Tag Archives: Friedrich Rückert

Episode 301. Christa Ludwig Sings Lieder

October 25, 2024Art Song, Crossover, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers in Old AgeAchim von Arnim, Adolf Friedrich von Schack, Andrew MacDonald, Charles Spencer, Christa Ludwig, Clemens Brentano, Daniel Benjamin, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Erik Werba, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Friedrich von Schlegel, Geoffrey Parsons, George Scherer, German folksongs, Gustav Mahler, Hermann Allmers, Hermann Lingg, Irwin Gage, James Levine, Johannes Brahms, Joseph von Eichendorff, Leonard Bernstein, Matthäus von Collin, Peter Alexander, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Wilhelm Adolf Lindau, Wilhelm Müller, Winterreisecountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:10 — 84.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Since Christa Ludwig’s death more than three and a half years ago, her reputation has only increased. A significant portion of that reputation rests on her prowess as a singer of Lieder, a repertoire she took quite seriously and on which she focused a good deal of her performing career, especially in later years. At the time of her death, I published two episodes in her honor, the second, a bonus one, focusing on her work as a recitalist. That episode, which I reframe and re-present today, includes a full program of Lieder in mostly live performances between 1961 and 1993. She sings songs by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, as well as a selection of German folksongs from a German television 1978 program hosted by the enormously popular Schlagertenor Peter Alexander. She is accompanied by Leonard Bernstein, Erik Werba, Irwin Gage, Geoffrey Parsons, and James Levine.

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 276. Jules Bledsoe (Listeners’ Favorites)

July 29, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Black History Month 2024, Broadway, Crossover, Great Baritones, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAbbie Mitchell, Adelio Zagonara, Aida, Alberta Nichols, Alfred de Vigny, André Mauprey, Ange Flégier, Anne Roselle, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Armand Bernard, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Das Land des Lächelns, Du Bose Heyward, Eugene O’Neill, Felix Schumann, Frank La Forge, Franz Lehár, Friedrich Rückert, George Gershwin, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giuseppe Verdi, Herbert Reynolds, Ira Gershwin, Irene Dunne, Jean Marietti, Jeanette MacDonald, Jerome Kern, Johannes Brahms, Jules Bledsoe, Kurt Weill, Kyle Walker, Lawrence Tibbett, Le pays du sourire, Leo Robin, Lost in the Stars, Louis Gruenberg, Mann Holiner, Marie Powers, Markel Reed, Maxwell Anderson, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Oscar Hammerstein II, Porgy and Bess, Richard Whiting, Robert Russell Bennett, Sam Coslow, Shirley Graham Du Bois, Show Boat, Snow, Spirituals, The Emperor Jones, Todd Duncan, Valaida, Victor Young, W. Franke Harling, Wilfred Pelletiercountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:31:20 — 92.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Ten days ago I reposted an episode celebrating the life and career of Paul Robeson, legendary for many reasons, but particularly remembered for his iconic and powerful performances of “Ol’ Man River.” It is often assumed that Robeson also created the role of Joe in Show Boat, but in fact that distinction went to his near-contemporary Jules Bledsoe (1897-1943), today virtually forgotten, and unjustly so. In his time, he was also celebrated for his memorable concerts, which took place both here and in Europe, and for his operatic portrayals, most significantly, the title role in Louis Gruenberg’s opera The Emperor Jones, based on the play by Eugene O’Neill, which he portrayed both in the United States and in Europe. Barred from singing at the Met because of his race, Bledsoe took his portrayal of Brutus Jones on the road, performing it in a triumphant European tour, but also subsequently in New York in 1934 under the aegis of the short-lived Aeolian Opera Company, which was intended to provide performing opportunities for Black opera singers, but which folded almost immediately. Jules Bledsoe was also a composer who wrote many songs and arrangements of spirituals, as well as a version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin entitled Bondage, as well as his own operatic setting of O’Neill’s Emperor Jones, which may or may not have been performed at the time. Even less well-known and acknowledged (and often intentionally obscured by historians) is the fact that Jules Bledsoe was a gay man in a relationship with a Dutch white man named Freddy Huygens who at the time of Bledsoe’s premature death was referred to as either his “manager” or his “closest friend.” In this episode we hear examples of all the extant recorded material I could find by Jules Bledsoe, alongside recorded examples of work by his collaborators Abbie Mitchell, Irene Dunne, Anne Roselle, Marie Powers, Todd Duncan as well as excerpts from the work of composers W. Franke Harling, Shirley Graham Du Bois, and Louis Gruenberg performed by Jeanette MacDonald, Valaida Snow, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, and Lawrence Tibbett. Billie Holiday even puts in a special appearance!

