Finley Drake Program 4.25.18 PDF

THE cAROLYN rOYALL jUST FUND
iN THE LIBRARY oF CONGRESS
Gerald Finley
&
Julius Drake
Wednesday, April 25, 2018 ~ 8:00 pm

Coolidge Auditorium
Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building
The carolyn royall just Fund in the Library
of Congress, established in 1993 through a bequest of the
distinguished attorney and symphony player Carolyn Royall Just,
supports the presentation and broadcasting of classical chamber
music concerts.
Tonight's Pre-concert Lecture:

“Spring Flood: Russian and German Romances”
Harlow Robinson,
Distinguished University Professor, Northeastern University
Whittall Pavilion, 6:30pm (No tickets required)
Please request ASL and ADA accommodations five days in advance of the concert at
202-707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov.
Latecomers will be seated at a time determined by the artists for each concert.
Children must be at least seven years old for admittance to the concerts.
Other events are open to all ages.
•
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and any other noise-making devices that would disrupt the performance.
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will be distributed to stand-by patrons.
Please recycle your programs at the conclusion of the concert.

The Library of Congress
Coolidge Auditorium
Wednesday, April 25, 2018 — 8:00 pm
THE cAROLYN rOYALL jUST FUND

iN THE LIBRARY oF CONGRESS
Gerald Finley
&
Julius Drake
•
Program
LUDWIG vAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Goethe Lieder, selections:
"Neue Liebe, neues Leben," op. 75/2 (1809)
"Wonne der Wehmut," op. 83/1 (1810)
"Mit einem gemalten Band," op. 83/3 (1810)
"Aus Goethe's Faust," op. 75/3 (1809)
FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)

Goethe Lieder, selections:
"Prometheus," D.674 (1819)
"Geistes-Gruss," D.142f (1815-16, 1828)
"An den Mond," D.259 (1815)
"Rastlose Liebe," D.138b (1815, 1821)
"An Schwager Kronos," D.369 (1816)
"Schäfers Klagelied," D.121a (1814)
"Wandrers Nachtlied II," D.768 (1824)
"Erlkönig," D.328d, op. 1 (1815)
1
iNtermission
PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)

Selected Romances:
"Don Juan's Serenade,"["Gásnut dál nej Al'pukhárry"] op. 38/1 (1878)
"Amid the din of the ball," ["Sret' shúmnava bála"] op. 38/3 (1878)
"None but the lonely heart," ["Net, tól'ka tót, kto znál"] op. 6/6 (1869)
"As over darkly glowing embers," ["Kak nad garjácheju zalój"] op. 25/2 (1875)
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943)

Selected Romances:
"Oh no, I beg you, do not leave!"["O, nét, maljú, ne ukhadí"] op. 4/1 (1892)
"In the silence of the secret night,"
["O, dólga búdu já, v malchán'ji nóchi tájnaj"] op. 4/3 (1893)
"Fate," ["S svajéj pakhódmaju kljukój"] op. 21/1 (1902)
"On the death of a siskin," ["F sjém gróbe vérnyj chízhyk mój!"]
op. 21/8 (1902)
"Christ is risen," ["Khristós vaskrés!"] op. 26/6 (1906)
"Spring waters," ["Jeshchó f paljákh beléjet snék"] op. 14/11 (1896)
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Selected Folk Songs, to be announced from the stage
•
About the Program
Ludwig van Beethoven, Selected Goethe Lieder
This evening's program offers some of the great Goethe settings by Beethoven and
Schubert alongside a selection of Romances from the wonderful Russian repertoire for
voice and piano, drawing on the work of a number of poets. One finds affinities and
differences in these selections, but in all cases there is a compelling aristic impulse behind
each song. Discussion of each will be limited—as always with Lieder recitals there is too
much to say and not enough space to say it—but the texts with translations are provided
after the notes.
The names of Goethe and Beethoven are perhaps most famously allied in the incidental
music (and popular overture) to Egmont, composed in 1809-10, but Beethoven would
produce around thirty Goethe settings over the years.1 Three of the op. 75 Gesänge are
1 Canisius, Claus, "Göthe and Beethowen" in Goethe, Musical Poet, Musical Catalyst, ed.
2
settings of Goethe, and we hear two of them tonight. The first, "Neue Liebe, neues
Leben" is actually a revised version of the song.2 In it, Beethoven takes a different
approach than he had previously, repeating the first two stanzas but allowing for
harmonic flexibility around a pivotal line:
"Ach, wie kamst du nur dazu?" (Oh, how did you come to this?)
This line is repeated and treated almost as a recitative in the context of an otherwise
active song. By the time Beethoven emerges from the second statement of the
material, the music is a step lower harmonically. A crucial difference between the
early version and this is how Beethoven links the second stanza to the repeat of
the first stanza. With a dramatic eye for word painting, the opening question of
"Herz, mein Herz, was soll das geben?" (Heart, my heart, what does this mean?) is
isolated with a "heart-thumping" oscillation3 around G before returning to the bright
C-major setting of the opening:
Example 1
Beethoven, "Neue Liebe, neues Leben," op. 75/2: mm. 51-4.
A more flowing arpeggiation accompanies the final stanza, with another great
moment of text awareness, if not text painting: the unexpected hint at A major at
the words "Die Verändrung, ach wie groß!" (What a great change!).
In "Wonne der Wehmut," the first of Beethoven's op. 83 Goethe Gesänge, there
is a sense of mature emotional restraint at work, simultaneously containing and
encouraging the the overt expression of emotion. Beethoven mirrors musically one of
the messages of Goethe's poem: the life is more fully experienced through the prism
of a tear; there is a greater sadness sometimes in forgetting the pain.4 As Amanda
Lorraine Byrne (Ireland: Carysfort Press, 2004), 81.
2 The first version of "Neue Liebe, neues Leben" (WoO 127) is not a different set-
ting, but the differences are substantial, especially in the treatment of the accompaniment.
3 This technique is not unique, but its effective employment is less common than
one might think. One of the great variants of this idea occurs at the terrifying close of the
funeral procession in Berlioz' Romeo and Juliet.
4 The title of the poem is variously translated as "Delight in Melancholy" and "Bliss
3
Glauert frames it, "...[the] piano's thirty-second notes create the immediate image
of flowing tears, which is soon matched by all manner of rhythmic and harmonic
extensions to the vocal line. Yet the voice continues to be directed toward matching
cadence-points... patterns which constantly renew expectations of a return to the
tonic. Thus the poet's flow of tears is interpreted quite appropriately by Beethoven
as part of a conscious directing of the emotional instincts and a controlled response
to the workings of passion."5 Beethoven adapts Goethe's poem to fit his musical
needs with repetitions and insertions of "Trocknet nicht." A side-by-side comparison
of the first bar and last two bars of the song show how "Trocknet nicht" and the
accompanimental "tears" (marked with a "t") become integrated by the end, unified
by the harmonic resolution of the paired chords (bracketed at the bottom of the
example):
Example 2
a) b)
Beethoven, "Wonne der Wehmut," op. 83/1: mm. 1 & 22-23.
The final song of op. 83, "Mit einem gemalten Band," is a melodious ode to love
and spring, with the added appeal to the beloved to share in the poet's love. The
lighthearted nature of the poem takes a more serious turn when, as Susan Youens
describes it, the "...sweetheart is bidden to feel what he feels, to give him her hand
freely, to know that what links them is an enduring human bond with nothing
frivolous about it."6 Youens notes that the change in tenor was clear to the composer:
"Beethoven got the point: the song trips along in an enchantingly mellifluous, pastoral
vein until the first statement of the crucial verb in the imperative, 'Fühle' (Feel).
When that word (indicative of the Goethean revolution in poetry) first appears, it is
set apart by rests on either side, while the other crucial verb, 'verbindet' (that which
binds us) is the occasion for a soaring mini-cadenza."7
in Sorrow," and various shades in between; the subtlety of it is particularly lost in the transla-
tion of Wonne, in my opinion.
5 Glauert, Amanda, "Beethoven's songs and vocal style," in The Cambridge Compan-
ion to Beethoven, ed. Glenn Stanley (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 198.
6 Youens, Susan, liner notes to Beethoven, Lieder und Gesänge, John Mark Ainsley
and Iain Burnside, Signum Classics, SIGCD145, 2009.
7 Ibid.
4
"Aus Goethe's Faust," the third offering from op. 75, is a rather generic if factual title
for Mephistopheles' "Song of the Flea," which occurs in Part I of Goethe's Faust in
the "Auerbachs Keller in Leipzig"8 scene (and even in the earlier Faust: Ein Fragment.)
The humorous story of a king who loved a flea so much as to give him a ministerial
appointment is handled cleverly by Beethoven. The little ornaments mimic the flea9
and its intrusive antics, while the juxtaposed music has an air of faux-regalia that is
both charming and cutting. At the end of the song the court chorus chimes in that
they must swat at the pests when they bite, despite the favored status of the fleas.
•
Franz Schubert, Selected Goethe Lieder
Goethe was very much still alive when Schubert composed his setting of
"Prometheus" in 1819, but the poem itself dated from Goethe's early years, written
nearly half a century earlier in 1773-4. Graham Johnson notes that there is a clear
debt in Schubert's work to the "Prometheus" setting of Johann Reichardt dating
from a decade earlier.10 Schubert had lit the Promethean torch once before in 1816
in a cantata that has unfortunately been lost for two centuries, so what we have is
the defiant Prometheus of Goethe's youth, creating humanity in his own image and
doing so without the need of Zeus. The music is through-composed, with each stanza
charting its own path despite some connections.
The humanity of Prometheus is revealed in two particularly striking stanzas. The bulk
of the poem is a denunciation of the gods and the fruits of their non-intervention.
The combative fifth stanza features a questioning of the god's actions and motives,
followed by a remarkable admission of Titanic fallibility in the sixth stanza, wherein
Prometheus mocks Zeus for thinking that he would give up should he not realize
his dreams. Johnson considers the final phrase of the stanza, "weil nicht alle /
Blüthenträume reiften?" to be "the most richly sarcastic phrase that Schubert ever
wrote," an artistic affirmation of purpose Schubert might declare to his skeptical
father despite his failures.11 The final stanza is left for Schubert's Prometheus to forge
his creations in C major; humanity will share his blemishes but like him will not pay
attention to the gods.
Goethe's poem "Geistes-Gruss" dates from 1774, composed while Goethe was on
a boat trip with friends including the poet, theologian and scientist Johann Kaspar
Lavater. "Goethe improvised the poem on board and dictated it to Lavater as they
8 This is an actual bar in Leipzig (a reconstructed version still exists at the site today)
that was important to Goethe's initial conception of Faust.
9 This additionally includes the flea's brethren, who also ascend to high status.
10 Johnson, Graham, Franz Schubert: The Complete Songs, Volume Two, J-Schulze
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014), 584.
11 Ibid., 588.
5
passed the dramatically situated ruins of Castle Lahneck on the way to Coblenz."12
Schubert revised the poem numerous times to arrive at six versions, the first dating
from 1815 or 1816. While there are differents in keys, most of the alterations in
the first five versions are not of great significance. However, in the final version,
published in the last few months of Schubert's life, he finally arrived at the setting of
the first stanza for which he had been searching. Here the image of the spirit is coaxed
to life from the peaceful waters of the piano's tremolos. The second and third stanzas
bear similar rhythmic hallmarks, starting with the declamatory show of strength from
the spirit about the life he led. This touchingly dissipates into something else by the
arrival "Ruh" (peace, tranquility) in the middle of the third stanza, as the spirit wishes
the corporeal boat13 an endless voyage into the future.
Schubert composed settings of "An den Mond" by several poets, including a few
by Ludwig Hölty and an Alois Schreiber poem titled "An den Mond in einer
Herbstnacht," which I mention here ony because the Library of Congress possesses
the first draft of that song. Schubert set the poem twice; a longer setting dates from
after 1820 (D296), and the simpler, shorter version heard today, dating from 1815.
The song is beautiful and unburdened, yet its strophic setting gives the musicians the
opportunity to color the text in different ways; Schubert, after all, has the uncanny
ability to throw shade across sunny passages, and the accomplishment is even more
astounding in strophic settings where the notes on the page do not change. Goethe's
first version of the poem dates from 1777, with the second following in 1789.
Sometimes a four-bar introduction is included, but Johnson notes that it is spurious.14
Goethe's "Rastlose Liebe" has as a source of inspiration an English poem by Bishop

