MATTHIAS GOERNE, baritone and ERIC SCHNEIDER, pianist 

Florence, Italy, Saloncino del Teatro della Pergola, 2013 april 7th

(per la Stagione degli Amici della Musica di Firenze)

FLORENCE: The programme of baritone Matthias Goerne’s recital in Florence featured some of the most disturbing and fascinating pages in music of the 1900 Lieder repertoire. The singer comes back in Florence for the season of Amici della Musica, a very important music institution since 1920.

In a brave but fascinating way, he alternates Mahler’s and Šostakovič’s pages, even if the relationship between the different scores isn’t always very evident. Sometimes there is a sort of closeness in common atmospheres or in the text themes, anyway it is an uncomforting but very deep and astonishing travel in the depths of human soul, as it’s in the purpose of both composers.

Among Mahler’s rich Lieder production, Goerne chooses pages from Rückert Lieder, Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Kindertotenlieder, and even from the titles in the programme it’s possible to understand how we are facing some of the deepest and more aenigmatic in the whole composer’s production.

Then he chooses some page from Šostakovič’s Michelangelo-Suite, a composer’s approach to Michelangelo poems a year before his death
. Actually, it is well known that Michelangelo was also a poet in his long life, and we can see almost a sort of combining or almost identification between the Russian musician and the celebrated Italian artist, whose lyrics are put in music, the love ones as well as the politicians, for example those against Pope Giulio II, and others always tormented and passionate.

Goerne has chosen those compositions with a dark atmosphere, almost an omen, as the musician could perceive how death was near, as it actually was, considering that he passed away a few months later. Šostakovič uses a Russian translation of Michelangelo’s verses, so that those who don’t know the language (like me) lose the real deep meaning of each word and how each of them is tied to every single note of Šostakovič’s score.

Matthias Goerne lives his artistic maturity, he’s older than 45 years old, and once more he astonishes us for his perfect identification with the poetic and musical texts he sings.

Maybe his voice isn’t brilliant as it was years ago, but it’s always full centered and with a good volume, as well as the singer keeps a perfect control of the musical phrases and of the melodic line. Actually, some of the Lieder are not easy to sing, but he faces bravely the ups and downs of the score. His voice is beautiful even if not homogeneous in the different registers, but he finds such interesting colours and keeps the vocal line so well under control, that his little faults go on second line. The light faults are used, as every skilled singer does, with expressive purposes, for giving the sense of tiring, torment, waiting and death. The programme of this concert is quite exemplary, with pages characterized by a painful athmosphere and a very careful psycological interspection.

Pianist Eric Schneider accompanies in a very good way and with a great intelligence the singer, underlining in a wonderful way the different atmospheres of the scores.

Baritone Matthias Goerne gives strong emotions to the audience, so no wonder that the recital (demanding, both for him and for the audience) was a great success from an unfortunately scarce but very attentive public.

 

Review by Fabio Bardelli

translation from italian Bruno Tredicine

 

PROGRAM:

Gustav Mahler – Ich atmet einen linden Duft! (F. Rückert)

Dmitrij Šostakovič – Mattino (da Michelangelo-Suite op. 145 n. 2)

Gustav Mahler – Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen (da Des Knaben Wunderhorn)

Dmitrij Šostakovič – Separazione (da Michelangelo.Suite op. 145 n. 4)

Gustav Mahler – Es sungen drei Engel (da Des Knaben Wunderhorn)

Gustav Mahler – Das irdische Leben (da Des Knaben Wunderhorn)

Gustav Mahler – Nun seh’ ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen (da Kindertotenlieder)

Gustav Mahler – Wenn dein Mütterlein (da Kindertotenlieder)

Gustav Mahler – Urlicht (da Des Knaben Wunderhorn)

                     

                    ——–

 

Dmitrij Šostakovič – Notte (da Michelangelo-Suite op. 145 n. 9)

Gustav Mahler – Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (F. Rückert)

Dmitrij Šostakovič – Immortalità (da Michelangelo-Suite op

. 145 n. 11)

Dmitrij Šostakovič – Dante (da Michelangelo-Suite op. 145 n

. 6)

Gustav Mahler – Revelge (da Des Knaben Wunderhorn)

Dmitrij Šostakovič – Morte (da Michelangelo-Suite op. 145 n. 10)

Gustav Mahler – Der Tamboursg’sell (da Des Knaben Wunderhorn)