The song cycle is described as a 'veritable pocket opera' due to its epic scale and complex piano writing, unifying the work with recurring motives and tonal shifts.
Composition History
The first six romances were composed in Hamburg in 1861-62 and premiered there by Julius Stockhausen, the dedicatee, accompanied by Brahms himself.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Brahms set fifteen of the eighteen romances from Ludwig Tieck's novel, 'The Love Story of the Fair Magelone and Count Peter of Provence', a story he had known since childhood.
Interpretation
A custom was introduced by Brahms's editor, Rieter-Biedermann, to add a spoken narrative from Tieck's novel around the songs, with the dedicatee's consent but not Brahms's.
Composition History
The song cycle was dedicated to baritone Julius Stockhausen, an admired interpreter of Lieder who was among the first to perform complete romantic song cycles.
Performer Biography
John Chest, a lyric baritone, is an HSBC Laureate of the Académie du Festival d'Aix, a center for vocal and instrumental training.
Composition History
Brahms's Romances from Ludwig Tieck's Magelone, Op. 33, is his only true song cycle among his many Lieder compositions.
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