Leonard Bernstein's "Arias and Barcarolles" (1988) takes its unusual title from a remark made by President Eisenhower in 1960, who preferred music with a tune over "arias and barcarolles and things."
Composer Biography
Franz Schubert, already weakened by syphilis, undertook a journey to take counterpoint lessons from Simon Sechter in 1828, the same year he wrote the songs featured on this album.
Album & Artwork
The album title "Swan Songs" refers to the metaphorical expression for a composer's final work before retirement or death, though the featured works don't always conform to this stereotype.
Composition History
Samuel Barber's "Three Songs," Op. 45, his last vocal work, was composed for Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in 1972, a time when Barber was increasingly disenchanted with the contemporary music scene.
Performer Biography
Baritone Christian Immler, a former alto soloist in the Tölzer Knabenchor, had the opportunity to sing the solo in Mahler's 4th Symphony for Leonard Bernstein at age 14.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Johannes Brahms admitted to friends that he believed his "Vier ernste Gesänge" (Four Serious Songs), Op. 121, were "entirely godless songs," despite their texts being from the Bible.
Recording & Production
This album features two different recording sessions: tracks 11-21 were recorded in June 2016, and tracks 1-10 were recorded in April 2017, both at Bayerischer Rundfunk, Studio 2 in Munich.