Percy published in 1765 ("Love will find out a way"), which he knew as well as its
German translation by Herder.15 The impetus for Goethe's response to the Percy/
Herder words, poetically enough, was the occasion of an unusual snowstorm in May
at a time when his unseasonal relationship with Charlotte von Stein was developing.16
The rapid pace of the lyrics is matched by the music in both of Schubert's versions of
the piece, the second of which (from 1821) is programmed tonight. The music, like
the love it depicts, is indeed restless, and one can see why Schubert thought highly
enough of his setting (first drafted in 1815) to dedicate it to his erstwhile teacher
Salieri. The song lasts just a little over a minute, yet despite the harmonic fleetness of
the song, Schubert prepares the harmonic surprise of his sustained "Liebe" by turning
a neighbor-tone dissonance into a fundamental aspect of the "restless love." Consider
the C-natural against the B-natural of the bass at the word "Regen" (rain; and other
analogous spots); the bass C-natural passing to E at "immer zu!" (always onwards),
12 Johnson, Graham, Franz Schubert: The Complete Songs, Volume One, A-I (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2014), 676.
13 "Menschen-Schifflein" here may more broadly translate to something like "little
boat of mankind," suggesting a more allegorical blessing bestowed on humanity as it charts
its own course forward.
14 Johnson, Complete Songs Vol. 1, 142.
16 Ibid.
6
the chords in the central section where the C-natural in the bass moves to B ("Wie soll
ich flieh'n?"—how should I flee?), and finally the sforzando arrival with C-natural in
the bass at the moment when "Liebe" (love) is held:
Example 3
a) b)
c) d)
Schubert, "Rastlose Liebe," D138: mm. 7-8, 15-16, 45-46 & 77-78.
This is not to get too much into the weeds, but rather to show that in a sea of frothy,
swirling activity, Schubert's manipulation of these common elements lends cohesion
to the song.
Johannes Brahms thought highly enough of "An Schwager Kronos" to orchestrate the
song in 1862. As successful as that orchestration is, there is something about the raw
grit of Schubert's piano accompaniment that makes one feel close to the road down
which "coachman Chronos" is leading the protagonist. The staccato octaves that open
the song are relentless, and one feels every stony accent as Schubert traverses Goethe's
rocky road. A poet willing to take inspiration wherever it came, Goethe actually wrote
the poem while traveling in a coach after a disappointing ride with the famed but
fading Friedrich Klopstock; in the words of Lorraine Byrne, "...[the] poem represents
a youthful rebellion against the stagnation Goethe had recognized in Klopstock and
7
the staleness he feared in old age."17 The allegorical trip of the protagonist down life's
road is full of excitement, with brief moments of respite for beauty and grandeur. But
as Johnson so cleverly puts it, "[at] the top of the hill there is suddenly the leisure
to take care of smaller yet highly necessary details; the poet's gaze moves from high
goals to lower ones, and wrenching harmonies give way to wenching ones."18 The
poet envisages his descent into decrepitude, and implores Chronos to take him to the
inn, whisking him away from the fate of infirmity. The song ends with the sounding
of the Coachman's horn, triumphantly bearing the passenger to his final destination.
The song is another moto perpetuo tour-de-force from Schubert's youth (1816), and
a stunning setting of a wild ride—with a different impulse than the harrowing ride of
"Erlkönig" from the previous year.
"Schäfers Klagelied" was one of Schubert's earliest settings of Goethe's poetry (dating
from 1814), and was the first of his songs to be performed publicly, "astonishingly
as late as 1819."19 A secondary version was made for the premiere, slightly altered
and transposed for a higher voice, but Schubert ultimately returned to the original
melancholy C minor. The song is about a depressed shepherd who admires his
surroundings but has no one with whom to share the vistas or the flowers. He roams
the meadows but is stuck; his beloved is no longer nearby, and we are not given the
reason why. Schubert's setting of Goethe's poem is like a folksong, yet with a subtlety
and richness that show that this is not just a simple setting. The reverie of the music
is broken by a storm, and a ghostly passage of great beauty at "Die Türe dort bleibet
verschlossen; / Doch alles ist leider! ein Traum" (The door remains locked; for it is
all just a dream). The palindromic structure of the song leads back to the opening
C-minor material, and a resignation in the shepherd as to his fate.
"Wandrers Nachtlied II" was one of Schubert's final settings of Goethe, dating from
sometime between 1820 and 1824 (he would rework other texts later). The poem was
originally titled "Ein gleiches" (Another like it) next to the first "Wandrers Nachtlied"
("Der du von dem Himmel bist"). Graham Johnson feels about the poem and the song
as others do: "This is a conjunction of the purest genius: one of the greatest poems
in the world, and one of the greatest single pages of music - only fourteen bars long
but perfect in every way, the ideal combination of simplicity and deep feeling. It is
extremely rare that we encounter at this exalted level a total unanimity of approach
and understanding between poet and composer."20 Here clarity and simplicity are at
their most profound, and a similar balance is needed between singer and pianist as
between poet and composer to pull it off. Schubert did alter the setting, repeating
"Warte nur" and the last two lines, but in a manner that that allows a deeply satisfying
musical conclusion. This echoes, in a sense, Goethe's own experience with his lyric
masterpiece: it is said that Goethe later visited the hunting lodge where he initially
17 As quoted in Johnson, Complete Songs Vol. 1, 211.

20 Johnson, Graham, Franz Schubert: The Complete Songs, Volume Three, Schwanenge-
sang-Z (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014), 554.
8
had penciled the poem on a wall in 1780; twice actually—once in 1813 and again in
1831, the day before he was to turn 82. The prescience of the young Goethe brought
the elderly poet to tears.21
"Erlkönig," perhaps Schubert's most famous song and certainly one of the most
beloved art songs in the repertoire, was composed in 1815 and exists in four versions.
Schubert published the song as his op. 1 in 1821, and it helped to further his
reputation in Vienna and beyond. The story is that Schubert read the poem with
friends, was immediately taken with it and composed the song in their midst; the
group then searched for a piano to give it its first reading, and its status as a classic
was cemented.22 In any event, there were two crucial insights around which Schubert
built his song: the first was a relentless, driving music that invoked the image of a
nonstop, desperate ride through the night; the second was the registral delineation
of each character in Goethe's ballad. Thus the father sings in the lower register, the
narrator and Erlking in the middle, and the child in the upper register, where the
naturally increased tension of the tessitura gives it dramatic urgency. The father is
powerless to help his dying child other than to continue the headlong rush toward
perceived safety, the child's delirious ravings about the Erlking only increasing the
sense of malice. The masterstroke comes at the end, when the music finally relents as
they arrive at their destination—only to discover that it is too late.
•
Pyotr Tchaikovksy, Selected Romances
For the second half of the concert, we move into the lesser-known but fabulously rich
world of Russian art songs, with a focus on selected contributions of Tchaikovsky
and Rachmaninoff. While some in our audience may know this literature well, and
many will recognize several songs, it is a special treat to be able to hear these Romances
alongside Lieder by Beethoven and Schubert. One senses a shared valuation of drama
and folksong, and it is exciting to hear how such different composers dealt with
common themes.
The first two songs come from Tchaikovsky's op. 38 collection of Romances,
dedicated to his brother Anatoly, who had been helping him through the difficulties
of his disastrous marriage. Despite the turmoil in Tchaikovsky's life at the time,
the songs date from a period of great accomplishment that saw the composition of
Eugene Onegin, the violin concerto and the fourth symphony. It was also around this
time that he struck up correspondence with Nadezhda von Meck, who would be his
patron for years to come. Von Meck sent him the Tolstoy texts that he would use in
op. 38, and he composed the set while staying at her estate in the Ukraine in May
21 Ibid., 554-5.
9
of 187823 (they kept their relationship strictly on paper—the patron and composer
never actually met in person).
"Don Juan's Serenade" was written in 1859-60 by Aleksey Tolstoy (a relation of