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. Bonus episodes and videos available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 263. Contralto Central

May 24, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2024, Broadway, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, SpiritualsAafje Heynis, Adriana Lecouvreur, Alec Redshaw, Alec Wilder, Alexander Pushkin, Alphons Diepenbrock, Andrès Wheatley, Armando La Rosa Parodi, Arnold Sundgaard, Boris Khaikin, Carmen, Caroline Kaart, Cassandra Wilson, Cesare Sterbini, Charles Baudelaire, Charles Gounod, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Clara Butt, Cloë Elmo, Cor Lemaire, Das Rheingold, Édouard Blau, Edward Elgar, Émile Augier, Émile Deschamps, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Eugène Scribe, Eugenia Mantelli, Ewa Podleś, Felix de Nobel, Florence Kopleff, Florica Cristofereanu, Folk Songs, Francesco Cilea, Franz Schubert, Frederick Stone, Friedrich Rückert, Gaetano Donizetti, Georges Bizet, Georges Hartmann, Germaine Cernay, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gioachino Rossini, Gustav Mahler, Gustave Cloëz, Hall Johnson, Helen Watts, Henri Meilhac, Herbert Hughes, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jasmin White, Jimmy Webb, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Fletcher, Jules Massenet, Kathleen Ferrier, Kerstin Thorborg, Kindertotenlieder, Kosti Vehanen, La favorita, Langston Hughes, Le Prophete, Ludovic Halévy, Margaret Bonds, Marguerite D’Alvarez, Marian Anderson, Matthias Claudius, Mikhail Glinka, Milton Kaye, Nina Simone, Norma Procter, Orphée et Euridice, Paul Milliet, Peter Warlock, Philippe Riga, Pierre Beaumarchais, Prosper Mérimée, Richard Gannett, Richard Wagner, Robert Burns, Robert Shaw, Rosario Bourdon, Ruslan and Lyudmila, Sandy Dennis, Sapho (Gounod), Sea Pictures, Shannon Bolin, Sigrid Onégin, Spirituals, Thurston Dart, Václav Neumann, Valentina Levko, Valerian Shirkov, Vera Little, Věra Soukupová, Voltaire, Werthercountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:03 — 107.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Finally, the first in my long-promised series on the contralto voice! The contralto is a rara avis in the today’s opera and classical music scene, and yet back in the day, there seem to have been more of them before the public. And of course contraltos have always been a powerful presence on the popular music scene, whether in blues, disco, jazz, or as purveyors of the Great American Songbook. There is no way that I can cover all of the great (and near-great) contraltos in recorded history, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try! Today’s selections span a wide chronological range , even for this podcast: nearly 120 years, and include voices both fleet and monolithic (and sometimes both). We begin with a tribute to the late Polish coloratura contralto Ewa Podleś and along with way we hear the most famous contraltos like Kathleen Ferrier and Marian Anderson, and jazz and pop contraltos like Nina Simone and Cassandra Wilson. We also sample singers from the earlier twentieth century such as Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Cloe Elmo, Clara Butt, Eugenia Mantelli, Kerstin Thorborg, and Sigrid Onégin (about whom I spill some major tea!) Throughout the episode are sprinkled some of the most beautiful voices of any kind that I have ever heard: the Scottish Caroline Kaart, the Romanian Florica Cristofereanu, the Czech Věra Soukupová, the Dutch Aafje Heynis, the French Germaine Cernay, the British Norma Procter, and the Russian Valentina Levko. And if like me you have despaired of ever hearing another true contralto again in our lifetime, we hear in young Jasmin White cause for rejoicing. And if your favorites are not heard today, fear not, for this is the tip of the iceberg: many more great singers will follow when the series continues in two weeks.

Episode 252. Zsolt Bognár Introduces A Baritonal Schubertiade (Listeners’ Favorites)

March 20, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Canadian Singers, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Singers of Color, Voiceless WondersAksel Schiotz, Alexander Kipnis, Aloys Wilhelm Schreiber, Barry McDaniel, Bernard Kruysen, Dalton Baldwin, David Lutz, Ernest Lush, Frank Bibb, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Franz von Schober, Friedrich Rückert, Friedrich Schiller, Gerald Moore, Gerard Souzay, Gerard van Blerk, Gérard Wyss, Hans Hotter, Heinrich Schlusnus, Hermann Prey, Irwin Gage, Johann Gabriel Seidl, Johann Georg Jacobi, Johann Mayrhofer, Jorma Hynninen, Josef Greindl, Karl Schmitt-Walter, Lawrence Winters, Leo Schützendorf, Max Saal, Michael Raucheisen, Oliver Pohl, Paul Ulanowsky, Pavel Lisitsian, Robert Holl, Rolf Gothóni, Roman Trekel, Sebastian Peschko, Tom Krause, Walter Martin, Wilhelm Müller, Zsolt Bognárcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:58:09 — 124.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

