Liederabend Franz Schubert - "Schwanengesang" D 957"
Franz Schubert, one of the most famous composers of the Romantic era, was born on January 31, 1797, in Vienna and passed away there on November 19, 1828.
Within just 31 years of life, he impressively composed over 600 pieces. Although Schubert is counted among the early Romantics, his music is also strongly influenced by the Viennese classics such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. His works form a bridge between classical form and romantic expressiveness.
"Schwanengesang" was compiled by a publisher after Schubert's death from songs that Schubert wrote all in his last year of life, 1828.
Having addressed themes of love, longing, and even loneliness throughout his life in his songs, death unfortunately had to become one of them as well. This is particularly noticeable in the two song cycles "Schwanengesang" and "Winterreise." Much pain and touching depth can be felt in the emotional tones of these compositions, reaching deep under the skin.
The first seven songs with texts by Ludwig Rellstab are "very typical Schubert": The poems largely offer clear linguistic images that Schubert masterfully transforms into music. This first half addresses love loss and love longing in a romantically dreamy manner – partly friendly, partly melancholic.
The following six poems by Heinrich Heine are considerably more elusive, and Schubert also finds a new musical language here. Similar to Mozart in his last works, Schubert reduces the music to a maximum simplicity, achieving an even greater depth of expression.
The last song of the collection, "Die Taubenpost," is ultimately Schubert's final composition that he could complete. The songs are supplemented by texts from Schubert's letters and from his diary.
The songs are supplemented by texts from Schubert's letters and from his diary.
Program:
Ulrich Kratz, Baritone
Gaudens Bieri, Piano
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) "Schwanengesang" D 957
1. Liebesbotschaft
2. Kriegers Ahnung
3. Frühlingssehnsucht
4. Ständchen
5. Aufenthalt
6. In der Ferne
7. Abschied
8. Der Atlas
9. Ihr Bild
10. Das Fischermädchen
11. Die Stadt
12. Am Meer
13. Der Doppelgänger
14. Die Taubenpost
Biographies:
Ulrich Kratz, Baritone
educated at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart, where he graduated in 1985 with a music teacher diploma. He then followed with an artistic postgraduate study in singing with a focus on song singing, completing the opera class in 1990. There followed a permanent position at the Theater Lüneburg as solo baritone from 1991 to 2024. Additionally, he received engagements at municipal theaters, state theaters, and festivals in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Ulrich Kratz teaches a singing class at the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover and at the music school of the Hanseatic city of Lüneburg. Since 2024, he has been performing in his own projects, as in this song evening.
Gaudens Bieri, Piano
was born and raised in Switzerland, and in 2011 he completed his piano studies with a Master of Arts in Music Performance at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. He then pursued a postgraduate diploma in orchestral conducting (ZHdK) and the master's degree in the conducting class of Prof. Matthias Foremny at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig. Important impulses he received from his mentor Douglas Bostock and attended master classes in Germany and abroad.
Since 2016, he has been the music director of the Walenseebühne, since 2018 the musical director of the Symphonic Wind Orchestra of the Swiss Army Band, and since the 2024/25 season, general music director at the Theater Lüneburg. Guest conducting engagements have taken him to orchestras such as argovia philharmonic, Kammerphilharmonie Graubünden, Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt, Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Academic Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonie Ruse, Staatskapelle Halle, and Deutsche Philharmonie Merck.
19:00
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
