The vast expanse of Chicago's Orchestra Hall will be transformed into a more intimate venue for a series of Schubert song recitals, starting with baritone Matthias Goerne and pianist Christoph Eschenbach performing the song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin on January 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Goerne and Eschenbach have performed Schubert lieder together to great acclaim around the world--even recording all three of Schubert's great song cycles for the Harmonia Mundi label. In addition to their recital at Orchestra Hall, the duo will also perform at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and in Germany at Baden Baden and Hamburg during the 2013-14 season.
Limited seating for their Orchestra Hall concert, with some seats available on the Armour Stage itself, will bring the audience closer to the artists for an experience similar to a Schubertiade, the intimate song recitals among friends where Schubert premiered some of his most beloved works.
All together, about 700 tickets will be available for this performance, available online at cso.org.
Goerne is currently recording a series of selected Schubert songs (The Goerne/Schubert Edition, as 11 CDs) for Harmonia Mundi. From 2001 through 2005, he was an honorary professor of song interpretation at the Robert Schumann Academy of Music in Düsseldorf. Born in Weimar, Germany, he studied with Hans-Joachim Beyer in Leipzig and with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
Conductor and pianist Christoph Eschenbach is music director of the Kennedy Center and National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. He is well-known to Chicago-area residents as the former music director of the Ravinia Festival, where he led Chicago Symphony Orchestra performances from 1994 to 2003 and also appeared regularly as a pianist. Since that time, Eschenbach has returned to Chicago frequently as a guest conductor, most recently in December 2013.
Die Schöne Müllerin, or "The Beautiful Maid of the Mill," displays Schubert's talent for writing poignant and beautiful melodies within a cycle of songs that have an epic emotional sweep. Based on poems written by Wilhelm Muller, the song cycle tells the story of a young man who falls in love with a miller's daughter, but is ultimately rejected by the object of his affection.
This recital is part of the 2013-14 Symphony Center Presents Schubert Song series. The series continues on Sunday, May 11, with soprano Susanna Phillips singing "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen" ("The Shepherd on the Rock") with Chicago Symphony Orchestra clarinetist John Bruce Yeh and pianist Myra Huang. Bass-baritone Eric Owens will sing "Auf dem Strom" ("On the River") with CSO acting principal horn Daniel Gingrich and pianist Huang.