I was thrilled to discover a while back that the pianist, interviewer, and journalist Zsolt Bognár, who produces the video series Living the Classical Life, is a devoted fan of Countermelody. We recently met up in person in NYC, where we discussed, among many other things, the supremacy of Franz Schubert and how his humanity finds perfect expression in his compositions. Zsolt has graciously provided the introduction to this episode, one of my favorites in the history of the podcast, which I originally produced for the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. As I remarked then, I repeat now: when I am at a loss for words, I always turn to Schubert and his music. In keeping with this month’s theme of great baritones, I once again offer this episode, which I have entitled “A Baritonal Schubertiade.” Listeners will discover some singers that we’ve already heard this month, primarily Bernard Kruysen and Jorma Hynninen, and two more singers (Gérard Souzay and Alexander Kipnis) who will be featured in full episodes next week. Kipnis’s recording stems from 1927, while German baritone Roman Trekel’s selection was recorded in 2017. Thus we have 90 years of great Lieder singing to enjoy in this episode: in addition to the singers already mentioned, Tom Krause (pictured with Carl Kundmann’s statue of Schubert in the Stadtpark in Vienna), Hans Hotter, Lawrence Winters, Hermann Prey, Barry McDaniel, Heinrich Schlusnus, Pavel Lisitsian, Bernard Diamant, and Karl Schmitt-Walter are also featured. And the episode begins with Zsolt’s recording of Liszt’s stirring transcription of Schubert’s “Aufenthalt.”

Episode 249. Gavin Carr Introduces Heinrich Rehkemper (Listeners’ Favorites)

March 11, 2024Art Song, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, Interview, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Opera in Translation, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartEduard Mörike, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Fritz Zweig, Gavin Carr, George Frideric Handel, Gerhard Hüsch, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Heinrich Rehkemper, Heinrich Schlusnus, Jascha Horenstein, Julius Prüwer, Karl Schmitt-Walter, Manfred Gurlitt, Messiah (Handel), Michael Raucheisen, Robert Schumann, Waldemar Liachowsky, Wilhelm Müller, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, William Boughton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:52:51 — 105.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

This month’s series of Listeners’ Favorites continues with the baritone Heinrich Rehkemper (1894-1949), presented to you today by my dear friend, the esteemed conductor Gavin Carr, who is the very person that first introduced him to me many years ago now. Rehkemper is one of a number of exceptional German baritones of that era who represent a very different kind of singing than we are accustomed to today: full-throated voices with an even scale from top to bottom managed with no technical gimmickry or phoniness. Rehkemper brought these traits to whatever music he was singing, whether opera, oratorio, or Lied. He left a small but important cache of discs, including many Lieder recordings, particularly of Franz Schubert. He also made the first complete recording in 1928 of Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder under the baton of none other than the great Mahler conductor Jascha Horenstein. I place Rehkemper in the context of the other significant German baritones of his era, Heinrich Schlusnus, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Karl Schmitt-Walter, and Gerhard Hüsch, playing examples of each singing the aria of Di Luna from Verdi’s Der Troubadour, each sung in German translation. But it is first and foremost the unique legacy of Rehkemper’s art song recordings that concerns me here, and I discuss what makes his work so important, and what today’s singers can learn through close study of his recordings. My dear friends, just because the name of today’s baritone might not be familiar to you, Gavin and I both implore you not to hesitate in partaking of the vocal and musical riches to be discovered in this episode!

Episode 214. Ellabelle Davis

September 12, 2023African American Singers, Art Song, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, VerismoAlfred Bachelet, Alfredo Catalani, Ellabelle Davis, Florence Price, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Harry T. Burleigh, Hubert Greenslade, Kira Thurman, Kjell Olsson, La Wally, Luigi Illica, Manny Oets, Richard Dehmel, Richard Strauss, Spirituals, Victor Olof, Warwick Braithwaitecountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:00 — 48.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Today I begin a series of interim episodes which will lead up to the debut of Season Five of the podcast in January 2024. These episodes will be shorter, but will still be chock full of interesting singers and subject matter. Today I present the African American soprano Ellabelle Davis (1907-1960) who during the late 1940s and early 1950s was greatly celebrated as a concert singer and who appeared around the world, the “Toast of Three Continents” as an early Musical America ad featuring the soprano proclaimed. She even appeared on the operatic stage, primarily as Aida, though her artistry was best suited to the concert platform. She even made a number of recordings, including two 10-inch LPs for London-Decca records in 1950. In her day she was frequently written up in the New York Times and appeared repeatedly in high-profile concert appearances in the city, and even moreso, around the world, including the Nordic countries, Vienna, and Mexico in particular. Yet her career was slowed by illness, and in fact she died prematurely at the age of 53 of cancer, after attempting a career comeback the previous year. On the episode today I present a number of her extant studio recordings and attempt to place her career within the context of larger social issues in the United States (and around the world) at that time. An upcoming bonus episode will feature even rarer selections from Davis’s recorded legacy.

