Medtner: Wandrers Nachtlied, Complete Songs, Vol. 4

Featuring

Ekaterina Levental
Frank Peters
Nikolai Medtner

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Composer Biography

Nikolai Medtner, a composer featured on this album, had German roots and German was spoken in his parental home, a common practice among Moscow's elite at the time.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Nikolai Medtner, the composer of these songs, admired 'Deutschtum' (German culture) and considered composers like Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms major influences on his work.

Historical Context

Many Russian emigrants who settled in Berlin in the 1920s, including composer Nikolai Medtner, formed a close-knit artistic community, united by their dislike of the Bolsheviks and their shared cultural background from the Silver Age.

Cultural Impact

The poems set to music by Nikolai Medtner on this album were also used by earlier composers like Mozart, Schubert, and Schumann, indicating their enduring appeal for song composition.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in April 2022 at Westvest90 Schiedam, The Netherlands, with Ekaterina Levental and Frank Peters also serving as producers.

Composition History

The songs on this album, composed by Nikolai Medtner between 1904 and 1909, predate the large-scale Russian emigration and deal with universal themes like lost love and yearning.