Bass-baritone Krešimir Stražanac, one of the most significant Croatian artists, debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko in 2023, with a worldwide broadcast of their European Concert.
Composer Biography
Franz Schubert, the first major composer of Viennese Romanticism, lived a precarious existence as a poorly paid teacher and musical entertainer in Vienna.
Interpretation
The performers on this album chose their own unique order for Schubert's "Schwanengesang" songs, rather than following the conventional sequence set by the original editor.
Compositional Technique
Schubert's bold harmonic language in his settings of dark poetry, such as the chromatic ascent in "Der Doppelgänger," astonished some contemporary critics.
Historical Context
Schubert and his contemporaries grew up in an atmosphere of conservative restoration in Vienna that promoted disengagement from politics, leading artists to retreat into cultural circles.
Composer Biography
Mary Frances Allitsen, a British composer featured on this album, was self-taught and initially more interested in literature before dedicating herself to music despite limited opportunities for women.
Composition History
Schubert's collection of 14 late songs, known as "Schwanengesang" (Swan Song), was published by his publisher after his death and was not intended by Schubert himself to be a cycle.
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