the novelist Leo/Lev Tolstoy) as part of a play about the philanderer Don Juan. Don
Juan had agreed to marry Donna Anna, the Commendatore's daughter, but seeks
to get out of the commitment by singing this serenade to Nisetta, a woman with
a compromised reputation.24 The music is not what you might think—this is not
a slow-paced, seductive endeavor, but rather one borne of absolute urgency. The
music from the very beginning practically trips over itself with its duple groupings
in triple time. The brashness and briskness of the piano part push the more lyrical
vocal line, emphasizing the contrived nature of Don Juan's attempt to get caught
seducing Nisetta. Some of the most powerful moments involve a "waltzification" of
the opening descent, with lush arpeggiated chords supporting the voice. The song
concludes with a coda in the piano, the pressing duple music disintegrating into a
final, quiet return of the rising waltz figure.
"Amid the din of the ball," also penned by Aleksey Tolstoy, this time in 1851, is
about "falling in love with a stranger at a ball and recalling it later."25 Tolstoy's poem
had Russian precedents in works by Pushkin and Lermontov; supposedly Leo Tolstoy
remarked that Lermontov's was the more successful poem. As Richard Sylvester put
it, "...there is a difference between a great poem and a great song lyric. As a lyric
for a song, Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky did it better... The Tolstoy-Tchaikovsky song
takes the experience out of literature and hands it to everyone."26 Sylvester notes
that Tchaikovsky's song is extremely well-known in Russia, and was even featured to
great effect in the Soviet romantic comedy The Irony of Fate,27 showing the ubiquity
of the reference. While "Don Juan's Serenade" depicted feigned love in the heat of
the moment amidst considerable activity, Tchaikovsky paints "Amid the din of the
ball" with a more subtle brush—here the dance is a quiet backdrop to a melancholy
memory of falling in love.
The six Romances of op. 6 were composed in the space of a week in 1869; Tchaikovsky
had recently completed the first version of the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture,
as well as a batch of Balakirev-inspired folksong arrangements.28 They were written
during his early years in Moscow, where he had been among the founding faculty
in harmony and composition at the Moscow Conservatory, which opened in 1866.
23 Sylvester, Richard D., Tchaikovsky's Complete Songs: A Companion with Texts and
Translations (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), 110-111.
24 Ibid., 112-13.
25 Ibid., 117. This was a circumstance that described his own first encounter with his
future wife.
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid., 10.
10
Best known in Arthur Westbrook's English translation as "None but the lonely
heart," the last of the op. 6 Romances uses the Lev Mey Russian translation from
1857 of Goethe's 1785 "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt," to be found in Wilhelm
Meisters Lehrjahre. Both Beethoven and Schubert set the poem in German multiple
times. Tchaikovsky's song was dedicated to Alína Khvostóva, a singer Tchaikovsky
knew from before his student years, who nevertheless elected not to sing it under
pressure from Stasov's "mighty handful" in St. Petersburg.29 This decision was to be
to her detriment, as the song became the most popular in all of Tchaikovsky's output,
championed by the likes of Pauline Viardot and Edouard De Reszke, among others.30
The profile of the main melody, with its falling seventh amidst gently pulsing chords,
somehow conveys the poetry with beautiful concision. After building to a sorrowful
climax, Tchaikovsky offers a quiet coda that gives a haunting countermelody to the
voice while the pianist plays the primary theme.
Tchaikovsky wrote the songs that make up his opp. 25, 27 and 28, as well as two
additional songs (some twenty in total), in a burst of activity in 1875 following the
completion of the orchestration of his first piano concerto.31 The text of "As over
darkly glowing embers" was written by Fyódor Tyútchev in 1829. The imagery
in the poem is evocative—the gradual dying away of life as in a smoldering fire.
As Sylvester notes, "...[the] idea is as old as Shakespeare's image of burning out 'on
the ashes of his youth' (Sonnet 73)."32 Tchaikovsky's approach to the song might
seem conventional at first with its rising groups of sixteenth-note arpeggios in the
piano introduction. However, he creates a sense of burning ash, with flames and
smoke rising, that is slowly cooling through a descent into the depths. This cyclical
but ultimately extinguishable imagery flanks a central, almost recitative-like section
wherein the protagonist makes the connection that his own life is smoldering away.
As with "An Schwager Kronos," the protagonist wants to go out in a flare rather than
succumb to the gradual diminishment perceived to be happening. A virtuosic piano
coda grants the wish.
•
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Selected Romances
Rachmaninoff had an early connection with Tchaikovsky, who encouraged and
supported the young composer until his untimely death at age 53,33 and something
29 Ibid., 27.
30 Ibid., 25-6. Even Frank Sinatra recorded the song, more than once!
31 Ibid., 58.
32 Ibid., 62.
33 Sometimes his support was a form of "tough love"—Rachmaninoff had been
asked to supply the four-hand transcription of Sleeping Beauty, but Tchaikovsky was unhappy
with it and had Rachmaninoff's cousin and erstwhile piano teacher Alexander Siloti tell
him to rework the entire project. "Tchaikovsky swears at me quite terribly, but fairly and
justly"—Rachmaninoff in a letter to Natalya Skalon in 1891, as quoted in Scott, Michael,
11
of Tchaikovsky's melodic brilliance took up residence in Rachmaninoff's music. The
op. 4 songs were completed by the summer of that fateful year of Tchaikovsky's
death, 1893; the summer had also yielded the Fantasie-tableaux for two pianos, a
choral work, a symphonic poem (The Rock, op. 7) and other pieces—an impressive
collection of works that already display some of the characteristics that would make
Rachmaninoff's music so unique.
The first song of op. 4, "Oh no, I beg you, do not leave!," was dedicated to
Rachmaninoff's friend Anna Lodyzhenskaya, and sets a "cruel romance" text by
Dmitri Merezhovsky from 1890 (the Symbolist poet did not usually write this
kind of poetry, and in fact he did not keep it in his collected works).34 According
to Sophia Satina the song was improvised at the piano in one go.35 There is a
dramatic similarity to his piano music, and one can imagine Rachmaninoff
winding up the opening line to launch into the agitated but comparatively simple
piano accompaniment. One can see the emergence of countermelodic ideas as
the sound progresses, and with just a few exceptions the music remains turbulent
throughout. The voice's opening melodic thirds (with the interval at "do not
leave" spelled as a diminished fourth) return at the end in the upper register for
a powerful but doomed exhortation of the beloved.
The third song of the set is "In the silence of the secret night," and was dedicated
to Véra Skalón, an admirer cousin of Rachmaninoff's. Rachmaninoff first drafted
the song when he was 17, then revised it a few years later in 1892. Rachmaninoff
excised four lines from the poem by Afanásy Fet, tightening the focus of the
poem on the sad memories of love lost.36 The music is stunningly beautiful, and
the falling sixths and sevenths of the opening piano melody are reminiscent of
Tchaikovsky's "None but the lonely heart." Rachmaninoff's setting achieves with
the balance of piano and voice the sense of a duet between remembered lovers—a
truly magical and poignant creation for the teenaged composer.
Almost the entirety of the op. 21 songs (numbering twelve) was composed in
a span of two weeks in 1902, just before Rachmaninoff's marriage to Natalia
Satina.37 Most of the songs date from the period right after his return to
composition following the fallow, doubt-ridden years that came after the public
failure of his first symphony. Rachmaninoff's triumphant return was marked by
the success of the second piano concerto in 1901.
"Fate" opens the op. 21 set, and is something of an oddity in Rachmaninoff's

songs, relying as it does on quoted material from a non-Russian, non-liturgical
Rachmaninoff (Great Britain: The History Press, 2008), 32.
34 Ibid., 30-31.
35 Ibid.
36 Ibid., 35.
37 Ibid., 94.
12
source. The song uses as its text the ballad by Aleksei Apukhtin, written in1863.
Apukhtin subtitled his poem "On Beethoven's Fifth Symphony," a reference
that Rachmaninoff exploits to an extreme in the song, featuring as it does the
four-note opening motive of Beethoven's symphony. It is Rachmaninoff's longest
song, and Rachmaninoff performed it often with his friend, the famed Russian
bass Feodor Chaliapin, to whom the song is dedicated.38 There is a story that
Rachmaninoff and Chaliapin performed the song for Leo Tolstoy at his residence;
apparently Tolstoy was not happy with it and told him that "Beethoven was
'nonsense,' and Pushkin and Lermontov were too." Rachmaninoff related this
to Anton Chekhov, with whom he was friendly, and "Chekhov explained that if
Tolstoy had an upset stomach or was having an off day for some reason, he was
apt to say 'stupid things.'"39 Nevertheless, one might forgive Tolstoy's concern
over the unusual construction of the piece; only over time does the "fate" motive
feel more integrated with the music, becoming more and more "Russian" in
sound by the fourth and fifth stanzas. The persistent tapping of fate continues to
intrude, however, and ultimately has the last word.
"On the death of a siskin" is the eigth song from op. 21. Variously translated as
"siskin" or "linnet," the Russian chizh or its diminutive chizhik is a type of bird
that could breed with the canary. The trenchant point for the poem, written by
Vasily Zhukovsky in 1819, is that the "siskin is known for devotion to its mate,
and this one dies of heartbreak when he loses her."40 Rachmaninoff dedicated the
song to another cousin, Ólga Trúbnikova, who would receive a siskin as a gift from
her mother each year to release into the wild.41 From the outset Rachmaninoff
achieves a mood of natural nostalgia, alighting on the dreams of bird and owner
at the same time. The song is another of those fully-formed, self-contained gems
in Rachmaninoff's substantial output.
Rachmaninoff composed the fifteen songs that make up his op. 16 collection in
1906, as a welcome respite from conducting at the Bolshoi (he did well there and
enjoyed the security,42 but as is always the problem with composers, regular jobs
tend to get in the way of composition). He relied at this time on Mariya Kerzin
for song texts, and there is a funny bit of correspondence in which Rachmaninoff
asks of her, "[would] it not be possible to find a few verses slightly more major in
key?"43 A third of the 15 songs of op. 26 would ultimately fit that bill, but "Christ
is risen" is not among them. This is a dark, skeptical work in F minor setting an
1887 poem by Merezhkóvsky. It is not an Easter hymn as one might expect, but
38 Ibid., 95.
39 Ibid., 96.
40 Ibid., 113.
41 Ibid., 114.
42 Ibid., 132-35.
43 As quoted in Scott, 71.
13
rather a cynical exercise in imagining what a disappointment the sorrows of the
present world would be to a benevolent Christ; that disillusionment would be
complete if he were to hear the rote words "Christ is risen."
Our final Rachmaninoff selection of the evening comes from his op. 14 collection;
the songs of op. 14 mostly date from 1896. The impetus for composing the set,
along with the Moments musicaux, was to pay off an unexpected debt due to a
theft while traveling.44 "Spring waters" or "Spring flood" is the eleventh song,
a setting of a poem by Tyútchev. The poem, written in 1829 or 1830, describes
the sound and rush of melting ice and water attendant with spring's arrival, an
important time of the year as Russians begin to shake off the numbing burdens
of winter. Rachmaninoff lets the waters burst through in the piano figuration; it
is his chance to "singen auf dem Wasser," so to speak. The joyful music allows the
singer and pianist to celebrate the renewal and promise of spring together.
While most of the holdings in the Sergei Rachmaninoff archive at the Library
of Congress relate to Rachmaninoff's later work, the Library does possess one
important set of manuscript songs by Rachmaninoff—his final set, the op.
38 collection. It was published as a set of six, but the manuscript (on display
this evening) contains two additional songs that were published much later,
posthumously. They represent his final word in the world of art songs, capping a
compositional career of song creation that yielded over 80 works.
David Henning Plylar

Music Specialist
Library of Congress, Music Division
44 Sylvester, Rachmaninoff, 62.

