Austrian baritone Florian Boesch, a leading lieder singer of our time, presents an original program that contrasts the expressive worlds of two of the greatest masters of the 19th century: Brahms and Schumann. The opening is imposing, as Brahms's Four Serious Songs —the penultimate work published during his lifetime—trace, using texts from Luther's Bible, a profoundly serious exploration of life, death, and the meaning of existence. These are contrasted with lieder by the composer himself, in which folk elements take center stage. After the intermission, Schumann appears with the less frequently performed songs from Poor Peter , a small cycle of miniatures included in Op. 53, and with the celebrated Liederkreis, Op. 24, both collections from 1840, his most prolific year in the genre.

Program

Johannes Brahms

Vier ernste Gesänge op. 121

Sunntag, op. 47 no. 3

Blinde Kuh, op. 58 no. 1

Sehnsucht, op. 14 no. 8

Dein blaues Auge, op. 59 #8

Kein Haus, keine Heimat, op. 94 #5

Die Trauernde, op. 7 no. 5

Schwermut, op. 58 no. 5

Es steht ein Lind in jenem Tal, WoO 33 No. 41

Robert Schumann

Der Arme Peter, op. 53 (Poems by Heinrich Heine)

Liederkreis, op. 24 (Poems by Heinrich Heine)