Episode 196. Grace Bumbry In Memoriam

May 11, 2023African American Singers, Art Song, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Singers of ColorAdolf Heyduk, Antonín Dvořák, Beaumont Glass, Christian L’Egru, Christian Schubart, Erik Werba, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Geoffrey Parsons, Georg Friedrich Daumer, Grace Bumbry, Hans Schmidt, Harry T. Burleigh, Heinrich Heine, Helmut Deutsch, Hermann Kletke, Hugo Wolf, Jakob Niklaus von Craigher, Johann Gabriel Seidl, Johann Georg Jacobi, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Joseph von Eichendorff, Julius Mosen, Leonard Hokanson, Lotte Lehmann, Matthias Claudius, Robert Schumann, Sebastian Peschkocountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:28 — 108.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

This past week the world of opera was plunged in mourning at the news of the death of the unique, the irreplaceable Grace Bumbry (04 January 1937 – 07 May 2023), an artist equal parts daredevil and refined, whose artistry enchanted us for more than sixty years. In recent months many of us anxiously awaited news of her health after she suffered a stroke last October, from which she miraculously if temporarily rebounded. Though the news of her death was therefore not unexpected, it is both momentous and sombre in that it signals the end of an era. In October I produced a pair of episodes in her honor, the second of which, published exclusively on Patreon, celebrated her prowess as a Lieder singer. As such, she carried on the tradition and bore the mantel of the great Lotte Lehmann, her teacher and mentor; Bumbry said of her: “Lotte Lehmann will always remain for me the most important person in my entire musical life.” The episode features examples of Bumbry’s Lieder singing over the course of more than forty years, with a particular focus on her rare 1976 EMI release with pianist Geoffrey Parsons of Songs by Schumann and Schubert, which is heard in its entirety. Though I am bereft at her passing, I celebrate her mastery of a subtle and refined art form which formed the cornerstone of her artistry.

Episode 169. Grace Bumbry

November 4, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Crossover, French Opera, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, VerismoAlexander Schmalcz, Amilcare Ponchielli, Andrea Maffei, Andrew White, Beaumont Glass, Berislav Klobučar, Detlev von Liliencron, Francesco Maria Piave, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Gustave Charpentier, Hector Berlioz, Helmut Deutsch, Hermann Allmers, Jacques Revaux, Johann Gabriel Seidl, Johann Jacobi, Johann Mayrhofer, Johannes Brahms, John Fiore, Jules Massenet, Julius Mosen, Kenneth Collins, La Gioconda, Leonard Hokanson, Les nuits d’été, Macbeth, Michelangelo Veltri, Nabucco, Norman Bailey, Norman Newell, Oscar Wilde, Paul Anka, Renato Simoni, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Roger Webb, Salome, Shirley Verrett, Spirituals, Stefan Soltesz, Temistocle Solera, Théophile Gautier, Turandot, Umberto Balsamo, Victor Hugo, William Shakespearecountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:02 — 102.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Though the great diva Grace Bumbry has often been featured on Countermelody, I have not yet done a full episode on this incomparable artist. Today’s episode seeks to remedy that, and to celebrate a singer whose contribution and influence extends back many decades and continues to this very day. Normally when I consider an artist so well-renowned, I try to offer a perspective that sheds different light on that singer. So today’s Bumbry celebration considers three aspects of her artistry that have received somewhat less attention. While her successes in a wide range of mezzo soprano repertoire are well-known and well-documented, her soprano assumptions have been somewhat more controversial. I highlight numerous scenes and arias, including from Macbeth, Salome, Turandot, and Nabucco, in both live and studio performances, that shed light on the enormous prowess and fearlessness with which she confronted these roles. Alongside such larger-than-life impersonations are Bumbry’s intimate and detailed performances as a Lieder singer, a tribute to her training under that matchless singer and teacher Lotte Lehmann, with whom Bumbry studied at the Music Academy of the West. Recordings of art song by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Strauss, Liszt, and Berlioz, made over the course of 45 years are also a testament to Bumbry’s vocal longevity and technical prowess. In recent years, Grace Bumbry has devoted her time to the care, nurturing, and training of young singers under the aegis of a program she has named “The Bumbry Way.” The episode closes with a definitive performance of the song “My Way,” which incorporates and encapsulates all the colors of this extraordinary singer in all her fearlessness, self-assurance, determination, vulnerability, and strength. Evviva “The Bumbry Way!”