14
Texts and Translations
"Neue Liebe, neues Leben" "New love, new life"
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Translated by Emily Ezust45
Herz, mein Herz, was soll das geben? Heart, my heart, what does this mean?
Was bedränget dich so sehr? What is besieging you so?
Welch ein fremdes neues Leben! What a strange new life!
Ich erkenne dich nicht mehr. I do not know you any longer.
Weg ist Alles, was du liebtest, Gone is all that you loved,
Weg warum du dich betrübtest, gone is what troubled you,
Weg dein Fleiß und deine Ruh' - gone is your industry and peace,
Ach wie kamst du nur dazu! alas! how did you come to this?
Fesselt dich die Jugendblüte, Does youthful bloom shackle you,

Diese liebliche Gestalt, this lovely figure
Dieser Blick voll Treu' und Güte, whose gaze is full of fidelity and goodness,
Mit unendlicher Gewalt? with endless power?
Will ich rasch mich ihr entziehen, If I rush to escape her,
Mich ermannen, ihr entfliehen, to take heart and flee her,
Führet mich im Augenblick I am led in a moment,
Ach mein Weg zu ihr zurück. alas, back to her.
Und an diesem Zauberfädchen, And with this magic thread

Das sich nicht zerreißen läßt, that cannot be ripped,
Hält das liebe lose Mädchen, the dear, mischievous maiden
Mich so wider Willen fest; holds me fast against my will;
Muß in ihrem Zauberkreise in her magic circle I must
Leben nun auf ihre Weise. live now in her way.
Die Verändrung ach wie groß! The change, alas - how great!
Liebe! Liebe! laß mich los! Love, Love, let me free!
•
"Wonne der Wehmut" "Delight of Melancholy"
Trocknet nicht, trocknet nicht, Do not run dry, do not run dry,
Thränen der ewigen Liebe! Tears of eternal love!
Ach! nur dem halbgetrockneten Auge Even to the half-dry eye
Wie öde, wie todt die Welt ihm erscheint! How desolate and dead the world appears!
Trocknet nicht, trocknet nicht, Do not run dry, do not run dry,
Thränen unglücklicher Liebe! Tears of unhappy love!
45 Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust, from the LiederNet Archive -- http://

www.lieder.net/
46 Ibid.
15
•
"Mit einem gemalten Band" "With a painted ribbon"
"Kleine Blumen, kleine Blätter" "Small flowers, small leaves"
Kleine Blumen, kleine Blätter Small flowers, small leaves

Streuen mir mit leichter Hand are strewn for me with a light hand
Gute, junge Frühlings-Götter by good, young gods of Spring
Tändelnd auf ein luftig Band. toying with an airy ribbon.
Zephir, nimm's auf deine Flügel, Zephyr, put it on your wing,

Schling's um meiner Liebsten Kleid; loop it around my sweetheart's dress;
Und so tritt sie vor den Spiegel and so she'll step in front of the mirror
All in ihrer Munterkeit. in all her merriment.
Sieht mit Rosen sich umgeben, She will see herself surrounded by roses,
Selbst wie eine Rose jung. herself like a young rose;
Einen Blick, geliebtes Leben! one glance, beloved life!
Und ich bin belohnt genug. and I will have reward enough.
Fühle, was dies Herz empfindet, Feel what this heart feels!
Reiche frei mir deine Hand, freely reach me your hand,
Und das Band, das uns verbindet, and let this ribbon that binds us
Sei kein schwaches Rosenband! be no weak ribbon of roses.
•
"Aus Goethe's Faust" "From Goethe's Faust"
Es war einmal ein König, There once was a king

Der hatt' einen großen Floh, who had a large flea
Den liebt' er gar nicht wenig, whom he loved not a bit less
Als wie seinen eig'nen Sohn. than his very own son.
Da rief er seinen Schneider, He called his tailor
Der Schneider kam heran: and the tailor came directly;
Da, miß dem Junker Kleider Here - make clothing for this knight,
Und miß ihm Hosen an! and cut him trousers too!
In Sammet und in Seide In silk and satin

War er nun angetan, was the flea now made up;
Hatte Bänder auf dem Kleide, he had ribbons on his clothing,
Hatt' auch ein Kreuz daran, and he had also a cross there
47 Ibid.
48 Ibid.
16
Und war sogleich Minister, and had soon become a minister
Und hatt einen großen Stern. and had a large star.
Da wurden seine Geschwister Then his siblings became
Bei Hof auch große Herrn. great lords and ladies of the court as well.
Und Herrn und Frau'n am Hofe, And the lords and ladies of the court
Die waren sehr geplagt, were greatly plagued;
Die Königin und die Zofe the queen and her ladies-in-waiting
Gestochen und genagt, were pricked and bitten,
Und durften sie nicht knicken, and they dared not flick
Und weg sie jucken nicht. or scratch them away.
Wir knicken und ersticken But we flick and crush them
Doch gleich, wenn einer sticht. as soon as one bites!
•
"Prometheus" "Prometheus"
Bedecke deinen Himmel, Zeus, Cover your heavens, Zeus,

Mit Wolkendunst, with gauzy clouds,
Und übe, dem Knaben gleich, and practice, like a boy
Der Disteln köpft, who beheads thistles,
An Eichen dich und Bergeshöhn; on the oaks and peaks of mountains;
Mußt mir meine Erde but you must allow
Doch lassen stehn, my world to stand,
Und meine Hütte, die du nicht gebaut, and my hut, which you did not build,
Und meinen Herd, and my hearth,
Um dessen Gluth whose glow
Du mich beneidest. you envy me.
Ich kenne nichts Aermeres I know nothing more shabby

Unter der Sonn', als euch, Götter! under the sun, than you gods!
Ihr nähret kümmerlich You wretchedly nourish,
Von Opfersteuern from offerings
Und Gebetshauch and the breath of prayers,
Eure Majestät, your majesty;
Und darbtet, wären And you would starve, were
Nicht Kinder und Bettler children and beggars not
Hoffnungsvolle Thoren. such hopeful fools.
Da ich ein Kind war, When I was a child

Nicht wußte wo aus noch ein, I did not know in from out;
Kehrt' ich mein verirrtes Auge I turned my confused eyes
Zur Sonne, als wenn drüber wär' to the sun, as if above it there were
Ein Ohr, zu hören meine Klage, an ear to hear my laments -
Ein Herz, wie mein's, a heart like mine
Sich des Bedrängten zu erbarmen. that would pity the oppressed.
49 Ibid.
17
Wer half mir Who helped me
Wider der Titanen Uebermuth? against the pride of the titans?
Wer rettete vom Tode mich, Who rescued me from death -
Von Sklaverey? from slavery?
Hast du nicht Alles selbst vollendet, Did you not accomplish it all yourself,
Heilig glühend Herz? my sacred, glowing heart?
Und glühtest jung und gut, Yet did you not glow with ardent
and youthful goodness,
Betrogen, Rettungsdank deceived, and full of gratitude
Dem Schlafenden da droben? to the sleepers above?

Ich dich ehren? Wofür? I, honor you? Why?
Hast du die Schmerzen gelindert Have you ever alleviated the pain
Je des Beladenen? of one who is oppressed?
Hast du die Thränen gestillet Have you ever quieted the tears
Je des Geängsteten? of one who is distressed?
Hat nicht mich zum Manne geschmiedet Was I not forged into a man
Die allmächtige Zeit by all-mighty Time
Und das ewige Schicksal, and eternal Fate,
Meine Herrn und deine? my masters and yours?
Wähntest du etwa, You were deluded if you thought

Ich sollte das Leben hassen, I should hate life
In Wüsten fliehen, and fly into the wilderness
Weil nicht alle because not all of my
Blüthenträume reiften? budding dreams blossomed.
Hier sitz' ich, forme Menschen Here I will sit, forming men
Nach meinem Bilde, after my own image.
Ein Geschlecht, das mir gleich sey, It will be a race like me,
Zu leiden, zu weinen, to suffer, to weep,
Zu genießen und zu freuen sich, to enjoy and to rejoice,
Und dein nicht zu achten, and to pay no attention to you,
Wie ich! as I do!
•
"Geistes-Gruss" "Ghost-Greetings"
Hoch auf dem alten Thurme steht High up on the ancient tower stands
Des Helden edler Geist, The hero's noble ghost,
Der, wie das Schiff vorübergeht, Which, whenever a boat passes by,
Es wohl zu fahren heißt. Bids it a fair journey.
"Sieh, diese Senne war so stark, "Behold, this muscle was once strong,
Dieß Herz so fest und wild, This heart so firm and savage,
50 Ibid.
18
Die Knochen voll von Rittermark, These bones full of a Knight's marrow,
Der Becher angefüllt; The cup overflowing;
"Mein halbes Leben stürmt' ich fort, "Half my life I stormed forth,
Verdehnt' die Hälft' in Ruh, I spent the other half in peace;
Und du, du Menschen-Schifflein dort, And you, you little man-made boat,
Fahr' immer, immer zu!" Journey ever, ever forth!"
•
"An den Mond" "To the Moon"
Füllest wieder Busch und Thal You fill bush and valley again
Still mit Nebelglanz, quietly with a splendid mist
Lösest endlich auch einmal and finally set loose
Meine Seele ganz; entirely my soul.
Breitest über mein Gefild You spread over my domain

Lindernd deinen Blick, gently your gaze,
Wie des Freundes Auge, mild as mildly as a friend's eye
Über mein Geschick. over my fate.
Jeden Nachklang fühlt mein Herz Every echo my heart feels,

Froh- und trüber Zeit, of happy and troubled times;
Wandle zwischen Freud' und Schmerz I alternate between joy and pain
In der Einsamkeit. in my solitude.
Fließe, fließe, lieber Fluß! Flow, flow on, dear river!

Nimmer werd' ich froh, Never shall I be cheerful,
So verrauschte Scherz und Kuß, so faded away have jokes and kisses become -
Und die Treue so. and faithfulness as well.
Selig, wer sich vor der Welt Blissful is he who, away from the world,
Ohne Haß verschließt, locks himself without hate,
Einen Freund am Busen hält holding to his heart one friend
Und mit dem genießt, and enjoying with him
Was, von Menschen nicht gewußt that which is unknown to most men
Oder nicht bedacht, or never contemplated,
Durch das Labyrinth der Brust and which, through the labyrinth of the heart,
Wandelt in der Nacht. wanders in the night.
51 Ibid.
19
"Rastlose Liebe" "Restless Love"
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring
Dem Schnee, dem Regen, Through rain, through snow,

Dem Wind entgegen, Through tempest go!
Im Dampf der Klüfte, 'Mongst streaming caves,
Durch Nebeldüfte, O'er misty waves,
Immer zu! Immer zu! On, on! still on!
Ohne Rast und Ruh! Peace, rest have flown!
Lieber durch Leiden Sooner through sadness

Wollt ich mich schlagen, I'd wish to be slain,
Als so viel Freuden Than all the gladness
Des Lebens ertragen. Of life to sustain
Alle das Neigen All the fond yearning
Von Herzen zu Herzen, That heart feels for heart,
Ach wie so eigen Only seems burning
Schaffet es Schmerzen! To make them both smart.
Wie soll ich flieh'n? How shall I fly?

