Proms Chamber Music 5 - 18.08.14: R. Strauss & Wolf, Coote / Drake

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Monday, 18 August
1.00 p.m. – c. 2.00 p.m.
Cadogan Hall

Richard Strauss: Eight Poems from Letzte Blätter (first performance at The Proms)

Wolf:
(a) Mörike-Lieder:
* "Denk es, o Seele!" (No. 39)
* "Um Mitternacht" (No. 19)
* "Begegnung" (No. 8; first performance at The Proms)
* "Nimmersätte Liebe" (No. 9)
* "Verbogenheit" (No. 12)
* "Seufzer" (No. 22; first performance at The Proms)
(b) Goethe-Lieder:
* "Frech und Froh" I (first performance at The Proms)
* "Frech und Froh" II (first performance at The Proms)
* "Beherzigung" (first performance at The Proms)

Richard Strauss: Four Songs, Op. 27
No. 1, "Ruhe, meine Seele!"
No. 3, "Heimliche Aufforderung"
No. 4, "Morgen!"

Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano
Julius Drake, piano

Having joined Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé earlier this season for Elgar's Sea Pictures, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote returns for a recital with pianist Julius Drake. Her programme of German songs includes Strauss's Eight Poems from 'Letzte Blätter' - some of the very earliest and loveliest of the 200 or so songs he composed over his lifetime. Dedicated to his wife Pauline and a gift to her on their wedding day, the Op. 27 Lieder are also among Strauss's most heartfelt.
For Wolf, inspiration came more from literature: poems by the gentle pastoralist Mörike and the philosopher of emotion Goethe inspired him to some of his most expressive musical extremes.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I'm an admirer of Alice Coote's voice and musicianship, but I haven't heard her sing Lieder before.

[gurnemanz]

Big fan and I'll certainly be listening. Heard her at RAH on Saturday + in recent years a marvellous Winterreise at Wigmore and Lied von der Erde at RFH.

[cloughie]

I'm an admirer of Alice Coote's voice and musicianship, but I haven't heard her sing Lieder before.

I'm also a Coote fan! I remember a broadcast of lieder from the Edinburgh Festival a few years ago where she wowed the audience.

[bluestateprommer]

Total change of program (OK, programme) for PCM 5 today. Forum calendar has been updated, with this listing:

Debussy: Proses lyriques (first performance at The Proms)
Richard Strauss:
(a) 'Ach Lieb ich muss nun schneiden', op. 21 No. 3 (first performance at The Proms)
(b) 'Traum durch die Dämmerung', op. 29 No. 1 (first performance at The Proms)
(c) 'Das Rosenband', op. 36 No. 1 (first performance at The Proms)
(d) 'Geduld', op. 10 No. 5 (first performance at The Proms)
(e) 'Waldseligkeit', op. 39 No. 1 (first performance at The Proms)
(f) 'Wer lieben will, muss leiden', op. 49 No. 7 (first performance at The Proms)
(g) 'Ach was Kummer, Qual und Schmerzen', op. 49 no. 8 (first performance at The Proms)

Anne Schwanewilms, soprano
Malcolm Martineau, piano

[Hitch]

Total change of program (OK, programme) for PCM 5 today. Forum calendar has been updated, with this listing:

Debussy: Proses lyriques (first performance at The Proms)
Richard Strauss:
(a) 'Ach Lieb ich muss nun schneiden', op. 21 No. 3 (first performance at The Proms)
(b) 'Traum durch die Dämmerung', op. 29 No. 1 (first performance at The Proms)
(c) 'Das Rosenband', op. 36 No. 1 (first performance at The Proms)
(d) 'Geduld', op. 10 No. 5 (first performance at The Proms)
(e) 'Waldseligkeit', op. 39 No. 1 (first performance at The Proms)
(f) 'Wer lieben will, muss leiden', op. 49 No. 7 (first performance at The Proms)
(g) 'Ach was Kummer, Qual und Schmerzen', op. 49 no. 8 (first performance at The Proms)

Anne Schwanewilms, soprano
Malcolm Martineau, piano

Those who pine for a Fifth Last Song could do worse than try Traum durch die Dämmerung. I prefer the piano accompaniment to the orchestral arrangement, although the former is a little perfunctory and, in the wrong hands, can be bumptious. However, the vocal line is Strauss at his gorgeous best. The Christiane Karg/Malcolm Martineau effort on the Berlin Classics collection, "Heimliche Aufforderung", is currently soothing my brow.

[bluestateprommer]

Very fine recital from AS and MM, especially given the evident short notice, for those who still want to catch this PCM on iPlayer. As with the prior PCM, Petroc pretty much kept to taking care of business without any extraneous banter or mini-talks with the artists.