Episode 146. Women of Color Sing Mahler

May 26, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK2, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicBernard Haitink, Carol Brice, Christoph von Dohnányi, Das Lied von der Erde, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Die chinesische Flöte, Florence Quivar, Frieder Weissmann, Friedrich Nietzsche, Friedrich Rückert, Fritz Reiner, Gustav Mahler, Hans Bethge, Hans Knappertsbusch, Jessye Norman, Kindertotenlieder, Leonard Bernstein, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Lucretia West, Marian Anderson, Oralia Dominguez, Paul Kletzki, Pierre Monteux, Roberta Alexander, Wang Wei, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:01 — 64.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Say their names: In Uvalde: Nevaeh Bravo, Jackie Cazares, Makenna Lee Elrod, Jose Flores, Eliana Garcia, Irma Garcia, Uziyah Garcia, Amerie Jo Garza, Xavier Lopez, Jayce Luevanos, Tess Marie Mata, Miranda Mathis, Eva Mireles, Alithia Ramirez, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, Maite Rodriguez, Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, Layla Salazar, Jailah Nicole Silguero, Eliahana Cruz Torres, Rojelio Torres. In Buffalo: Celestine Chaney, Roberta A. Drury, Andre Mackniel, Katherine Massey, Margus D. Morrison, Heyward Patterson, Aaron Salter, Geraldine Talley, Ruth Whitfield, Pearl Young. All gunned down by young men who should have had no access to an assault weapon in the first place. I have no meaningful response to such cruel slaughter. When I am in the most profound mourning, I turn to the composers whose music directly confronts that despair. Today that composer is Gustav Mahler. Since the victims were almost exclusively people of color, today for solace I turn to the extraordinary voices of women of color singing the music of Mahler. Roberta Alexander, Marian Anderson, Carol Brice, Oralia Dominguez, Jessye Norman, Florence Quivar, Shirley Verrett, Lucretia West provide balm for the depths of despair that we are all feeling right now. They are joined on the podium by some of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century: Leonard Bernstein, Christoph von Dohnányi, Bernard Haitink, Paul Kletzki, Hans Knappertsbusch, Erich Leinsdorf, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Monteux, Fritz Reiner, and Frieder Weissmann.

This episode is also offered in memory of and in gratitude for the life of the great Lucretia West, who died on 21 February 2022 at the age of 99.

Episode 129. Leontyne Price in Concert (Black History Month 2022)

February 11, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK2, Black History Month, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAda Negri, Adolf Friedrich von Schack, Armand Silvestre, Charles Baudelaire, Claude Debussy, Clemens Brentano, David Garvey, Du Bose Heyward, Eduard Mörike, Emily Dickinson, Francis Poulenc, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Gabriel Faure, George Gershwin, Hector Berlioz, Hermit Songs (Barber), Howard Swanson, Hugo Wolf, Igor Stravinsky, Ira Gershwin, James Agee, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John La Montaine, Knoxville Summer of 1915, Langston Hughes, Lee Hoiby, Leontyne Price, Les nuits d’été, Lev Mei, Ludwig Rellstab, Margaret Bonds, Matthäus von Collin, Ottorino Respighi, Paul Éluard, Porgy and Bess, Richard Dehmel, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Samuel Barber, Serge Rachmaninov, Spirituals, Théophile Gautier, Victor Hugocountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:35:02 — 107.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

The great Leontyne Price, soprano par excellence and beacon to a world that desperately needed (and still needs) her, turned 95 this week. In celebration of her birthday, I chose to offer a less well-known and celebrated aspect of her artistry: Leontyne Price as an interpreter of art song, mélodie, and Lieder. The selections, both live and studio recordings, range over the course of her more than 40-year career, and include selections by Howard Swanson, as well as Samuel Barber and Lee Hoiby, both of whom crafted music with her specific voice in mind. Also included are melodies by Francis Poulenc, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, and Claude Debussy; art songs by Respighi and Rachmaninov; Lieder by Wolf, Schubert, Schumann, and Richard Strauss; followed by a pair of spirituals arranged by Margaret Bonds. And, because this is Leontyne Price singing in concert, we must conclude, as she always did, with a performance of “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. I also relate several brief stories which relate how I, in my youth, fell under the power of the voice of Leontyne Price. Fond birthday greetings to this extraordinary artist and woman! Long Live the Queen!