Wälderwärts zieh'n? Forestwards hie?
Alles, alles vergebens! Vain were all strife!
Krone des Lebens, Bright crown of life.
Glück ohne Ruh, Turbulent bliss, —
Liebe, bist du! Love, thou art this!
•
"An Schwager Kronos" "To Coachman Chronos"
Spude dich, Kronos! Make haste, Chronos!

Fort den rasselnden Trott! Forth, into a rattling trot!
Bergab gleitet der Weg; Downhill slides the path;
Ekles Schwindeln zögert A repulsive dizziness slowly
Mir vor die Stirne dein Zaudern. seizes my mind at your dallying.
Frisch, holpert es gleich, Quick, jolting equally
Ueber Stock und Steine den Trott over sticks and stones - trot
Rasch in's Leben hinein! quickly into life!
Nun schon wieder Now, already again we are

Den erathmenden Schritt breathless, at a walking pace,
Mühsam Berg hinauf. struggling uphill.
Auf denn, nicht träge denn, Up then, don't be sluggish then,
Strebend und hoffend hinan! striving and hoping onwards!
Weit, hoch, herrlich rings Wide, tall and splendid

Den Blick ins Leben hinein, is the panoramic view of life,
52 Ibid.
20
Vom Gebirg' zum Gebirg' from mountain-range to mountain-range
Schwebet der ewige Geist, floats the eternal spirit,
Ewigen Lebens ahndevoll. full of promise of eternal life.
Seitwärts des Überdachs Schatten To the side, a shady over-roof

Zieht dich an, draws you;
Und ein Frischung verheißender Blick and a gaze of warm freshness
Auf der Schwelle des Mädchens da. from a maiden on the threshhold there.
Labe dich! - Mir auch, Mädchen, Refresh yourself! For me, too, maiden,
Diesen schäumenden Trank, this foaming drink,
Diesen frischen Gesundheitsblick! this fresh healthy look!
Ab denn, rascher hinab! Down then, down faster!

Sieh, die Sonne sinkt! Look, the sun is sinking!
Eh' sie sinkt, eh' mich Greisen Before it sets, before I, an old man,
Ergreift im Moore Nebelduft, am seized by a mist on the moor,
Entzahnte Kiefer schnattern my toothless jaw chattering
Und das schlotternde Gebein. and my limbs trembling,
Trunken vom letzten Strahl drunk from the last ray -

Reiß mich, ein Feuermeer pull me, a sea of fire
Mir im schäumenden Aug', foaming in my eye,
Mich geblendeten Taumelnden blinded, reeling,
In der Hölle nächtliches Thor. through Hell's nocturnal gate.
Töne, Schwager, in's Horn, Sound your horn, Coachman,

Raßle den schallenden Trab, rattle with a noisy trot,
Daß der Orkus vernehme: wir kommen, so that Orcus can hear that we're coming,
Daß gleich an der Thür so that immediately at the door
Der Wirth uns freundlich empfange. the innkepper can give us a friendly welcome.
•
"Schäfers Klagelied" "Shepherd's Lament"
Da droben auf jenem Berge, High upon that mountain,

Da steh' ich tausendmal, I have stood a thousand times,
An meinem Stabe hingebogen bowed over my staff
Und schaue hinab in das Thal. and gazing down into the valley.
Dann folg' ich der weidenden Herde, I have followed my grazing flock,
Mein Hündchen bewahret mir sie. my hound standing guard for me.
Ich bin herunter gekommen I have come down somehow
Und weiß doch selber nicht wie. and I do not myself know how.
Da stehet von schönen Blumen Full of lovely flowers stands

Da steht die ganze Wiese so voll. the whole meadow.
53 Ibid.
21
Ich breche sie, ohne zu wissen, I pick them without knowing
Wem ich sie geben soll. whom I should give them to.
Und Regen, Sturm und Gewitter And rain, storm and thunder -
Verpass' ich unter dem Baum. beneath the tree I wait for it to pass.
Die Thüre dort bleibet verschlossen; The door there remains closed,
Doch alles ist leider ein Traum. for all is unfortunately a dream.
Es stehet ein Regenbogen There stands a rainbow

Wohl über jenem Haus! arching over that house!
Sie aber ist fortgezogen, But she has gone,
Gar weit in das Land hinaus. and far away to distant reaches.
Hinaus in das Land und weiter, To distant reaches and further,

Vielleicht gar über die See. perhaps even across the sea.
Vorüber, ihr Schafe, nur vorüber! It's all over, my sheep, it is simply all over!
Dem Schäfer ist gar so weh. It is such woe for your shepherd.
•
"Wandrers Nachtlied II" "Wanderer's Night Song II"
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Über allen Gipfeln O'er all the hill-tops

Ist Ruh', Is quiet now,
In allen Wipfeln In all the tree-tops
Spürest du Hearest thou
Kaum einen Hauch; Hardly a breath;
Die Vöglein schweigen im Walde. The birds are asleep in the trees:
Warte nur, balde Wait; soon like these
Ruhest du auch. Thou too shalt rest.
•
"Erlkönig" "The Erl-King"
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Translated by Sir Walter Scott
Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? O who rides by night thro' the woodland so wild?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind; It is the fond father embracing his child;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm, And close the boy nestles within his loved arm,
Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm. To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.
Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht? - "O father, see yonder! see yonder!" he says;
Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht? "My boy, upon what dost thou fearfully gaze?"
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron' und Schweif? "O, 'tis the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud."
Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif. - "No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud."
The Erl-King Speaks:

"Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir! "O come and go with me, thou loveliest child;
Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir; By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
Manch' bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand; My mother keeps for thee many a fair toy,
22
Meine Mutter hat manch' gülden Gewand." And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht, "O father, my father, and did you not hear
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht? - The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?"
Sey ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind; "Be still, my heart's darling -- my child, be at ease;
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind. - It was but the wild blast as it sung thro' the trees."
Erl-King:
"Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn? "O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön; My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy;
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn, She shall bear thee so lightly thro' wet and thro' wild,
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein." And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort "O father, my father, and saw you not plain
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort? - The Erl-King's pale daughter glide past thro' the rain?"
Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh' es genau; "Oh yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon;
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau. - It was the grey willow that danced to the moon."
Erl-King:
"Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt; "O come and go with me, no longer delay,
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch' ich Gewalt." - Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an! "O father! O father! now, now, keep your hold,
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids gethan! - The Erl-King has seized me -- his grasp is so cold!"
Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind, Sore trembled the father; he spurr'd thro' the wild,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind, Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
Erreicht den Hof mit Müh und Noth; He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
In seinen Armen das Kind war todt. But, clasp'd to his bosom, the infant was dead.
•
Don Juan's Serenade
"Gásnut dál nej Al'pukhárry" "Nightfall comes to the golden lands"
Aleksey Tolstoy Translated by Richard D. Sylvester54
Gásnut dál nej Al'pukhárry Nightfall comes to the golden lands

Zalatístyje krajá, Of distant Alpujarras,
Na prizývnyj zvon gitáry To the call of my guitar
Výjdi, mílaja majá! Come out, my darling!
Fsekh, kto skázhet, shto drugája If any dare say another
Zdes' ravnjájetsa s tabój, Can compare with you,
Fsekh, ljubóviju zgarája, If any burn with love for you,
Fsekh, fsekh, fsekh zavú na smértnyj boj! All, all, all I'll fight to the death!
At lúnnava svéta Red in the moonlight

Zardél nebasklón, The sky's all aglow,
O, výjdi, Niséta, o, výjdi, Niséta, O, come out, Nisetta, O, come out, Nisetta,
Skaréj na balkón! Come out on your balcony now!
At Sevíl'ji da Granády, From Seville to Granada,

F tíkham súmrake nachéj, At quiet dusk as night comes on,
54 Used with the kind permission of the translator. Sylvester, Tchaikovsky, 112-13.
23
Razdajútsa serenády, Serenades are sung,
Razdajótsa stuk mechéj; The clatter of swords is heard;
Mnóga króvi, mnóga pésnej A lot of blood and many songs
Dlja preléstnykh l'jótsa dam, — Pour out for lovely women's sake, —
Ja zhe toj, kto fsekh preléstnej, fsjo, fsjo, For her who's loveliest, I'll give it all,
Pesn' i krof' majú addám! All my song and all my blood!
At lúnnava svéta Red in the moonlight

Zardél nebasklón, The sky's all aglow,
O, výjdi, Niséta, o, výjdi, Niséta, O, come out, Nisetta, O, come out, Nisetta,
Skaréj na balkón! Come out on your balcony now!

•
"Sret' shúmnava bála" "Amid the din of the ball"
Aleksey Tolstoy Translated by Richard D. Sylvester55
Sret' shúmnava bála, sluchájna, Amid the din of the ball, by chance,
F trevóge mirskój sujetý, In all of vain society's alarms,
Tebjá ja uvídel, no tájna I caught sight of you, but a mystery
Tvají pakryvála chertý. Hid your features from me.
Lish óchi pechál'na gljadéli, Your eyes were gazing sadly,

A gólas tak dívna zvuchál, But your voice had a wonderful sound,
Kak zvón addaljónnaj sviréli, Like notes played on a distant flute,
Kak mórja igrájushchij vál. Like waves swelling playfully in the sea.
Mne stán tvoj panrávilsa tónkij I liked your slim figure

I ves' tvoj zadúmchivyj vít, And your pensive look;
A smékh tvoj, i grúsnyj i zvónkij, Your laughter, sad and musical,
S tekh pór v majóm sérttse zvuchít. Rings in my heart ever since.
F chasý adinókije nóchi At night in solitary hours,

Ljubljú ja, ustályj, priléch, Tired, I like to lie back,
Ja vízhu pechál'nyje óchi, I see your sad eyes,
Ja slýshu vesjóluju réch. I hear your gay speech.
I grúsna ja, grúsna tak zasypáju And, melancholy, I fall asleep

I v grjózakh nevédamykh spljú... And dream mysterious dreams...
Ljubljú li tebjá, ja ne znáju, I don't know if this means I love you,
No kázhetsa mne, shto ljubljú! But it seems to me I'm in love!
55 Sylvester, Tchaikovsky, 118-19.

