The Staatskapelle Weimar, the orchestra on this recording, was founded in 1491 and has a rich tradition, with figures like Bach, Hummel, Liszt, and Strauss closely linked to its history.
Composition History
Walter Braunfels was drafted into the army in April 1915 and was later sent to the Front in 1918, where he was wounded and converted to Catholicism.
Performer Biography
Klaus Florian Vogt, one of the tenors on this album, is a renowned Wagner tenor who has performed at major opera houses and festivals worldwide and received the ECHO Klassik award in 2012.
Composer Biography
Walter Braunfels's wife, Bertel (née Hildebrandt), had a profound influence on his creative output and style, more so than any other composer's wife on her husband's work.
Composer Biography
Bertel Hildebrandt, Walter Braunfels's wife, had previously studied composition with Max Reger, a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and teacher.
Compositional Technique
Braunfels's Don Juan Variations, Op. 34, is not an orchestral song in the strict sense, but rather a "song without words" or an "aria for orchestra," based on Mozart's "Champagne Aria."
Critical Reception
The premiere of Braunfels's opera The Birds in Munich on November 30, 1920, with an all-star cast under Bruno Walter, made him famous overnight.
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