Episode 124. Dave’s Picks

January 14, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Comic Relief, Giacomo Puccini, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAlban Berg, Alfred Drake, Anneliese Rothenberger, Arnold Schoenberg, Arthur Winograd, Bette Midler, Beverly Wolff, Birgit Nilsson, Bobby Freeman, Burt Bacharach, Carl Orff, Carmina Burana, Carolyn Leigh, Cathy Berberian, Claude Debussy, Colette, Colin Davis, Cy Coleman, David Crosby, David Savran, Don Giovanni, Dusty Springfield, Eddie Fisher, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Erich Kleiber, Erwin Wohlfahrt, Eugene Ormandy, Fiddler on the Roof, First Choice, Franco Corelli, Françoise Ogéas, Frank Zappa, Friedrich Rückert, George Forrest, George Gershwin, George Schick, George Shirley, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Hal David, Harve Presnell, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Il Trovatore, Ira Gershwin, Jane Berbié, Janis Ian, Jefferson Airplane, Jerry Bock, Joni Mitchell, Judith Raskin, Julia Migenes, Kismet, L’enfant et les sortilèges, Le nozze di Figaro, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Leopold Ludwig, Lisa Della Casa, Little Me (Coleman and Leigh), Lorin Maazel, Luciano Berio, Lulu (Berg), Maria Callas, Maurice Maeterlinck, Maurice Ravel, Montserrat Caballé, Nina Hagen, Norma, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Burkhard, Pelleas et Melisande, Pierre Boulez, Porgy and Bess, Richard Rodgers, Rita Tritter, Robert Craft, Robert Wright, Sammy Davis Jr., Sandy Denny, Sheldon Harnick, South Pacific, Stevie Wonder, The Byrds, The Mothers of Invention, The Supremes, Tim Buckley, Trouble in Tahiti, Tullio Serafin, Turandot, Vincenzo Bellini, Wladimiro Ganzarolli, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yvonne Mintoncountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:46:28 — 123.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Today’s special episode is in honor of my best friend, partner-in-crime and Corona-lockdown buddy, the distinguished theater scholar and author David Savran, who this week once again celebrated another journey around the sun. I invited him to be the first guest in a new series I will be presenting on Countermelody featuring colleagues and friends speaking about the music (and the singers!) that have most deeply affected and inspired them. Perhaps it’s not surprising that in the nearly two decades that we have known each other, that David’s taste in music and singers often falls neatly in step with mine. But there are many other musical paths and byways that he has explored that have taken him in quite different directions. Our spirited dialogue is punctuated by music that spoke to him most deeply in the first 25 years of his life. We hear samples of everything and everyone from Sammy Davis, Jr. to Grace Slick, from Cathy Berberian to Joni Mitchell, from Lisa della Casa to Nina Hagen, from Alfred Drake to Frank Zappa. The episode also constitutes a fascinating exploration of the role that memory and nostalgia play in the creation of musical tastes and preferences. Happy Birthday, Davey, and thanks for being my guest!

Episode 120. Bethany Beardslee

December 17, 2021Art Song, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, Lieder, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century MusicAaron Copland, Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Arnold Schoenberg, August Strindberg, Basil Reeve, Bethany Beardslee, Charles Baudelaire, Cheryl Seltzer, Claude Debussy, Das buch der hängenden gärten, David Epstein, e.e. cummings, Ernest Guiraud, Fred Lerdahl, Friedrich Rückert, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Godfrey Winham, Hermann Weigert, James Joyce, James Purdy, Joel Sachs, Johannes Brahms, John Hollander, Joseph von Eichendorff, Lois Shapiro, Lotte Lehmann, Mel Powell, Milton Babbitt, Murray Panitz, Otto Erich Hartleben, Paul Verlaine, Peter Altenberg, Philomel (Babbitt), Pierrot lunaire, Richard Goode, Robert Craft, Robert Helps, Robert Schumann, Theodor Storm, William Shakespearecountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:51 — 117.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Today’s episode celebrates a pioneer in the performance of twentieth century vocal music in anticipation of her 96th birthday on Christmas Day. Bethany Beardslee was a titan who set standards in the performance of the music of Arnold Schoenberg and Milton Babbitt in particular, but who also acted as muse to a host of mid-twentieth century avant garde composers whose work she premiered and often recorded. But she was also a member of the pioneering early music ensemble New York Pro Musica in the late 1950s and was an innovator in programming daring and diverse recital repertoire which combined Lieder and melodies with the contemporary music for which she was best known. This episode samples her recordings over the course of more than thirty years, and includes composers such as John Dowland, Robert Schumann, Claude Debussy, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and Johannes Brahms alongside such twentieth century giants as Anton Webern, Ernst Krenek, Igor Stravinsky, Ben Weber, Mel Powell, Robert Helps, Fred Lerdahl, and Godfrey Winham, her second husband. Throughout the course of a career devoted to, to paraphrase the title of her autobiography, “singing the unsingable,” Bethany Beardslee combined rock solid-technique and silvery tone with peerless musicianship and interpretive acuity to set standards that have yet to be surpassed. Please join me in celebrating this great artist.