24
"Net, tól'ka tót, kto znál" "None but the lonely heart"
Lev Mey, after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Translated by Richard D. Sylvester56
Net, tól'ka tót, kto znál No, only one who's known
Svidán'ja zházhdu, Longing to be together,
Pajmjót, kak ja stradál Can know what I've suffered
I kak ja strázhdu. And how I'm suffering.
Gljazhú ja vdál'... net síl, I gaze at the distance... faint,

Tusknéjet óka... My eye grows dim...
Akh, kto menjá ljubíl Ah, how far away's the one
I znál - daljóka! Who loved me, knew me!
Akh, tól'ka tót, kto znál Ah, only one who's known
Fsja grud' garít... Kto znál My heart's on fire... Whoever's known

•
"Kak nad garjácheju zalój" "As over darkly glowing embers"
Fyódor Tyútchev Translated by Richard D. Sylvester57
Kak nad garjácheju zalój As over darkly glowing embers

Dymítsa svítak i zgarájet, A scroll will smoke and be consumed,
I ógn' sakrýty i glukhój And fire, invisible and mute,
Slavá i stróki pazhyrájet Will swallow up the words and lines:
Tak grúsna tlítsa zhýzn' majá So my life sadly smolders too,

I s kázhdym dnjóm ukhódit dýmam; And day by day it drifts away in smoke;
Tak pastepénna gásnu já So gradually I'm burning down
V adnaabráz'ji nesterpímam... In unendurable monotony...
O, néba, jésli by khat' rás O, heaven, if only once this fire

Sej plámen' razvilsá pa vóle, Might burst into an open flame,
I, ne tamjás', ne múchas' dóle, And, without further grief or torment,
Ja prasijál by i pagás! I would flare up brightly and burn out!
•
56 Sylvester, Tchaikovsky, 26-7.
57 Sylvester, Tchaikovsky, 63.
25
"O, nét, maljú, ne ukhadí" "Oh no, I beg you, do not leave!"
Dmítri Merezhkóvsky Translated by Richard D. Sylvester58
O, nét, maljú, ne ukhadí! Oh no, I beg you, do not leave!

Fsjá ból' - nishtó pered razlúkaj, This pain is slight compared to separation,
Ja slíshkam shcháslif ètaj múkaj, I'm too happy in this state of torment,
Sil'néj prizhmí menjá ggrudí Press me hard against your breast,
Skazhý "ljubljú." Prishól ja vnóf, Say "I love you." I've come to you again,
Bal'nój, izmúchennyi i blédnyj. Sick, tormented, and pale.
Smatrí, kakój ja slábyj, bédnyj, See how weak and pitiful I am,
Kak mné nuzhná tvajá ljubóf... How much I need your love...
Muchénij nóvykh fperedí New torments lie ahead,

Ja zhdú, kak lásk, kak patselúja, I greet them like caresses, like kisses,
I ab adnóm maljú, taskúja: And beg for one thing only in my agony,
O, but' samnój, neukhadí! Oh, stay with me, don't leave!
O, but' samnój, neukhadí! Oh, stay with me, don't leave!
•
"O, dólga búdu já, v malchán'ji nóchi tájnaj" "In the silence of the secret night"
Afanásy Fet Translated by Richard D. Sylvester59
O, dólga búdu já, v malchán'ji Oh, long will I, in the silence

nóchi tájnaj, of the mysterious night,
Kavárnyj lépet tvój, ulýpku, vzór, Your sly chatter, smile, glance,
vzór sluchájnyj, casual glance,
Perstám paslúshnuju valós, Hair pliant to my fingers,
valós tvaíkh gustúju prját' your thick shock of hair,
Iz mýslej izganját' Banish from my thoughts
i snóva prizyvát'; and summon back again;
Sheptát i papravlját' bylýje vyrazhén'ja Whisper and improve past words
Rechéj maíkh s tabój, I spoke to you,
ispólnennykh smushchén'ja, so full of shy confusion,
I v ap'janén'ji, naperekór umú, And in rapture, against all reason,
Zavétnym ímenem With your cherished name,
budít' nachnúju t'mú, awake night's darkness,
Zavétnym ímenem Awake night's darkness
budít' nachnúju t'mú, with your cherished name.
O, dólga búdu já, v malchán'ji Oh, long will I, in the silence
nóchi tájnaj, of the mysterious night,
Zavétnym ímenem Awake night's darkness
budít' nachnúju t'mú, with your cherished name.
•
58 Sylvester, Rachmaninoff', 32.
26
"Fate (On Beethoven's Fifth Symphony)"
"S svajéj pakhódmaju kljukój" "With her walking crutch"
Alekséi Apúkhtin Translated by Richard D. Sylvester60
S svajéj pakhódmaju kljukój With her walking crutch,

S svajími mráchnymi achámi, With her somber gaze,
Sud'bá, kak gróznyj chasavój, Fate, like a grim sentinal,
Pafsjúdu sléduyet za námi. Pursues us wherever we go.
Bedój litsó jejó grazít, Her face spells trouble,
Aná v ugrózakh pasadéla, Her hair is white from dire threats,
Aná ush mnógikh adaléla, She's already vanquished many,
I fsjó stuchít, i fsjó stuchít: And she keeps on tapping, keeps on tapping:
Stúk, stúk, stúk... Tap, tap, tap...
Pólna, drúk, Time's up, friend,
Bróz' za shchástiem ganjátsa! Give up chasing after happiness!
Bednják safsém abzhýlsa s néj: A poor man's learned to live with Fate:
Ruká s rukój aní guljájut, The two of them walk hand in hand,
Zbirájut vméste khlép s paléj, Together they harvest grain from the fields,
V nagrádu vméste galadájut. Together they go hungry as their reward.
Dén' tsélyj dóshch jevó krapít, Rain pelts him all day long,
Pa vecherám laskájet v'júga, His evening comfort is whirling snow,
A nóchju z górja, da s yspúga, And at night, in his grief and fear,
Sud'bá skvos' són jemú stuchít: Fate comes knocking in his dreams:
Glján'-ka, drúk, Take a look, friend,
Kág drugíje pazhyvájut. How other people live!
Drugíje práznavat' sashlís' Others gather to celebrate

Bagátstva, móladast' i slávu. Riches, youth, and fame.
Ikh pésni rádasna neslís', Merrily their songs ring out,
Vinó smenílas' ím v zabávu; They pour wine for their pleasure;
Davnó ush pír u níkh shumít, The noisy feast has lasted long,
No smólkli vdrúk, blednéja, gósti... When suddenly the guests fall silent, turn pale...
Rukój, drazháshcheju ad zlósti, Trembling with malice, the hand of Fate
Sud'bá v akóshka k ním stuchít: Knocks at their window:
Nóvyj drúk A new friend
K vám prishól, gatóf'te mésta! Has come to the feast, set a place for her!
No jézd' zhe shchást'je na zemlé! But there is happiness on earth!

Adnázhdy, pólnyj azhydán'ja, One day, full of anticipation,
S vastórgam júnym na chelé, With youthful rapture on his face,
Prishól shchaslívets na svidánj'e. A lucky lad's come to meet his sweetheart.
Jeschchó adín ón, vsjó malchít, He's still alone, all is silent,
Zarjá za róshchej patukhájet, Twilight darkens behind the grove,
60 Sylvester, Rachmaninoff', 97-8.
27
I salavéj uzh zatikhájet, The nightingale finishes its song,
A sérttse b'jótsa i stuchít: His heart is beating, pounding:
Mílyj drúk, Dearest friend,
Tý pridjósh li na svidán'je? Will you come to meet me?
No vót idjót aná, i vmík But here she comes, and in one instant
Ljubóf', trevóga, azhydán'je, Love, alarm, anticipation,
Blazhénstva, - fsjó slilós' u níkh Bliss—all flowed together for them
V adnó bezúmnaje labzán'je! Into one mad kiss!
Nemája nóch na níkh gljadít, Mute night watches them,
Fsjo néba zálita agnjámi, The whole sky is filled with lights,
A któ-ta tíkha za kustámi When someone softly behind a bush
Kljukój dakúchnaju stuchít: Taps with her intrusive crutch.
Stáryj drúk An old friend
K vám prishól, davól'na shchást'ja! Has come to see you, enough of happiness!
•
"On the death of a siskin"
"F sjém gróbe vérnyj chízhyk mój!" "In this coffin lies my faithful siskin!"
Vasíly Zhukóvsky Translated by Richard D. Sylvester61
F sjém gróbe vérnyj chízhyk mój! In this coffin lies my faithful siskin!
Priródy mílaje tvarén'je Dear little creature of nature,
Iz mírnaj óblasti zemnój From earth's peaceful province
Ón uletél, kak snavidén'je. He flew away like a fleeting dream.
Ón dlja ljubví na svéte zhýl. He lived in this world for love.

Ón nézhnaj pésenkaj privétnaj With a tender little song of greeting
Za lásku nézhnuju platíl He'd return tender affection
I padletál k ruké privétnaj. And fly into my friendly hand.
No f svéte stráshna i ljubít': But it can be frightening to love:

Jemú býl dán druzhók krylátyj; A little winged friend was given to him;
Shtob mílava ne perezhýt', Rather than survive his beloved,
Ón v gróbe skrýlsa at utráty. He hid in the coffin when he lost her.

28
"Khristós vaskrés!" "Christ is risen"
Dmítry Merezhkóvsky Translated by Richard D. Sylvester62
"Khristós vaskrés!" pajút va khráme; "Christ is risen" — they sing in church;

No grúsna mné... dushá malchít. But I am sad... my soul is mute.
Mir pólan króv'ju i slezámi, The world is soaked in blood and tears,
I étad gímn pred altarjámi And this hymn sung before the altar
Tak askarbítel'na zvuchít. Sounds so insulting and unjust.
Kagdá b On býl mezh nás i vídel, If He were among us and could see
Chevó dastík nash slávnyj vék, What our glorious age has wrought,
Kag bráta brát vaznenavídel, How brother looks on brother in hatred,
Kak apazóren chelavék, How man has fallen in disgrace,
I jésli b zdés', v blestjáshchem khráme And here among us, in this glittering church,
"Khristós vaskrés" On uslykhál, If He heard the words "Christ has risen,"
Kakími b gór'kimi slezámi What a bitter flood of tears
Peret talpój On zarydál! He would shed before the crowd!
•
"Spring waters"
"Jeshchó f paljákh beléjet snék" "The fields are still white with snow,"
Fyódor Tyútchev Translated by Richard D. Sylvester63
Jeshchó f paljákh beléjet snék, The fields are still white with snow,
A vódy ush vesnój shumját, But already the waters are proclaiming spring,
Begút y búdjat sónnyj brék, Running along and waking sleepy riverbanks,
Begút y bléshchut y glasját. Running and glittering and declaring.
Aní glasjáat va fsé kantsý: They declare in all directions:

"Vesná idjót! Vesná idjót! "Spring is coming! Spring is coming!
My maladój vesný gantsý, We are the heralds of young spring,
Aná nas výslala fperjót. She sent us in advance.
Vesná idjót! Vesná idjót!" Spring is coming! Spring is coming!"

