Mezzo-soprano Anke Vondung has performed in numerous opera and concert debuts across Europe and the Americas, including Paris, Munich, Salzburg, and New York.
Historical Context
A relatively small group of composers, including those on this album, fostered the most important musical developments in Vienna around the turn of the century, often connected by intimate and sometimes conflicting relationships.
Historical Context
The term 'Fin de Siècle' describes the turn from the 19th to the 20th century, a period of intense epochal change in Vienna, especially in music.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The composers featured on this album shared an eager openness towards the most recent literary currents, with poetry and short prose often finding their way into avant-garde songs.
Notable Performances
In 1913, Arnold Schoenberg conducted a concert in Vienna featuring Mahler's Songs on the Death of Children and Zemlinsky's Four Orchestral Songs, an evening that became known as the "Skandalkonzert" (scandal concert).
Album & Artwork
This album's program is based on a vocal recital program put together by performers Anke Vondung and Christoph Berner, inspired by Viennese music and visual arts at the turn of the 20th century.
Composer Biography
Alexander Zemlinsky, a pupil of Robert Fuchs, became Arnold Schoenberg's teacher, friend, and father-in-law, accompanying Schoenberg's artistic path without fully embracing atonality himself.
