, Cesare Sodero, Charles Kullman, Charles Kullmann, Clemens Schmalstich, Das Lied von der Erde, Der Zigeunerbaron, Die Fledermaus, Die lockende Flamme, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Die Sonne geht auf, Die Zirkusprinzessin, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Eduard Künneke, Emmerich Kálmán, Eugen Hildach, Eugen Onegin, Eugene Ormandy, Felix Dahn, Francesco Maria Piave, Friedrich Schiller, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Hans Bethge, Henri Meilhac, Hoffmanns Erzählungen, Ignaz Schnitzer, Italo Montemezzi, J.M. Willeminsky, Jacques Offenbach, Johann Strauss II, Jules Barbier, Jules Massenet, Julius Brammer, Julius Hopp, L’amore di tre re, La Traviata, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Li-Tai-Po, Licia Albanese, Lohengrin, Ludovic Halévy, Manon, Mór Jókai, Otto Dobrindt, Paul Knepler, Philippe Gille, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Regina Resnik, Renato Simoni, Richard Genée, Richard Wagner, Ruth and Thomas Martin, Sem Benelli, Thomas Beecham, Turandot, Walter Goehr, Will Meisel, Yevgeny Onegincountermelody

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I’ve had a real urge lately to revisit the voices and careers of some of my favorite tenors. So today I bring you the exceptional American artist Charles Kullman (1903 – 1983). The early years of his career were spent primarily in Berlin and Vienna, but for twenty-five years beginning in 1935, he was also a mainstay at the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang a total of 33 different roles. The sheen and spin on his lyric voice, allied to a firm technique, allowed him sing everything from Rinuccio and Fenton to Tannhäuser and Herodes (and nearly everything else in between!) During his European years, he made a number of invaluable recordings, including opera and operetta arias as well as songs from a number of popular films in which he starred. Though he recorded only one complete operatic role in the studio (Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus in 1951), there exist a large number of choice live stage performances that allow us to more fully explore the full length (and variety) of Kullman’s performing career. In this episode, we not only hear excerpts from those early German recordings, but also from live performances of Das Lied von der Erde, Meistersinger, Manon, Traviata, Fledermaus, and Montemezzi’s monumental L’amore dei tre re, some of which feature recent Countermelody divas Licia Albanese, Regina Resnik, and Bidú Sayão. Some aficionado or other has dubbed Kullman “the compleat tenor” and I couldn’t agree more. Enjoy getting better acquainted with this great singer!

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 348. Rescue Mission II

April 8, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Comic Relief, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Rescue Mission, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAh Perfido!, Alan Paton, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfredo Kraus, Anton Guadagno, Arrigo Boito, Benjamin Luxon, Berislav Klobučar, Bruno Walter, Carlo Franci, Carlo Zangarini, Claudio Abbado, Conchita, Cosi fan tutte, David Willison, Dora Wilson, Edith Mathis, El amor brujo, Eleanor Steber, Ellabelle Davis, Eugene Holmes, Ferdinando Bertoni, Francesco Maria Piave, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Busch, George Frideric Handel, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Davy, Hans Thamm, Helga Görlin, Hermann Lohr, Hugo Cohn, Hugo Conrat, Hugo Hasslo, Janet Baker, Jean Féline, Joaquín Turina, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Alexander, Josefina de Attard, Judith Layng, Karl Böhm, Kjell Olsson, Kurt Weill, La Traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Léo Chauliac, Leopold Stokowski, Lohengrin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Loris Gavarini, Lost in the Stars, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mady Mesple, Manuel de Falla, Mara Coleva, Margaret Marshall, Margaret Price, María de la O Lejárraga García, Martina Arroyo, Maurizio Vaucaire, Maxwell Anderson, Mefistofele, Musas de Andalucía, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Oralia Dominguez, Orfeo ed Euridice, Paul Misraki, Pierre Louÿs, Pietro Metastasio, Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, Raymond Leppard, Ria Bollen, Riccardo Zandonai, Richard Wagner, Roberta Alexander, Walter Herbert, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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After I post a Countermelody episode on a cherished singer, my relationship with these artists continues: one of those manifestataions is that I never stop seeking out rare and unusual recordings featuring those singers. This results in a grab-bag of fascinating and often obscure material that is simply too good not to share with my listeners. Today I present you with the second episode of such genre, which I have collectively dubbed “Rescue Mission.” On this episode I feature singers you’ve heard on the podcast over the course of the past several weeks and months, including, among many others, Janet Baker, Oralia Domínguez, Eugene Holmes, Ellabelle Davis, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Benjamin Luxon, Mara Coleva, Hugo Hasslo, Margaret Marshall, Gloria Davy, and Mady Mesplé, performing work by Handel, Verdi, Weill, Bach, Brahms, Boito, and Mozart. The episode concludes with Eleanor Steber (because, as I affirmed laast week, you can never have enough of her), in a 1949 performance of “Ah, Perfido!” that will have you picking your dislocated jaw up off the floor. Also expect shout-outs to friends of the podcast, old and new, as well as a certain amount of political snippiness!

