Neuland.Lied | Wander(er)-Wege

Within a few months, Russian baritone Mikhail Timoshenko and his piano partner Elitsa Desseva won a whole series of major song competitions in 2018. For Neuland.Lied, the two have now put together an original program in four languages on a theme that concerns them as »expats« living far from home themselves: wandering. Franz Schubert, with whom the circle of thoughts of restlessness, homelessness and nature mysticism is usually associated, merely contributes the starting point with two »Wanderer« songs. The main stops on the route are the »Songs of Travel« by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), written between 1901 and 1904. On the island, the cycle is often referred to as the English »Winterreise« although with a total of nine songs and a duration of just under 25 minutes, it is much more modestly sized than Schubert's iconic work. The cohesiveness of the narrative and its socio-critical undertones are also less pronounced – instead, a suggestive, melancholy-pastoral tone prevails. Even more rarely performed in this country are the travel songs »Aufbrechendes Russland« (»Departing Russia«) by the Soviet composer and Shostakovich student Georgi Sviridov (1915-1998), completed in 1977, from which a small selection can be heard.

Concert with intermission

In cooperation with the International Competition for Song Art Stuttgart, The Wigmore Hall/Independent Opera International Song Competition and the International Chamber Music Competition »Franz Schubert and the Music of Modernity« Graz.

Neuland.Lied is a project of

Neuland.Lied is sponsored by