Chosen Eyes: Nepomuceno & His European Contemporaries

Featuring

Kindra Scharich
Ricardo Ballestero
Alberto Nepomuceno
Edvard Grieg
Richard Strauss
Ernest Chausson

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Composition History

Nine of Alberto Nepomuceno's songs are featured on this album, with all but one composed between 1893 and 1895 during his first European residency.

Compositional Technique

Alberto Nepomuceno's songs with German texts show Brahmsian or Wagnerian influence, with some using advanced techniques like suspended tonality and highly chromatic harmonies.

Composer Biography

Alberto Nepomuceno and Richard Strauss, both born in 1864, had parallel professional lives as composers and conductors, but only met in Rio de Janeiro shortly before Nepomuceno's death.

Composition History

Alberto Nepomuceno's song "Drömd Lycka" was likely an engagement gift to his Norwegian fiancée, Walborg Bang, a student of Edvard Grieg.

Recording & Production

The album features world premiere recordings of several works by Alberto Nepomuceno, including "Aime-moi" and "Drömd Lycka."

Instruments

The piano used for this recording is a Baldwin SD10 9' Concert Grand, which was previously owned by Leonard Bernstein.

Composer Biography

Alberto Nepomuceno, a Brazilian composer, is considered the founder of the Brazilian Art Song, combining German Lied and French Mélodie with Brazilian rhythms and melodies.