Tag Archives: Gottfried Keller

Episode 445. Simply Radiant: Edith Mathis In Memoriam

March 14, 2026Art Song, Comic Relief, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlexander Zemlinsky, Ariettes oubliées, Armin Rüeger, Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Carl Loewe, Carl Maria von Weber, Claude Debussy, Cord Garben, Der Freischütz, Edith Mathis, Eugen Müller-Dombois, Frank Martin, Friedrich Kind, Friedrich Laun, George Frideric Handel, Gérard Wyss, Gerd Albrecht, Gerhard Naumann, Giambattista Varesco, Gottfried Keller, Hans Franzen, Hans Münch, Heinrich Heine, Helen Donath, Helmut Hucke, Hermann Suter, Hermann Winkler, Honoré de Balzac, Hugo Wolf, Ich bin in mir vergnügt, Il re pastore, Italienisches Liederbuch, Jacob Will, Jean Fournet, Johann August Apel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Karl Engel, Kleider machen Leute, Le Laudi di San Francesco d’Assisi, Leo Feld, Leopold Hager, Leopold Ludwig, Maria Tryptichon, Mass in c minor, Massimilla Doni, Myrthen (Schumann), Neun deutsche Arien, Norman Shetler, Othmar Schoeck, Paul Heyse, Paul Verline, Peter Keller, Peter Schneider, Peter Schreier, Pierre Boulez, Pietro Metastasio, Ralf Weikert, Robert Schumann, Rudolf A. Hartmann, Stefania Kaluza, Szenen aus Goethes Faust, Walter Thoene, Wicus Slabbert, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Gönnenwein, Wolfgang Schneiderhancountermelody

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Today a belated memorial tribute to the beloved Swiss soprano Edith Mathis, who died in Salzburg thirteen months ago, two days before her 87th birthday. One of the most highly regarded lyric sopranos of the 1960s and 1970s, Mathis began her career in the late fifties, retiring more than 40 years later in 2001. In between she, armed with a radiant, technically secure voice allied with an understated yet powerful musicianship, set the standard for performance of Baroque music, Mozart, and Lieder, in particular. She was the quintessential German soubrette, and as such the best of her generation in roles such as Ännchen in Der Freischütz and Marzelline in Fidelio. Because of her lack of pretention and mannerism, she might sometimes be somewhat undervalued, but her artistic achievement, especially considered as a whole, is equal to any comparable singer of the last century. I have scoured my extensive Mathis collection, as well as the corners of the internet, to bring you as full a musical portrait of Edith Mathis as possible, covering nearly the entirety of her career, and including works by several of her Swiss compatriot composers.

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 411. Orchestral Song [International Edition]

November 15, 2025Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Canadian Singers, Forgotten Divas, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Rescue Mission, Twentieth Century MusicAlexander Zemlinsky, Aminollah Hossein, Andréa Guiot, Andrzej Markowski, Antonio Rubino, Ben Glassberg, Bernard Kruysen, Bohuslav Martinů, Canto a Sevilla, Cinco canciones negras, Combat del somni, Coral Island, Dagmar Pecková, Deità silvane, Dorothy Dorow, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Emanuel Lešehrad, Fartein Valen, Frederic Mompou, Gabriel Suovanen, Gerald Finley, Gottfried Keller, Günter von Kannen, Halina Łukomska, Hannu Lintu, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Jean-Claude Hartemann, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Jiří Bělohlávek, Joaquín Turina, José Muñoz San Román, Josep Janés, Julian Przyboś, Kaija Saariaho, Karol Stryja, Karol Szymanowski, Kazimierz Serocki, Laszlo Heltay, Lebendig begraben, Leif Segerstam, Lyrische Symphonie, Makota Ohka, Marianne Crebassa, Militiades Caridis, Oczy Powietrza, Othmar Schoeck, Ottorino Respighi, Pieśni muezina szalonego, Pilar Lorengar, Rabindranath Tagore, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Rafael Merello, Ralf Weikert, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Rie Hamada, Robert Tear, Ryszard Minkiewicz, Saadi Shirazi, Songs of the Lovesick Muezzin, Tōru Takemitsu, Victoria de los Angeles, Walt Whitman, Xavier Montsalvatge, Yuzo Toyama, Zoltan Peskocountermelody

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An old LP of Tōru Takemitsu’s Coral Island and a conversation with a new friend about American Exceptionalism inspired today’s episode, the “International Edition” of my ongoing series on Orchestral Song. Coral Island is still here, although I ended up using a later (and better) recording than the one in my collection. I also feature the work of composers Karol Szymanowski, Augustyn Bloch, Aminollah Hossein, Kaija Saariaho, Frederic Mompou, Ottorino Respighi, Fartein Valen, Bohuslav Martinů, and many others, performed by Gerald Finley, Andréa Guiot, Robert Tear, Dorothy Dorow, Halina Łukomska, Victoria de los Ángeles, Andrzej Hiolski, Bernard Kruysen, and Marianne Crebassa, for starters! I have been enjoying so much preparing these recent “potpourri” episodes, and this one is particularly chock full of surprises and discoveries!

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 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 400. Meet Ilse Wolf

October 6, 2025Art Song, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Voiceless WondersApril Cantelo, Bernard Rose, Carlo Milanuzzi, Christian Friedrich Henrici, Claudio Monteverdi, Clemens von Brentano, Das Liebesverbot, Eduard Mörike, Edward Downes, Ernest Lush, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, Friederike Robert, Friedrich zu Stolberg-Stolberg, Geraint Jones, Gerald English, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Gottfried Keller, Hans Schmidt, Hugo Wolf, Ilse Wolf, Janet Baker, Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Johannes-Passion, Joseph von Spaun, Karl Klingemann, Klaus Groth, Ludwig Hölty, Ludwig Tieck, Marianne von Willemer, Martin Isepp, Matthäus von Collin, Ottavio Rinuccini, Pablo Casals, Picander, Raymond Leppard, Richard Wagner, Robert Franz, Robert Schumann, St. John Passioncountermelody

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German-British soprano Ilse Wolf (07 June 1921 – 06 September 1999) was another fine lyric soprano active primarily in Britain from the 1950s through the early 1980s. One of the reasons she is remembered today is because she recommended a very young Janet Baker to her own teacher, Helene Isepp, which began a long association between the two which lasted until Isepp’s death in 1968. But Wolf was a fine singer in her own right and was a particularly cogent and expressive singer of Lieder as well as Baroque music. My listeners may remember that during Holy Week this year I played a live recording of Wolf singing the Johannes-Passion under the baton of Pablo Casals. I knew of Wolf because she is the soprano on a delightful 1967 recording of Monteverdi madrigals led by Raymond Leppard. In 1969 she also made a delightful recording of Lieder, her one solo disc, with Martin Isepp, Helene Isepp’s son and also an early collaborator of Janet Baker’s. I decided to scour the interwebs to see what other Ilse Wolf material I could come up with to feature her in her own episode. The answer, beyond these few examples, is: not much, but there were a few additional choice items, and in listening and relistening to the Lieder recording in particular, I discovered that Ilse Wolf was a very fine interpreter, indeed. Her life story is also a compelling one, and I’m privileged to share it (and her delectable singing) with my beloved listeners.