EnsembleKONTRASTE: Aus Liebe

Event Details

Claude Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Bearb. Arnold Schönberg)
Alban Berg Sieben frühe Lieder (Bearb. Fergus McAlpine)
Johann Strauß Wein, Weib und Gesang op. 333 (Bearb. Alban Berg)
Arnold Schönberg Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 (Bearb. Johannes Schöllhorn)
Gustav Mahler Adagio aus der 10. Symphonie (Bearb. Michelle Castelletti)

ensemble KONTRASTE
Mezzo-soprano: Melissa Zgouridi
Condctor:  Jac van Steen

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Berg’s “Seven early songs” as we know them today are dedicated to the composer’s wife, “Meiner Helene”. They are a testimony of an everlasting and inspiring relationship.

In this version of the work my goal wasn’t simply to reduce the songs to a particular ensemble, rather I wanted to maintain the delicate beauty that the work shows in its originality. What I find fascinating about the original version is that there’s a certain symmetry to the way the piece is orchestrated: the first and last songs include the full orchestra, 2, 4 and 6 a reduced orchestra and 3 and 5 only feature a fragment of the orchestra. Keeping this aesthetic and “sound-arch” of the piece was the greatest challenge, but also what I found most satisfying about solving this puzzle.