Conductor Christian Thielemann believes that mastering operetta, such as Franz Lehár's 'The Merry Widow', prepares a conductor for more complex works like Wagner's 'Lohengrin'.
Compositional Technique
Emmerich Kálmán's music combines the 'gypsy' idiom, believed to be typically Hungarian, with the Viennese waltz, and shows melodic influences from Puccini and radiant tone colors from Tchaikovsky.
Recording & Production
This album is a recording of the Dresden Staatskapelle's annual New Year's Eve concert, a tradition since 2010.
Performer Biography
Christian Thielemann, the conductor, is widely regarded as the leading Wagner conductor of the present day.
Composition History
The waltz duet 'Ich tanz mit dir ins Himmelreich' from Emmerich Kálmán's early operetta 'Der Zigeunerprimas' was conducted by the composer himself in Dresden exactly a century before this recording.
Historical Context
Emmerich Kálmán's operetta 'Die Herzogin von Chicago' (1928), which embraced American light music, was declared 'degenerate' and banned by the National Socialists.
Composer Biography
Emmerich Kálmán, a Hungarian composer, was forced to leave Vienna in 1938 due to the National Socialists' annexation of Austria, and later settled in Paris.
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