Jonas Kaufmann sings the Four Last Songs (hopefully) Barbican 19.5.18

[Prommer]

Having cancelled last year, and then also cancelled doing this with Pappano and the Santa Cecilia orchestra, JK comes to town tomorrow to sing in the programme below.

Debut for him singing the VLL, I believe.

I assume no broadcast?

Korngold Schauspiel Overture
R Strauss Symphonic Interlude No 2 from ‘Intermezzo’, Träumerei am Kamin
Ruhe, meine Seele; Freundliche Vision; Befreit; Heimliche Aufforderung
Elgar In the South (Alassio)
R Strauss Four Last Songs

BBC Symphony Orchestra Jonas Kaufmann tenor Jochen Rieder conductor

[Historian]

I assume that it will at least be recorded as it's the BBC SO's concert.

[Pianophile]

Looking forward to hearing this. I'll report back...

[Conchis]

The latest gimmick in Kaufmann's gimmick-ridden career.

What can we expect next? A concert version of Die Walkure Act 1, with JK singing both the tenor and soprano roles? I wouldn't put it past him.

This is vaguely reminiscent of DFD's meanderings in the 60s/70s, when he seemed determined to sing everything he could barely attempt, regardless of whether or not it was suitable for his voice.

[gurnemanz]

I'm pretty sure Kaufmann is quite immune to such jibes from the sidelines. We have seen him live several times and also attended performances where he has not turned up a couple of times but always found plenty to enjoy, most recently at the Barbican his outrageous gimmick of doing Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch complete, with Diana Damrau, which was a marvellous evening - also his Met Parsifal which we saw in a live cinema transmission a few years ago - with René Pape brilliant as Gurnemanz. He can come across a bit throaty and I don't appreciate everything he has undertaken in his career but in my view it is one of the great voices of our time and he has the the right to sing whatever he wants.

I couldn't resist going for his Vier Letzte Lieder, which is a special piece as far as I'm concerned, and am really looking forward to tonight's show. We're setting off in a few minutes and it should be a great day out in sunny London with a meal and a gallery visit planned. It might or might not pay off but plenty of other suckers like us seem to have fallen for his gimmick, since it sold out almost immediately. He is not the first tenor to do at least one of the songs. Reno Kollo, no doubt also another shameless gimmick-merchant, has recorded Im Abendrot . His was the first live Parsifal I ever saw - in concert in Leipzig under Herbert Kegel in 1975. It had a huge effect on me at the time. Out as a CD, it is still highly thought of.

I am not prejudiced against these gender-switch experiments and do not belittle them as gimmicks. We loved Alice Coote's Winterreise at Wigmore a few years ago. I have five recording of women singing Winterreise, Lotte Lehmann (1940), Brigitte Fassbaender, Nathalie Stutzmann, Natascha Mirkovic with hurdy-gurdy accompaniment and Christine Schäfer, which was recently First Choice Recommendation on radio 3 Building a Library.

[BBMmk2]

I’ve never heard a tenor sing this before. Be quite interesting. I would think that it be rather difficult to bring off, so to speak?

[underthecountertenor]

The latest gimmick in Kaufmann's gimmick-ridden career.

What can we expect next? A concert version of Die Walkure Act 1, with JK singing both the tenor and soprano roles? I wouldn't put it past him.

I for one am greatly looking forward to his Frauenliebe und -leben.

[Richard Barrett]

I for one am greatly looking forward to his Frauenliebe und -leben.

Of course there's nothing to stop a male singer from performing these songs, but it's always going to fall short of the original in that Strauss's orchestrations are built around a voice an octave higher. For example in "Beim Schlafengehen" the voice enters after the violin solo with exactly the same pitches that the violin had previously begun with. I think things like this are important, maybe more important in music for voice and orchestra than when there's only a piano accompaniment, and there are plenty of such examples in all four songs.

[cloughie]

Of course there's nothing to stop a male singer from performing these songs, but it's always going to fall short of the original in that Strauss's orchestrations are built around a voice an octave higher. For example in "Beim Schlafengehen" the voice enters after the violin solo with exactly the same pitches that the violin had previously begun with. I think things like this are important, maybe more important in music for voice and orchestra than when there's only a piano accompaniment, and there are plenty of such examples in all four songs.

Perhaps he should have done the piano/vocal arrangement. However it seems only in classical music that it many songs, arias or whatever are gender specific and are frowned upon when diverted from this. There are many mezzo/soprano songs which are well suited to a light tenor voice, that is not to say they sound better or more beautiful than voice they were written for as you so rightly said Richard.

[LHC]

Well I was there and enjoyed the concert. I can also confirm that the BBC Outside Broadcast truck was outside, and the concert was recorded, so it should be appearing on Radio 3 at some point

[cloughie]

Well I was there and enjoyed the concert. I can also confirm that the BBC Outside Broadcast truck was outside, and the concert was recorded, so it should be appearing on Radio 3 at some point

Will be interested to hear if it is broadcast. I hope he treated them with the respect they deserve.

[BBMmk2]

Will be interested to hear if it is broadcast. I hope he treated them with the respect they deserve.

I’m sure an artist of his calibration would, Cloughie.

[Nick Armstrong]

calibration

Did someone call...?

[vinteuil]

Did someone call...?

... Malibran, Calibran, schmalibran - it's all the same song...



.

[underthecountertenor]

Of course there's nothing to stop a male singer from performing these songs, but it's always going to fall short of the original in that Strauss's orchestrations are built around a voice an octave higher. For example in "Beim Schlafengehen" the voice enters after the violin solo with exactly the same pitches that the violin had previously begun with. I think things like this are important, maybe more important in music for voice and orchestra than when there's only a piano accompaniment, and there are plenty of such examples in all four songs.

I see that it has recently been done in Sweden, in an intriguing concert. https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ate-mail-music