Brahms included Richard Wagner's famous "Tristan chord" in his Op. 70 songs, specifically at the text "and any thinking to know me well," during a period of personal dispute with Wagner.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Johannes Brahms grouped his Lieder into sets with opus numbers, comparing the process to assembling a "bouquet" of flowers, implying thematic unity or effective contrasts.
Performer Biography
Alina Wunderlin, the soprano on this album, performs in both opera and concert, with repertoire ranging from early Baroque to contemporary pieces, and has worked with companies like the Vienna Volksoper and Philharmonie Berlin.
Performer Biography
Kieran Carrel, the tenor, joined the Deutsche Oper Berlin from the 2022-23 season and has performed as the Evangelist in Bach's St John Passion with The English Concert.
Composition History
The Five Ophelia Songs, WoO 22, were occasional pieces written for an actress without musical training and were part of a Hamlet performance in Prague in December 1873.
Performer Biography
Ulrich Eisenlohr, the pianist, has an extensive concert career and is known as a Lieder specialist, having undertaken a major project to record Schubert's complete songs.
Compositional Technique
In Op. 70, Brahms's use of the "Tristan chord" from Wagner's opera, without transposition, highlights the fundamentally different compositional and aesthetic ideals of the two composers.
You might also enjoy...
Brahms: Lieder (Complete Edition, Vol. 1)
Berlioz: Les nuits d'été: I. Villanelle
Stanford: Children's Songs
Brahms: Lieder (Complete Edition, Vol. 8)
A Summer's Day - Swedish Romantic Songs
Piercing Eyes
Brahms: Lieder (Complete Edition, Vol. 6)
Mendelssohn Edition Volume 3 - Oratorios & Lieder
Brazilian Sentiments
Honegger: Mélodies et chansons
Mendelssohn: Complete Songs, Vol. 2
And If the Song be Worth a Smile: Mentzer, Susanne - Bolcom, W. / Getty, G. / Heggie, J. / Garner, D. / Corigliano, J. / Woolf, L.P. (Songs by American Composers)
