Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg, Felix Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann
Performer: Julia Sophie Wagner, Eric Schneider
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Es-Dur
Catalogue: ES2060
Release: 2015
Size: 616 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Schumann: Myrthen, Op. 25
01. No. 1, Widmung
Schumann: Zwölf Gedichte aus Liebesfrühling Op. 37
02. No. 1, Der Himmel hat eine Träne geweint
03. No. 2, Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen
04. No. 3, O ihr Herren
05. No. 4, Liebst du um Schönheit
06. No. 5, Ich hab’ in mich gesogen
07. No. 6, Liebste, was kann denn uns scheiden?
08. No. 8, Flügel! Flügel! Um zu fliegen
09. No. 9, Rose, Meer und Sonne
10. No. 10, O Sonn’, o Meer, o Rose
11. No. 11, Warum willst du and’re fragen
Schumann: Minnespiel, Op. 101
12. No. 4, Mein schöner Stern, ich bitte dich
Mendelssohn: 6 Lieder, Op. 57
13. No. 3, Suleika
14. No. 4, O Jugend, o schöne Rosenzeit
15. No. 6, Wanderlied
Mendelssohn: Six Songs Op. 71
16. No. 1, Tröstung
17. No. 2, Frühlingslied
18. No. 4, Schilflied
19. No. 6, Nachtlied
Grieg: Seks Sange, Op. 48
20. No. 1, Gruss (Greeting)
21. No. 2, Dereinst, Gedanke mein (One day, O heart of mine)
22. No. 3, Lauf der Welt (the Way of the World)
23. No. 4, Die verschwiegene Nachtigall (the Nightingale’s Secret)
24. No. 5, Zur Rosenzeit (the Time of Roses)
25. No. 6, Ein Traum (a Dream)
When soprano Julia Sophie Wagner was a student at the Leipzig College of Music, she was intrigued by the timetable from 1843 displayed there which listed Dr Robert Schumann and Dr Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy as teachers at the conservatory. Now songs by Schumann and Mendelssohn are the focus of her recital with piano partner Eric Schneider.
Her special selection of songs, ‘Leipziger Schule’, relates to this common era of the composers in Leipzig and the historically unique situation which arose. It also features songs by Schumann’s wife, Clara, and by Edvard Grieg, who lived in Leipzig as a student from 1858 until 1862.
In 1843, the musical director of the Gewandhaus orchestra, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, founded the first higher education institution for musicians in Germany, the Leipziger Conservatorium der Musik, and brought in renowned teachers such as the pianist Ignaz Moscheles and, for a short period, his friend Robert Schumann. Alongside his many duties, Mendelssohn was able to realise a few small works such as Songs Op.57 and 71, intended for private performance.
Robert and Clara Schumann had lived in Leipzig since their marriage in 1840. Schumann became captivated with songs at this time, composing over 170 within the course of a few months. They both composed the 1841 song cycle ‘Liebesfrühling’ based on poems by Rückert.
The most noteworthy Norwegian student of the Leipzig School was Edvard Grieg. His Opus 48, published in 1889, is the only musical setting of German Lieder which Grieg wrote before ending his studies there.
Since her debut in 2002 in Munich’s Herkulesaal, Julia Sophie Wagner has been a sought-after concert singer. She studied in Weimar and Leipzig as well as at McGill University in Montreal and quickly made he name, mainly as a specialist in the oratorios of J S Bach, soon after finishing her studies. Wagner is especially closely connected to Helmuth Rilling, the distinguished German conductor known for his Bach performances.
Eric Schneider is a renowned accompanist, collaborating with singers such as Matthias Goerne, Christine Schäfer and Anna Prohaska.