Episode 113. Edda Moser

October 31, 2021Art Song, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Twentieth Century MusicAlfredo Kraus, Anton Paulik, Arleen Augér, August Wenzinger, Boris Blacher, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Clara Schumann, Clemens Brentano, Der fliegende Holländer, Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflöte, Don Carlo, Edda Moser, Erik Werba, Eugene Kohn, Fidelio, Franco Bonisolli, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Georg Singer, George Frideric Handel, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Hans Werner Henze, Heinrich Isaac, Heinz Wallberg, Ingeborg Bachmann, Iphigénie en Tauride, Ivan Törzs, Jacques Offenbach, James Levine, Jocelyne Taillon, Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, Johann Strauss II, Johannes Brahms, José Van Dam, Josef Hopferweiser, Julius Rudel, Kostas Paskalis, La Clemenza di Tito, La Traviata, Leonard Hokanson, Leopold Hager, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mitridate Re di Ponto, Oscar Wilde, Paul Sacher, Riccardo Muti, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Rigoletto, Salome, Theo Adam, Werner Krenn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:57:05 — 124.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

On 27 October the great German dramatic coloratura Edda Moser celebrated her 83rd birthday. Celebrated as the greatest Queen of the Night ever, Edda Moser’s operatic career was centered on the music of Mozart but also included so much more. I present, it is true, two rare live examples of her singing the music of Mozart, but I also include her performances of music by Henze, Lehár, Verdi, Handel, Gluck, Johann and Richard Strauss, Offenbach, and Boris Blacher, as well as precious examples of her singing of Lieder, including songs by Brahms, Schubert, and Clara Schumann. I conclude with her reading of a beloved poem in tribute to her ongoing commitment to German language and culture. Vocal guest stars this week include Kostas Paskalis, Alfredo Kraus, José van Dam, Arleen Augér, and Theo Adam. Geliebte Frau Moser, wir erfreuen uns an Ihrer Kunstfertigkeit als begnadete Sängerin und Ihrem Vorbild als kulturelle Fahnenträgerin.

Episode 107. Norman Bailey and Friends

September 19, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Broadway, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Pop Icons, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century MusicAlan Curtis, Alan Jay Lerner, Alban Berg, Alexander Gibson, Allegro (Rodgers & Hammerstein), Buddy Bregman, Burton Lane, Carlo Gaifa, Carmen Balthrop, Claudio Monteverdi, Cora Johnson, David Atherton, Die Liebe der Danae, Eduard Mörike, Friedrich Rückert, Geoffrey Parsons, Georges Pretre, Giuseppe Verdi, Jane Powell, Jeanette MacDonald, Johannes Brahms, John Constable, John DeMain, José Cáceres, Joseph Gregor, King Priam (Tippett), Kristine Ciesinski, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La sonnambula, La Traviata, Lulu (Berg), Maria Callas, Michael Tippett, Norman Bailey, Olivier Messiaen, Oscar Hammerstein II, Peter Warlock, Philip Langridge, Pink Martini, Reginald Goodall, Richard Rodgers, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Royal Wedding, Scott Joplin, Thomas Lauderdale, Treemonisha, Vier ernste Gesänge, Vincenzo Bellinicountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:43:59 — 109.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Death has had a busy month in the music world, especially this past week, when we lost the great British Heldenbariton Norman Bailey and the delectable Hollywood star Jane Powell. This past week was also the memorial service for the soprano Carmen Balthrop, who died of pancreatic cancer on September 5. My original intent was to devote the episode to Norman Bailey, but when Jane (with whom I had a personal relationship, having been her late husband Dick Moore’s personal assistant from 2009-2012) also died, I realized I had to do an omnibus episode of sorts. I begin with several selections each from both of the recently departed divas and then plunge headlong into an appreciation of the voice, technique and artistry of the great Norman Bailey, featuring him in opera excerpts not just by Wagner, in whose music he excelled, but also by Verdi, Richard Strauss, and Michael Tippett. He is also featured in recordings from the 1970s of songs by Schumann, Brahms, Hugo Wolf, and Peter Warlock. The episode concludes with a tribute to Maria Callas on the 44th anniversary of her death on September 16, 1977.

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. 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 including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my 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.

Episode 106. A Baritonal Schubertiade

September 12, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Voiceless WondersAksel Schiotz, Alexander Kipnis, Aloys Wilhelm Schreiber, Barry McDaniel, Bernard Kruysen, Dalton Baldwin, Ernest Lush, Frank Bibb, Franz Schubert, Franz von Schober, Friedrich Rückert, Friedrich Schiller, Gerald Moore, Gerard Souzay, Gerard van Blerk, Gérard Wyss, Hans Hotter, Heinrich Schlusnus, Hermann Prey, Irwin Gage, Johann Gabriel Seidl, Johann Georg Jacobi, Johann Mayrhofer, Jorma Hynninen, Josef Greindl, Karl Schmitt-Walter, Lawrence Winters, Leo Schützendorf, Max Saal, Michael Raucheisen, Oliver Pohl, Paul Ulanowsky, Pavel Lisitsian, Rolf Gothóni, Roman Trekel, Sebastian Peschko, Tom Krause, Walter Martin, Wilhelm Müller, Wolfgang Holzmaircountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:50:57 — 116.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

