REGRETFULLY, THIS SHOW WAS CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS AND WILL NOT BE RESCHEDULED.
German soprano Diana Damrau, with Austrian song accompanist Helmut Deutsch, sings Spanish love songs by Rodrigo, Granados, Turina, and Obradors with German and Austrian love songs by Robert and Clara Schumann and Richard Strauss; in the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 8pm. From $19. carnegiehall.org 🇪🇸 🇩🇪 🇦🇹
It’s very special when someone from one culture, performs work from another culture, and completely gets it. This concert is part of a very new New York trend of operatic work in Spanish.
This concert of love songs is the week before Valentines Day. Any ideas?
Diana Damrau
The German soprano from Bavaria has been performing on the world’s leading opera and concert stages for over twenty years. She is also known as a great actress. New Yorkers know Damrau’s work at the Metropolitan Opera including title roles in “Roméo et Juliette,” “Lucia di Lammermoor,” “Manon,” and “La Traviata.” She is entering the peak of her career as a seasoned performer in complete control of her voice.
In addition to opera, Damrau is known for singing German lieder, musical poetry with a vocalist and piano. Lately, she has been touring the world singing love songs with Helmut Deutsch. That’s basically what this concert is, but with a suite of Spanish love songs.
Follow Damrau at diana-damrau.com or on Instagram @diana.damrau
Helmut Deutsch
The pianist from Vienna, Austria is known as a song accompanist. He is not just a pianist. Deutsch is a specialist in this form. He is even known for developing singers.
Follow Deutsch at helmutdeutsch.at
The Concert Includes German, Austrian, and Spanish Love Songs
Love is one of the most powerful human emotions. Most popular music is about love in one way or another. One of the creative currents of this period of classical music was composers turning to their own folk traditions for inspiration. This concert is basically love songs by German, Spanish, and Austrian composers.
We don’t know about Germany and Austria, but Spain is a quilt of distinct regional cultures, almost countries in themselves. Every region has its own sounds and flavors. You can hear some of these at this concert. Leider (songs) are the German equivalent of the Spanish canción, which in the Americas mixed with Indigenous and African traditions into what we now call Latin music.
German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was one of the great composers of the Romantic era. His wife Clara Schumann was one of the great Romantic era pianists. The concert includes compositions by both artists. We always loved Robert’s “Scenes from Childhood” (1838). It turns out he wrote the music after Clara chided him for acting like a child.
Austrian composer Richard Strauss (1864-1949) is known for his waltz compositions and tone poems. His “The Blue Danube” (1867) is one of the most famous pieces of music from the 1800s. American audiences know “Also sprach Zarathustra” (1896) which was the opening of the seminal science fiction film, Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999) was a blind Spanish virtuoso pianist. He was one of the great Spanish composers of the 1900s. His most famous work is “Concierto de Aranjuez,” a standard in classical guitar repertoire. Rodrigo won Spain’s top award for composition, and was titled by King Juan Carlos I. The concert includes Rodrigo’s “Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios” (Four mornings of love, 1948).
Enrique Granados (1867-1916) was a Spanish Catalan composer and concert pianist. His most famous work is the piano suite “Goyescas” (1911), inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya.The concert includes Granados’ “No Lloréis ojuelos” (Don’t cry little eyes) from “Canciones amatorias” (Love songs).
Joaquín Turina (1882-1949), of Seville, was an Andalusian composer. His most famous work is “Danzas fantásticas, Op. 22” (1919). The concert includes Turina’s “Tu pupila es azul” (Your eyes are blue. 1933).
Fernando Obradors (1897-1945) was a Spanish Catalan composer. The concert includes five songs from his most popular work “Canciones clásicas españolas” (Classic Spanish songs). These are love poems from different authors and periods, set to music.
If you’re in love, or want to be in love, take your love to this show. See what happens.
Get tickets at carnegiehall.org