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 or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 62. Gustav Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Music for a World in Crisis VI)

November 22, 2020Art Song, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Lieder, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle DropAafje Heynis, Achim von Arnim, Adrian Boult, Anny Felbermayer, Bernard Haitink, Bernd Weikl, Brigitte Fassbaender, Bruno Walter, Christa Ludwig, Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, George Schick, Geraint Evans, Grete Stückgold, Gustav Mahler, György Lehel, Hans Zender, Irmgard Seefried, István Gáti, Janet Baker, Jennie Tourel, John Shirley-Quirk, Judith Raskin, Kathleen Ferrier, Klaus Tennstedt, Leonard Bernstein, Lucia Popp, Maureen Forrester, Walter Berry, Wyn Morriscountermelody

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This week I turn to the music of Gustav Mahler, specifically his orchestral settings of poems from the influential collection of folk poetry, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, collected by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano and published in three separate volumes between 1805 and 1808. The themes of war, death, and humor, the latter often of the grimmest variety, pervades the texts that Mahler set. I present recordings of each of the fifteen orchestrated songs (several of which form movements of three of his symphonies) by such singers as Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, Maureen Forrester, Lucia Popp, Brigitte Fassbaender, Irmgard Seefried, Bernd Weikl, Geraint Evans, Walter Berry, and many others, in performances conducted by Leonard Bernstein, Klaus Tennstedt, Wyn Morris, Bernard Haitink, and Adrian Boult. I also include a tribute to the Hungarian baritone István Gáti on the occasion of his 72nd birthday and a commemoration of the Dutch contralto Aafje Heynis on the fifth anniversary of her death. From chaos to transfiguration, Mahler conjures and depicts a world perhaps not far-removed from our own.

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.

Episode 29. A Social Isolation Schubertiade (Music for a World in Crisis III)

April 5, 2020Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, SchubertAbram Makarov, Alexander Kipnis, András Schiff, Aribert Reimann, Barry McDaniel, Bernard Diamant, Boris Abramovich, Brigitte Fassbaender, Bruno Walter, Bryn Terfel, Christa Ludwig, Dalton Baldwin, Der Einsame, Der Winterabend, Die Taubenpost, Elisabeth Schumannn, Erik Werba, Faron Young, Frank Bibb, Franz Grillparzer, Franz Schubert, Franz von Schober, Friedrich Reil, Friedrich Rückert, Frühlingstraum, Georg Philipp Schmidt, George Schick, Gerard Souzay, Gundula Janowitz, Hans Altmann, Hans Hotter, Heinrich Heine, Heinrich Rehkemper, Helen Watts, Hermann von Nordberg, Hertha Klust, Hubert Giesen, Im Abendrot, Irmgard Seefried, Irwin Gage, Janet Baker, Johann Gabriel Seidl, Johann Ludwig Uhland, Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Newmark, John Shirley-Quirk, Judith Raskin, Karl Erb, Karl Lappe, Karl von Leitner, Leise flehen meine Lieder, Lied der Anne Lyle, Louis Halsey, Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty, Ludwig Rellstab, Malcolm Martineau, Manfred Gurlitt, Paul Hamburger, Peter Schreier, Richard Tauber, Schubert Am Bach im Frühling, Schubert Am Fenster, Schubert An die Apfelbäume, Schubert An die Apfelbäume wo ich Julien erblickte, Schubert Der Atlas, Schubert Der Wanderer, Schubert Erlafsee, Schubert Frühlingsglaube, Schubert Im Freien, Schubert Lachen und Weinen, Schubert Schwanengesang, Schubert Ständchen, Schubert Winterreise, Schubert Zögernd leise, Schwanengesang, Sehnsucht, Sergei Lemeshev, Sir Walter Scott, Steuart Bedford, Viola Tunnard, Walter Berry, Walter Martin, Walter Scott, Walther Ludwig, Wandrers Nachtlied, Wilhelm Müller, Winterreisecountermelody

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Franz Schubert is the composer who speaks to me like no other. His insight into the human condition is profound: in particular, he explores that narrow strip of land where joy and sorrow meet, converse, and commiserate. I have devoted this episode entirely to performances of his Lieder, the songs divided into three separate (and often overlapping) categories: those dealing with mental states, those that seek to bridge gaps of time and space, and those that address social isolation. Featured are some of my favorite singers: Irmgard Seefried, Walter Berry, Alexander Kipnis, Janet Baker, Hans Hotter, Judith Raskin, Gundula Janowitz, Heinrich Rehkemper, Christa Ludwig, Peter Schreier, Brigitte Fassbaender, Gérard Souzay, and Karl Erb (with a few additional surprises along the way), accompanied by such great collaborative pianists as Erik Werba, Irwin Gage, Hertha Klust, John Newmark, Dalton Baldwin, Aribert Reimann, András Schiff, Paul Hamburger, and Bruno Walter, among others. I am particularly proud of this episode and hope that it brings you comfort and solace, as only Schubert can.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glories of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great classical and opera singers of the past and present with the help of guests from the classical music field: singers, conductors, composers, coaches, agents, and voice teachers. 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 interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please also 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 support at whatever level you can afford.