Ruehr: Songs For Stephen

Featuring

Stephen Salters
Donald Berman
David Zobel
Elena Ruehr

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Elena Ruehr's artistic vision is characterized by her desire for the surface of her music to be simple, while the underlying structure is complex.

Composition History

Composer Elena Ruehr wrote the first set of songs, Lullabies & Spring Songs, for baritone Stephen Salters after he won the International Queen Elisabeth Competition and approached her for a song cycle.

Performer Biography

Baritone Stephen Salters, a newly-appointed Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Tennessee, has performed extensively across Europe, Africa, Asia, the UK, and the USA.

Performer Biography

Pianist Donald Berman is the Chair of Piano at The Longy School of Music of Bard College and President of The Charles Ives Society.

Recording & Production

The songs 'Lullabies & Spring Songs' were recorded in August 1999 by Joel Gordon, while the other tracks on the album were recorded between 2000 and 2023 with Donald Berman on piano and produced by Cecily Ward and Mark Willsher.

Performer Biography

Pianist David Zobel has collaborated with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato for over a decade, performing in prestigious venues and accompanying her first solo album.

Composition History

The 'Travel Songs' were composed during the Covid pandemic when Stephen Salters, the baritone, stayed with Elena Ruehr, the composer, for six weeks, and they collaborated on selecting poems and refining the music.