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).
Composer Biography
Alexander Zemlinsky, a pupil of Robert Fuchs, became Arnold Schoenberg's teacher, friend, and father-in-law.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The five composers 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.
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.
Performer Biography
Mezzo-soprano Anke Vondung, born in Speyer, Germany, has performed in numerous opera and concert debuts across Europe and the Americas, and this is her first solo recording.
Composer Biography
Gustav Mahler, the dominant musical figure in Vienna at the turn of the century, often chose texts from folk poetry for his songs, particularly from the anthology Des Knaben Wunderhorn.
Historical Context
The term 'Fin de Siècle' describes the turn from the 19th to the 20th century, a period of intense epochal change particularly in Viennese music.
