Tag Archives: Marek Janowski

Episode 266. Sisters in Sapho (Listeners’ Favorites)

June 14, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Crossover, Drag Performance, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, Gustav Mahler, Ileana Cotrubas, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Operetta, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAchille de Lauzières, Achim von Arnim, Aida, Alban Berg, Aldous Huxley, Alessandro Scarlatti, Alfred Hennequin, Alfred-Charlemagne Delacour, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Aribert Reimann, Ariodante, Arleen Augér, Auguste Mariette, Bernice Johnson Reagon, BIGLovely, Brigitte Fassbaender, Camille du Locle, Carl Mathieu Lange, Cecilia Gasdia, Clemens Brentano, Cord Garben, Cosi fan tutte, Cris Williamson, Deidre McCalla, Der Rosenkavalier, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Don Carlo, Donato Renzetti, Dusty Springfield, Erik Werba, Felice Romani, Felix Mendelssohn, Ferron, Francesco Cavalli, Frank Wedekind, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Cerha, Friedrich Schiller, George Frideric Handel, Georges Pretre, Giovanni Faustini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gundula Janowitz, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Heinrich von Waldberg, Holly Near, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Ileana Cotrubas, James Levine, Janet Baker, Janis Ian, Johann Gabriel Seidl, John Wustman, Joseph Méry, Konstantin Balmont, Krzysztof Penderecki, Kurt Eichhorn, Kurt Weill, La Calisto, La Clemenza di Tito, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lulu, Marek Janowski, Margaret Price, Margie Adam, Maurice Ravel, Meg Christian, Meshell Ndegenocello, Nicolai Gedda, Pietro Metastasio, Raymond Leppard, Reri Grist, Riccardo Muti, Richard Heuberger, Richard Strauss, Robert Lloyd, Ronnie Gilbert, Serge Rachmaninov, Tatiana Troyanos, Toshi Reagon, Victor Léon, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Mehring, Willy Mattes, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:07 — 131.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

It’s been a whirlwind of a week chez Gundlach and I find myself at the end of it without a new episode ready to post. In addition to that, we are already halfway through Pride Month and I realized this morning that I had no new queer material up my sleeve. So I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do: I am going to get to work on a brand new episode which will post sometime early next week. But in the meantime, I’m going to do my own Listener’s Favorite episode, one which I posted during the very first season of Countermelody, a wondrous compilation entitled “Sisters in Sappho.” It features not only two of my favorite mezzos of all time (Tatiana Troyanos and Brigitte Fassbaender – both of whom happen to have been lesbians); but also a sampling of the key figures in the Women’s Music Movement of the 1970s, including Meg Christian, Cris Williamson, Margie Adam, Holly Near, and Deidre McCalla. In celebrating these pop icons, I also pay tribute to those who, in turn, paved the way for them, including icons Janis Ian, Dusty Springfield, and Ronnie Gilbert, as well as tipping my hat to two of the queer Black singers (Toshi Reagon, Meshell Ndegeocello), that followed in the wake of these women. We all owe an enormous debt of gratitude to these extraordinary artists, who paved the way for us, their musical and artistic descendants, at the same time setting standards that will stand the test of time. Vocal guest stars include Janet Baker, Ileana Cotrubas, Cecilia Gasdia, Nicolai Gedda, Margaret Price, Gundula Janowitz, Arleen Augér, and Reri Grist.

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 178. Andrzej Hiolski

January 6, 2023Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Orchestral Songs, Queer Pride, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAdam Mickiewicz, Adamo Didur, Aldous Huxley, Alexander Pushkin, Alina Bolechowska, Andrea Chénier, Andrzej Boruta, Andrzej Hiolski, Arnold Rezler, Augustyn Bloch, Bohdan Wodiczko, Consuelo Velazquez, Die Teufel von Loudun, Don Carlo, Don Giovanni, Eugenia Wnukowska, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, Friedrich Schiller, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Halka (Moniuszko), Heinrich Heine, Helena Christenko. Karol Szymanowski, Helmut Melchert, Henryk Czyz, Henryk Debich, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jacek Urbaniak, Jan Chęciński, Jan Krenz, Jerzy Gert, Jerzy Kotyczka, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Jerzy Marchwiński, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Whiting, Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, King Roger (Szymanowski), Konrad Bryzek, Krzysztof Penderecki, Lorenzo da Ponte, Luigi Illica, Marek Janowski, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Mieczysław Mierzejewski, Pagliacci, Paolo Tosti, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Wagner, Ruggero Leoncavallo, St. Luke Passion (Penderecki), Stanisław Moniuszko, Straszny dwór (Moniuszko), Tadeusz Baird, Tadeusz Szeligowski, Tannhäuser, Tatiana Troyanos, The Devils of Loudun, Umberto Giordano, Un ballo in maschera, William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Włodzimierz Lwowicz, Włodzimierz Wolski, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yevgeny Onegin, Zygmunt Krasińskicountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:36:07 — 111.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

