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The Tale of the Ostrich | Walter Hall, Toronto
The Tale of the Ostrich | Walter Hall, Toronto
The songs of Richard Strauss
date: March 2, 2008
Our programme presented a survey of the songs for voice and piano which Richard Strauss published between 1885 and 1942. A great spur to song composition was provided by his relationship with the soprano Pauline de Ahna, who became his pupil in 1887 and his wife in 1894. The flow of Lieder continued until 1906 (Die heilige drei Könige) after which the operas from Elektra onward absorbed Strauss’s attention. Mme de Ahna had retired from the concert stage but in 1918, with the discovery of a new Lieder partner (Elisabeth Schumann), song composition began again, though never with the earlier exuberance – and a significant number were now composed with orchestral accompaniment. As well as the songs (performed for us by three well-qualified performers), the narration in this concert gave a broad overview of the context of the songs in the composer’s life and examined the controversial aspect of his apolitical stance, especially from the 1930s onward – hence the play on words which gave rise to our title.
| Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breit über mein Haupt, Op.19/2 | Addis, Phillip, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Schack, Adolf Friedrich von |
| All mein Gedanken, Op.21/1 | Tucker, Laura, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Dahn, Felix |
| Zueignung, Op.10/1 | Henson, Joni, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Gilm, Hermann von |
| Ich liebe dich, Op.37/2 | Addis, Phillip, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Liliencron, Detlev von |
| Meinem Kinde, Op.37/3 | Tucker, Laura, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Falke, Gustav |
| Nachtgang, Op.29/3 | Addis, Phillip, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Bierbaum, Otto Julius |
| Die heiligen drei Könige, Op.56/6 | Henson, Joni, soprano; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Heine, Heinrich |
| Ach, weh mir, unglückhaftem Mann, Op.21/4 | Addis, Phillip, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Dahn, Felix |
| Allerseelen, Op.10/8 | Tucker, Laura, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Gilm, Hermann von |
| Befreit, Op.39/4 | Henson, Joni, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Dehmel, Richard |
| Heimliche Aufforderung, Op.27/3 | Addis, Phillip, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Mackay, John Henry |
| Gefunden, Op.56/1 | Tucker, Laura, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von |
| Das Bächlein | Henson, Joni, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | anon. |
| Walzer (Der Rosenkavalier) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard, arr. Singer, Otto | n/a |
| Blick vom oberen Belvedere | Henson, Joni, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Weinheber, Josef |
| Im Sonnenschein | Addis, Phillip, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Rückert, Friedrich |
| Mein Herz ist stumm, Op.19/6 | Tucker, Laura, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Schack, Adolf Friedrich von |
| Ruhe, meine Seele! Op.27/1 | Henson, Joni, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Henckell, Karl |
| Lieben, Hassen, Hoffen, Zagen (Ariadne auf Naxos, Op.60) – ENCORE | Henson, Joni, soprano; Addis, Phillip, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Hofmannsthal, Hugo von |