I tíkhikh, tjóplykh májskikh dnéj And the still, warm days of May
Rumjányj, svétlyj kharavót In a rosy, bright circle-dance,
Talpítsa vésela za néj. Crowd together and gaily follow behind.

63 Sylvester, Rachmaninoff, 85.
29
About the Artists
Grammy Award-winning Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley is a leading singer
and dramatic interpreter of his generation, with acclaimed performances at the
world’s major opera and concert venues and award-winning recordings on CD and
DVD with major labels in a wide variety of repertoire. Finley’s career is devoted to
the wide range of vocal art, encompassing opera, orchestral and song, collaborating
with the greatest orchestras and conductors of our time.
He began with the baritone roles of Mozart; his Don Giovanni and Count in Le nozze
di Figaro have been heard live throughout the world and on DVD. Recent signature
roles include Guillaume Tell, J. Robert Oppenheimer in John Adam’s Dr. Atomic,
and Jaufré Rudel in Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin. He created Harry Heegan in
Mark Anthony Turnage’s The Silver Tassie.
In recent years, critical successes have been in the Wagner repertoire: as Hans Sachs in
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Glyndebourne Festival and Opéra de Paris, as
Amfortas in Parsifal at Royal Opera Covent Garden, and as Wolfram in Tannhäuser
at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. His expanding repertoire includes a triumph as Verdi’s
Falstaff at the Canadian Opera (for which he won a DORA Award), as Iago in Otello
with Sir Colin Davis and the LSO (LSO Live), and in the title role in Rossini’s
Guillaume Tell with Accademia di Santa Cecilia and Sir Antonio Pappano (EMI).
His other important roles include Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande, Eugene Onegin and
Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress. In contemporary opera, Finley has excelled in
creating leading roles, most notably J. Robert Oppenheimer in John Adams’ Doctor
Atomic (New York Met, ENO London, San Francisco, Chicago and Amsterdam),
as Harry Heegan in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s The Silver Tassie at ENO, Howard K.
Stern in Turnage’s Anna Nicole at Covent Garden and Jaufré Rudel in Kaija Saariaho’s
L’amour de loin for the much-acclaimed premieres in Santa Fe, Paris and Helsinki.
He created the role of Mr. Fox in Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox at L.A. Opera.
Concert appearances include the title role in Luigi Dallapiccola’s Il prigioniero (New
York Philharmonic with Alan Gilbert and the BR SO) and Chou en Lai in Adams’
Nixon in China with the BBC Symphony at the BBC Proms conducted by the
composer. His Great Operatic Arias CD on the Chandos label received the Canadian
Juno Award for Best Album in Vocal Performance. In 2012, the DVD release of
Doctor Atomic in which Finley appeared as J. Robert Oppenheimer was awarded the
Grammy for Best Opera Recording.
Finley’s concert work is a vital part of his flourishing career with recent appearances
with the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, a tour of Schoenberg’s A Survivor
from Warsaw with Andris Nelsons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Mahler’s Wunderhorn Lieder with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Lutoslawski’s
Les espaces du sommeil with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted
by Esa-Pekka Salonen. A rediscovered version of Shostakovich’s “English Poets”
30
was recorded by Finley and the Helsinki Philharmonic on the Ondine label and
received international critical acclaim, along with that composer’s orchestral cycle,
Michelangelo Sonnets. Modern day composers have written extensively for Finley and
include Peter Lieberson (“Songs of Love and Sorrow” with the Boston Symphony),
Mark-Anthony Turnage (“When I woke” with the LPO and Vladimir Jurowski),
Huw Watkins, Julian Philips, Kaija Saariaho (“True Fire” with the L.A Philharmonic
and Gustavo Dudamel), and Einojuhani Rautavaara (“Rubáiyát” with the Helsinki
Philharmonic).
As a celebrated song recitalist, he works regularly with pianist Julius Drake. Recent
engagements include the Schubertiade, recitals throughout Europe, a residency at
the Wigmore Hall, at New York’s Carnegie-Zankel Hall as part of a cross-US tour of
Schubert’s Winterreise, and appearances at the festivals of Tanglewood and Ravinia
in the US.
Finley’s many solo recital CD releases have been devoted to songs of Barber, Britten,
Ives, Ravel and Schumann’s song cycles Dichterliebe and Liederkreis opp. 24 and 39.
With a continuing partnership with Julius Drake on the Hyperion label, all have
been critically acclaimed, including an unprecedented three Gramophone Awards
in the Solo Vocal category. Their release of Schubert’s Winterreise won a Canadian
Juno Award in 2015, and recently they released “Bass songs by Liszt.” His recent
“Orchestral songs by Sibelius” with the Bergen Philharmonic and Ed Gardner on
the Chandos label, was nominated Best Vocal Album by Gramophone Magazine. As
part of his dedication to preserving and enhancing the singing tradition, Finley gives
masterclasses throughout the world, most recently at the Juilliard School of Music,
and continues to work with the Jette Parker Young Artists’ Program at the Royal
Opera, Covent Garden and the Lindemann Program at the Met.
In 2017/18, his activity is exceptional. He will perform Forester in The Cunning

Little Vixen at the Berlin Philharmonic (Sir Simon Rattle). Finley will then return
to the Metropolitan Opera to perform Athanaël in Thaïs, followed by the Finnish
premiere of Saariaho’s True Fire with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In
early 2018, he makes his role debut as Scarpia in Tosca at the Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden, and continues with performances of Schubert songs with Daniel
Harding and the Berlin Philharmonic and at the Festspielhaus Baden Baden, where
he will also perform Amfortas in Parsifal. Gerald concludes the season with a recital
tour in North America.
Finley, born in Montreal, began singing as a chorister in Ottawa, Canada, and

completed his musical studies in the UK at the Royal College of Music, King’s
College, Cambridge, and the National Opera Studio. He is a Fellow and Visiting
Professor at the Royal College of Music. In 2014 he climbed Kilimanjaro for the
charity Help Musicians UK. In 2017 he was appointed Commander of the Order
of the British Empire and had previously been appointed an Officer of the Order of
Canada. Finley also features on a Canadian stamp celebrating Canadians in opera.
31
•
The pianist Julius Drake lives in London and enjoys an international reputation as
one of the finest instrumentalists in his field, collaborating with many of the world’s
leading artists, both in recital and on disc.
He appears regularly at all the major music centers and festivals: the Aldeburgh,
Edinburgh, Munich, Schubertiade, and Salzburg Music Festivals; Carnegie Hall and
Lincoln Centre New York; The Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and Philarmonie,
Berlin; the Châtalet and Musée de Louvre Paris; La Scala, Milan and Teatro de la
Zarzuela, Madrid; Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Vienna; and Wigmore Hall and
BBC Proms London.
Director of the Perth International Chamber Music Festival in Australia from 2000
– 2003, Drake was also musical director of Deborah Warner’s staging of Janáček’s
Diary of One Who Vanished, touring to Munich, London, Dublin, Amsterdam and
New York. Since 2009 he has been Artistic Director of the Machynlleth Festival in
Wales.
Drake’s passionate interest in song has led to invitations to devise song series for
Wigmore Hall, London, the BBC and The Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. A
series of song recitals – Julius Drake and Friends – in the historic Middle Temple
Hall in London, has featured recitals with many outstanding vocal artists including
Sir Thomas Allen, Olaf Bär, Iestyn Davies, Veronique Gens, Sergei Leiferkus, Dame
Felicity Lott, Simon Keenlyside and Sir Willard White.
Drake is frequently invited to perform at international chamber music festivals –

most recently, Kuhmo in Finland; Delft in the Netherlands; Oxford in England;
Boswil in Switzerland and West Cork in Ireland – while his instrumental duo with
Nicholas Daniel has been described in The Independent newspaper as "one of the
most satisfying in British chamber music: vital, thoughtful and confirmed in musical
integrity of the highest order."
Drake’s many recordings include a widely acclaimed series with Gerald Finley for
Hyperion, from which the Barber Songs, Schumann Heine Lieder and Britten
Songs and Proverbs won the 2007, 2009 and 2011 Gramophone Awards; award
winning recordings with Ian Bostridge for EMI; several recitals for the Wigmore Live
label, with among others Alice Coote, Joyce DiDonato, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson,
Christopher Maltman and Matthew Polenzani; recordings of Kodály and Shoeck
sonatas with the cellists Natalie Clein and Christian Poltera for the Hyperion and
Bis labels; Tchaikovsky and Mahler with Christianne Stotijn for Onyx; English song
with Bejun Mehta for Harmonia Mundi; and Schubert’s Poetisches Tagebuch with
Christoph Prégardien, which won the Jahrpreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik
2017.
32
Drake is now embarked on a major project to record the complete songs of Franz
Liszt for Hyperion – the second disc in the series, with Angelika Kirchschlager,
won the BBC Music Magazine Award 2012 – and a series of four Schubert recitals
recorded live at Wigmore Hall with Ian Bostridge.
Drake holds a Professorship at Graz University for Music and the Performing Arts in
Austria, where he has a class for song pianists. He is regularly invited to give master
classes worldwide, recently in Aldeburgh, Brussels, Utrecht, Cincinnati, Toronto,
Minneapolis, Ann Arbor, Vienna and at the Schubert Institute in Baden bei Wien.
Concerts in the 2017-18 season include recitals in his series, Julius Drake and Friends
at the historic Middle Temple Hall in London; concerts in Frankfurt, Dresden,
Vienna, and Florence with Ian Bostridge; in Bristol and Barcelona with Mark
Padmore; in Madrid and Amsterdam with Sarah Connolly; in Geneva with Willard
White; in Vienna with Alice Coote and Angelika Kirchschlager; and in New York
with Gerald Finley, Matthew Polenzani and Christoph Prégardien.
Added Event!
Quartetto di Cremona
Tickets available starting at 10am on Friday, April 27
Friday, May 11, 2018–8:00 pm [Concert]

Music by Puccini, Verdi and Beethoven
Coolidge Auditorium (Tickets Required)
33
Upcoming Events
Visit loc.gov/concerts for more information

Esperanza Spalding
Thursday, May 10, 2018–8:00 pm [Lecture]

"Transblucency: Duke Ellington, The Washingtonians,
and the Realm of the Visual"
Robert G. O'Meally, Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English at Columbia University
Montpelier Room (Tickets Required)

Music by Puccini, Verdi and Beethoven
Saturday, May 12, 2018–10:00 am [Film]

Bernstein Conducts Mahler and Liszt
Mary Pickford Theater (Tickets Required)
Tuesday, May 15, 2018–7:00 pm [AMS Lecture]

"Bernstein Conducting Himself"
Daniel Callahan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Music at Boston College
Thursday, May 17, 2018–7:00 am [Film]

On the Waterfront
Mary Pickford Theater (Tickets Required)

Bernstein Centennial Concert
Pre-concert conversation with the artists, 6:30pm
Whittall Pavilion (Tickets not Required)
Saturday, May 19, 2018–11:00 am [Lectures]