This week I have been tantalizing my followers with the promise of a tall, dark, handsome singer who was born on January 1. I shall keep you in suspense no longer: he is the great Polish baritone Andrzej Hiolski, born in Lvov in New Year’s Day 1922 and died in Krakow on 26 February 2000. I have known of Hiolski for years because of his association with the works of the late Krzysztof Penderecki, but I began digging deeper into his legacy a few years ago and was absolutely stunned at what I found: a singer with a near-perfect technique with a powerful voice with a slightly burred timbre characterized by both beauty, range, and subtlety of expression. I have been collecting his recordings for a few years now and have featured him at every possible opportunity on the podcast, including twice already in the current season. But this episode is devoted entirely to him and it may well serve, strange as it may seem for an artist who is so revered and treasured in his native country, as an introduction for many of my listeners to one of the great baritone voices of the twentieth century. The episode features recordings and performances, many of them exceedingly rare, ranging over more than 50 years, and includes music by Verdi, Wagner, Schubert, Mahler, Bach, Leoncavallo, Mozart, Tosti, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, and Giordano, but also a generous helping of music by Hiolski’s compatriots, including Karol Szymanowski, Frédéric Chopin, Augustyn Bloch, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Stanisław Moniuszko, Tadeusz Baird, Tadeusz Szeligowski, as well as, of course, Penderecki. Guest vocalists include the supercharged Greek-American mezzo Tatiana Troyanos and the delectable Polish soprano Alina Bolechowska, as well as the venerable Polish bass Adamo Didur, an early mentor of Hiolski’s. who now joins company with Jorma Hynninen and Gérard Souzay in the triumvirate of my favorite baritones of all time!

Episode 168. The Haunted (Opera) House

October 28, 2022African American Singers, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAldous Huxley, Alejo Pérez, Anna Moffo, Antonín Dvořák, Benjamin Britten Henry James, Bernard Ładysz, Bohumil Gregor, Božena Němcová, Charles Bruck, Charles de Coster, Charles Wilson, Chester Kallman, Claudio Guastalla, Der Schmied von Gent, Die Teufel von Loudun, Doktor Faust, Emanuel Balaban, Eugene Conley, Ferruccio Busoni, Francesco Molinar-Pradelli, Franz Schreker, George Shirley, Gian Carlo Menotti, Hans Sotin, Hans Wiers-Jenssen, Hilde Güden, Horst Wilhelm, Igor Stravinsky, James Levine, Jane Rhodes, Jaroslav Kvapil, Jascha Horenstein, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Corigliano, Karel Jaromír Erben, Krzysztof Penderecki, La Fiamma (Respighi), Leigh Melrose, Mack Harrell, Mara Coleva, Maralin Niska, Marek Janowski, Marie Powers, Myfanwy Piper, Ottorino Respighi, Pierre Beaumarchais, Rusalka (Dvořák). Gwendolyn Killebrew, Serge Prokofiev, Tatiana Troyanos, Teresa Stratas, The Fiery Angel, The Ghosts of Versailles, The Medium (Menotti), The Rake’s Progress, The Turn of the Screw (Britten), uvu Mpofu, Valery Bryusov, W.H. Auden, William M. Hoffman, Xavier Deprazcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:09:02 — 71.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

This week’s episode celebrates Halloween while at the same time initiating my new ongoing series on Twentieth Century Opera. From Dvořák’s Rusalka, premiered in Prague in 1901, through Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, premiered in New York in 1991, there is a wealth of operatic material, some barely remembered today, that touches upon various aspects of the occult, be that witches, devils, exorcisms, demonic possessions, or those that conjure the dead. Alongside the aforementioned works, this episode also features work by Benjamin Britten, Gian Carlo Menotti, Igor Stravinsky, Ferruccio Busoni, Franz Schreker, Serge Prokofiev, Ottorino Respighi, and Krzysztof Penderecki, performed by Teresa Stratas. Tatiana Troyanos, George Shirley, Anna Moffo, Mack Harrell, Maralin Niska, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Jane Rhodes, and others in performances recorded between 1949 and… nearly yesterday. Some of it is folksy, some humorous, some creepy, some horrific, but it is peopled by characters that either haunt or are haunted.

Episode 58. Richard Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder (Music for a World in Crisis IV)

October 25, 2020Art Song, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard StraussAlceo Galliera, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Bernard Haitink, Christa Ludwig, Claudio Abbado, Daphne, Die Ägyptische Helena, Edda Moser, Elektra, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Fritz Busch, Georg Solti, Heinrich Hollreiser, Hilde Güden, Hugo von Hoffmansthal, Karl Böhm, Leon Goossens, Lucia Popp, Marek Janowski, Margaret Price, Martin Katz, Milan Horvat, Richard Strauss, Rose Pauly, Sena Jurinac, Soile Isokoski, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Walter Berry, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:33:26 — 96.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

As the worldwide pandemic renews its threat and creates general unrest, panic, anger, and depression, as well as illness and death for so many, we turn as always to music for solace. One of the central pieces that I have always turned to in times of personal turmoil has been Richard Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder. Over the years I have listened to and derived comfort from dozens and dozens of recordings and live performances. In this episode, I feature eight different sopranos, (Elisabeth Söderström, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Edda Moser, Soile Isokoski, Margaret Price, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Lucia Popp, and Sena Jurinac), each of whom makes her mark in a distinctive way on one of the four songs in the series. I also read each of the poems in my own English translation. These performances are supplemented by excerpts from Elektra, Daphne, and Die Ägyptische Helena performed by Rose Pauly, Hilde Güden, Christa Ludwig, and Walter Berry, as well as the world premiere 1985 performance of “Malven,” Strauss’s last completed work, sung by Kiri Te Kanawa; and the Oboe Concerto played by Léon Goossens in its first commercial recording from 1947. Featured conductors in the episode include Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, Zubin Mehta, Marek Janowski, Georg Solti, Karl Böhm, Heinrich Hollreiser, Fritz Busch, Alceo Galliera, and Milan Horvat. A bonus episode for my Patreon supporters will feature twelve more of my favorite sopranos, each one singing one of these autumnal Lieder. As we world citizens face the great unknown, these artists help lift our spirits and reorient our perspective.

Links to my previous Music for a World in Crisis episodes:

Episode 26: Calling You

Episode 27: That Time of Evening

Episode 29: A Social Isolation Schubertiade

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.