On the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I am at a loss for meaningful words. Thus I have turned, as I have often done in my own life, and as I did once before at the beginning of the pandemic, to the music of Franz Schubert. I offer to you, my dear listeners, words and music of such profound sorrow, such crushing pain, and such undying hope as only Schubert can provide. As I have throughout this summer, I once again draw on that unquenchable source of great baritones to lend their eloquent voices to my efforts: here I present recordings and performances over 90 years, bookended by recordings by Alexander Kipnis in 1927 and by Roman Trekel in 2017 of the glorious Lieder of Franz Schubert. Other singers include Gérard Souzay, Hans Hotter, Tom Krause, Lawrence Winters, Hermann Prey, Barry McDaniel, Heinrich Schlusnus, Pavel Lisitsian, and Karl Schmitt-Walter, among others, each of whom offers a glimpse of Schubert’s unique genius, as well as comfort and solace during this time of solemn remembrance and commemoration.

P.S. Don’t forget about my first all-Schubert episode, which I posted at the beginning of the pandemic. www.countermelodypodcast.com/index.php/2020/04/05/episode-29-a-social-isolation-schubertiade. I listened to it this morning and it really holds up!

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. 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 including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my 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.

Episode 101. Heinrich Rehkemper

August 8, 2021Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Richard Wagner, SchubertEduard Mörike, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Rother, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Fritz Zweig, Gerhard Hüsch, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Heinrich Rehkemper, Heinrich Schlusnus, Jascha Horenstein, Julius Prüwer, Karl Schmitt-Walter, Manfred Gurlitt, Michael Raucheisen, Opera in Translation, Robert Schumann, Waldemar Liachowsky, Wilhelm Müller, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:39:27 — 93.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

I continue my salute to Great Baritones with an examination of the recorded legacy of one of my favorite German baritones, the nearly-forgotten Heinrich Rehkemper (1894-1949) who left a small but important cache of discs, many of them devoted to the Lieder of Franz Schubert. He also made the first complete recording of Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder. I place Rehkemper in the context of the other significant German baritones of his era, Heinrich Schlusnus, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Karl Schmitt-Walter, and Gerhard Hüschand examine the specter of Nazism that hangs over all German artists from this period. But it is first and foremost the unique legacy of Rehkemper’s art song recordings that concerns me here, and I discuss what makes his work so important, and what today’s singers can learn through close study of his recordings.

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. 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 including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my 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.

Episode 31. Janet Baker (Mezzo Madness II)

April 19, 2020Art Song, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, SchubertAnthony Lewis, Ariodante Dopo notte, Brahms Komm bald, Carmen, Che farò senza Euridice, Das Lied von der Erde, Die Götter Griechenlands, Dominick Argento, Dusty Springfield, Eduard Mörike, Edvard Grieg, Ernest Lush, Fauré Le Secret, Friedrich Rückert, From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, Gabriel Faure, Geoffrey Pratley, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Gluck Orfeo ed Euridice, Gustav Mahler, Handel Ariodante, Handel Tamerlano, Hugo Wolf, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Josef Krips, Kathleen Raine, Kerstin Meyer, London Bach Society, Mahler Das Lied von der Erde, Mahler Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, Mahler Rückert-Lieder, Mahler Von der Schönheit, Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, Martin Isepp, Matthäus-Passion, Maurice Ravel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Mörike-Lieder, Orfeo ed Euridice, Paul Hamburger, Paul Steinitz, Peter Aston, Rafael Kubelik, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ravel Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, Raymond Leppard, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rückert-Lieder, Schubert Abendstern, Songs of Travel, St. Matthew Passion, Stan Vincent, Tchaikovsky Adieu forêts, The Maid of Orleans, Virginia Woolf, Wolf Verborgenheitcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:06:12 — 136.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Few singers have more affected my life in a more fundamental way than the great Janet Baker. This episode seeks to pay humble tribute to that exceptional artist. I have sought long and hard to find repertoire and performances that my listeners might not have heard before. While this is not an exhaustive survey (methinks a second JB episode is lurking around the corner), I do touch on many of the cornerstones of her repertoire, including Ralph Vaughan Williams, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Gabriel Fauré, Dominick Argento, and Gustav Mahler. I also feature composers less often associated with her, including Edvard Grieg, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Hugo Wolf, and Peter Aston. Her musical collaborators represented in the episode include Martin Isepp, Paul Hamburger, Josef Krips, Rafael Kubelik, Colin Davis, Geoffrey Parsons, Anthony Lewis, and Michael Tilson Thomas, among others. I present to you The High Priestess of Song. (I also pay passing tribute to the Swedish mezzo-soprano Kerstin Meyer, who died this past week at the age of 92, and Dusty Springfield, whose 81st birthday we celebrated posthumously this week.)

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 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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:52:25 — 116.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.