LIEBESLIEDER-WALZER
MUSIC BY JOHANNES BRAHMS
POEMS BY GEORG FRIEDRICH DAUMER AND JOHANNES WOLFGANG GOETHE
POEMS BY GEORG FRIEDRICH DAUMER AND JOHANNES WOLFGANG GOETHE
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Liebeslieder, Op. 52
Ungarische Tänze, Nr. 1 & 4 Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65 Soprano Pauline Lebbe
Alto Caroline de Mahieu Tenor Mathis Van Cleynenbreugel Bass Tom Van Bogaert Pianists Stéphanie Salmin and Martin Gennen |
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Six hearts in three-four time! If our young lovers from Così – Fiordiligi, Dorabella, Ferrando and Gugielmo – were to perform in Brussels this evening, what might they sing? These enchanting, exuberant love song waltzes by Johannes Brahms, of course. It is no surprise that Brahms, Viennese at heart and a great admirer of Johann Strauss, wrote his first waltzes for piano four hands. In his Liebesliederwalzer and Neue Liebeslieder, four voices join in the fun, singing by turns of desire, nostalgia, sadness and joy. In a lively heart-to-heart dialogue, these thirty-three lyrical miniatures reflect in surprising ways the delightful, albeit dangerous, game of love in Mozart's comic opera. With their timeless charm, they rank among Brahms' most popular works.
Although Brahms left no written trace of what exactly led him to compose these waltzes, it is likely that they are linked to his frustrated love for Clara Schumann, a distinguished pianist and composer herself. We shall never know the whole story, but in contrast to Mozart, whose marriage to Constance was an eventful yet happy one, Brahms was unlucky in love and remained a life-long bachelor. Still, at their premiere in Vienna in 1870, Brahms performed his love songs in three-four time side by side with his beloved Clara.
Although Brahms left no written trace of what exactly led him to compose these waltzes, it is likely that they are linked to his frustrated love for Clara Schumann, a distinguished pianist and composer herself. We shall never know the whole story, but in contrast to Mozart, whose marriage to Constance was an eventful yet happy one, Brahms was unlucky in love and remained a life-long bachelor. Still, at their premiere in Vienna in 1870, Brahms performed his love songs in three-four time side by side with his beloved Clara.
AN AMADEUS & CO PRODUCTION