Leonard Bernstein's America: Celebrating the Collection
Saturday, June 2, 2018–2:00 pm [Concert]

Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Music by Wuorinen, Reynolds, Thomas, Felder, Nathan, and Liang
Pre-concert conversation with Roger Reynolds, 12:30pm
Whittall Pavilion (Tickets not Required)
34
Concerts from the Library of Congress
The Coolidge Auditorium, constructed in 1925 through a generous gift from
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, has been the venue for countless world-class
performers and performances. Gertrude Clarke Whittall presented to the
Library a gift of five Stradivari instruments which were first heard here during a
concert on January 10, 1936. These parallel but separate donations serve as the
pillars that now support a full season of concerts made possible by gift trusts and
foundations that followed those established by Mrs. Coolidge and Mrs. Whittall.
•
Concert Staff
CHIEF, MUSIC DIVISION Susan H. Vita
ASSISTANT CHIEF Jan Lauridsen
SENIOR PRODUCERS FOR Michele L. Glymph

CONCERTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS Anne McLean
MUSIC SPECIALIST David H. Plylar
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER Donna P. Williams
RECORDING ENGINEER Michael E. Turpin
TECHNICAL ASSISTANT Sandie (Jay) Kinloch
PRODUCTION MANAGER Solomon E. HaileSelassie
CURATOR OF Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
PROGRAM DESIGN David H. Plylar
PROGRAM PRODUCTION Michael Munshaw
35
Support Concerts from the Library of Congress
Support for Concerts from the Library of Congress comes from private gift and trust
funds and from individual donations which make it possible to offer free concerts as a
gift to the community. For information about making a tax-deductible contribution
please call (202-707-5503), e-mail (jlau@loc.gov), or write to Jan Lauridsen,
Assistant Chief, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-4710.
Contributions of $250 or more will be acknowledged in the programs. All gifts will
be acknowledged online. Donors can also make an e-gift online to Friends of Music
at www.loc.gov/philanthropy. We acknowledge the following contributors to the
2016-2017 season. Without their support these free concerts would not be possible.
•
GIFT aND tRUST fUNDS DONOR cONTRIBUTIONS
Julian E. and Freda Hauptman Berla Fund Producer ($10,000 and above)
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.
William and Adeline Croft Memorial Fund Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation
Da Capo Fund Frederic J. and Lucia Hill
Ira and Leonore Gershwin Fund The Japan Foundation
Isenbergh Clarinet Fund The Reva and David Logan Foundation
Irving and Verna Fine Fund Adele M. Thomas Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Mae and Irving Jurow Fund
Carolyn Royall Just Fund Guarantor ($5,000 and above)
Kindler Foundation Trust Fund Opera America
Dina Koston and Robert Shapiro Fund for
New Music Underwriter ($2,500 and above)
Boris and Sonya Kroyt Memorial Fund John Mineto Ono,
Wanda Landowska/Denise Restout In memory of Ronald Robert Ramey
Memorial Fund Geraldine Ostrove
Katie and Walter Louchheim Fund Joyce E. Palmer
Robert Mann Fund Walter A. Robinson
McKim Fund In memory of Daniel L. Robinson
Norman P. Scala Memorial Fund Mace J. Rosenstein and Louise de la Fuente
Karl B. Schmid Memorial Fund George Sonneborn and Rosina C. Iping
Judith Lieber Tokel & George Sonneborn Fund The George and Ruth Tretter Charitable Gift
Anne Adlum Hull and William Remsen Strick- Fund, Carl Tretter, Trustee
land Fund
Benefactor ($1000 and above)
Rose and Monroe Vincent Fund
William D. Alexander
Gertrude Clarke Whittall Foundation
Bill Bandas and Leslie G. Ford
Various Donors Fund
Stephen and Louise Burton
Dr. Ronald M. Costell and Marsha E. Swiss
BEQUESTS In memory of Dr. Giulio Cantoni and
Sorab K. Modi Mrs. Paula Saffiotti
Carole J. Falvo
Milton J. Grossman,
In memory of Dana Krueger Grossman
Wilda M. Heiss
36
Benefactor (continued) Patron (continued)
Randy Hostetler Living Room Music Project Joan M. Undeland,
and Fund In memory of Richard E. Undeland
Virginia Lee Harvey Van Buren
Egon and Irene Marx Amy Weinstein and Phil Esocoff,
Dr. Judith C. and Dr. Eldor O. Pederson In memory of Freda Hauptman Berla
Arthur F. Purcell Sidney Wolfe and Suzanne Goldberg
Beverly J. and Phillip B. Sklover Gail Yano and Edward A. Celarier
James C. and Carol R. Tsang Pan Zheng and Yang Liu
Mallory and Diana Walker
Sponsor ($250 and above)
Patron ($500 and above) Anonymous (2)
Daniel J. Alpert and Ann H. Franke The Hon. Morton I. and Sheppie
Devora and Samuel Arbel Abramowitz
Leonard and Gabriela Bebchick Sandra J. Blake, In memory of Ronald Diehl
Peter and Ann Belenky Carol Ann Dyer
Dr. and Mrs. A. David Bernanke Laura Lee Fischer
Elena Bloomstein Elizabeth Fulford and Gregory Scholtz
Marc H. and Vivian S. Brodsky Kym Hemley and Joseph Butz
Richard W. Burris and Shirley Downs In honor of Bill Bandas
Dr. Susan Canning and Dr. Adam Lowy Ted Hirakawa
Doris N. Celarier James S. and Zona F. Hostetler
Margaret Choa May Y. Ing
William A. Cohen R. Bruce Johnston, In honor of Anton Babushka
Herbert L. and Joan M. Cooper Phyllis C. Kane
Diane E. Dixson Mr. and Mrs. Kim Kowalewski
Lawrence Feinberg Thomas C. Kuchenberg,
Becky Jo Fredriksson and Rosa D. Wiener In memory of Geri (Miriam) Rosen
Fred S. Fry, Jr. and Elaine Suriano Kay and Marc Levinson
Geraldine H. and Melvin C. Garbow Sally H. McCallum
Howard Gofreed, In memory of Ruth Tretter Lawrence Meinert and Georgia Yuan
The Richard & Nancy Gould Family Fund George P. Mueller
Margaret L. Hines Mark Nelson
Sheila and John Hollis Heather Pinnock
In memory of Emily Caplis Slocum Robert H. Reynolds
Michael B. Jennison Juliet Sablosky, In memory of Irving L. Sablosky
Mary Lynne Martin Jeff and Carolyn Serfass
Winton E. Matthews, Jr. John Davis Snyder
Donogh McDonald Alan and Ann Vollmann
John and Eileen Miller Patricia A. Winston
Undine A. and Carl E. Nash Gail Yano
Judith Neibrief
John P. O'Donnell
Allan Reiter
Bruce and Lori Rosenblum
Victor Roytburd
David Seidman and Ruth Greenstein
Rebecca and Sidney Shaw,
In memory of Dr. Leonard G. Shaw
Christopher Sipes
Maria Soto, In memory of Sara Arminana
Dana and Linda Sundberg
Lorna C. Totman, In memory of Daniel Gallik
37

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THE cAROLYN rOYALL jUST FUND

iN THE LIBRARY oF CONGRESS

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 ~ 8:00 pm

Tonight's Pre-concert Lecture:

Unauthorized use of photographic and sound recording equipment

Please recycle your programs at the conclusion of the concert.

THE cAROLYN rOYALL jUST FUND

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)

PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943)

Beethoven, "Neue Liebe, neues Leben," op. 75/2: mm. 51-4.

Beethoven, "Wonne der Wehmut," op. 83/1: mm. 1 & 22-23.

Goethe's "Rastlose Liebe" has as a source of inspiration an English poem by Bishop

17 As quoted in Johnson, Complete Songs Vol. 1, 211.

"Don Juan's Serenade" was written in 1859-60 by Aleksey Tolstoy (a relation of

"Fate" opens the op. 21 set, and is something of an oddity in Rachmaninoff's

David Henning Plylar

44 Sylvester, Rachmaninoff, 62.

Fesselt dich die Jugendblüte, Does youthful bloom shackle you,

Und an diesem Zauberfädchen, And with this magic thread

45 Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust, from the LiederNet Archive -- http://

Kleine Blumen, kleine Blätter Small flowers, small leaves

Zephir, nimm's auf deine Flügel, Zephyr, put it on your wing,

Es war einmal ein König, There once was a king

In Sammet und in Seide In silk and satin

Bedecke deinen Himmel, Zeus, Cover your heavens, Zeus,

Ich kenne nichts Aermeres I know nothing more shabby

Da ich ein Kind war, When I was a child

Wähntest du etwa, You were deluded if you thought

Breitest über mein Gefild You spread over my domain

Jeden Nachklang fühlt mein Herz Every echo my heart feels,

Fließe, fließe, lieber Fluß! Flow, flow on, dear river!

Dem Schnee, dem Regen, Through rain, through snow,

Lieber durch Leiden Sooner through sadness

Wie soll ich flieh'n? How shall I fly?

Spude dich, Kronos! Make haste, Chronos!

Nun schon wieder Now, already again we are

Weit, hoch, herrlich rings Wide, tall and splendid

Seitwärts des Überdachs Schatten To the side, a shady over-roof

Ab denn, rascher hinab! Down then, down faster!

Trunken vom letzten Strahl drunk from the last ray -

Töne, Schwager, in's Horn, Sound your horn, Coachman,

Da droben auf jenem Berge, High upon that mountain,

Da stehet von schönen Blumen Full of lovely flowers stands

Es stehet ein Regenbogen There stands a rainbow

Hinaus in das Land und weiter, To distant reaches and further,

Über allen Gipfeln O'er all the hill-tops

The Erl-King Speaks:

Gásnut dál nej Al'pukhárry Nightfall comes to the golden lands

At lúnnava svéta Red in the moonlight

At Sevíl'ji da Granády, From Seville to Granada,

At lúnnava svéta Red in the moonlight

Lish óchi pechál'na gljadéli, Your eyes were gazing sadly,

Mne stán tvoj panrávilsa tónkij I liked your slim figure

F chasý adinókije nóchi At night in solitary hours,

I grúsna ja, grúsna tak zasypáju And, melancholy, I fall asleep

55 Sylvester, Tchaikovsky, 118-19.

Gljazhú ja vdál'... net síl, I gaze at the distance... faint,

Fsja grud' garít... Kto znál My heart's on fire... Whoever's known

Kak nad garjácheju zalój As over darkly glowing embers

Tak grúsna tlítsa zhýzn' majá So my life sadly smolders too,

O, néba, jésli by khat' rás O, heaven, if only once this fire

O, nét, maljú, ne ukhadí! Oh no, I beg you, do not leave!