Program booklet for the event
Song recital
The second song recital at the International Brucknerfest Linz 2024 is also dedicated to the jubilees of the year, but, apart from Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss, it will focus on other composers from the Polish, Czech, German and French-speaking world, with a whole series of discoveries and surprises in store.
The programme commemorates the 175th anniversary of the death of Frédéric Chopin, whose wonderful songs lead an undeserved shadowy existence next to his incomparably more famous piano works, celebrates the 200th birthdays of Bedřich Smetana, whose 140th anniversary of death is also being commemorated. The programme also celebrates the 150th anniversary of the death of Peter Cornelius, whose piano songs, often based on his own texts, impress with their successful synthesis of sophistication and simplicity, and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Gabriel Fauré. The programme commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Gabriel Fauré, whose song oeuvre is among the most important written in this genre in France, and congratulates Reynaldo Hahn on his 150th birthday, whose song compositions, which have remained largely unknown in this country, bring the atmosphere of the Belle Époque to life in the most magical way.
The colourful bouquet of songs in honour of the seven composers is tied and presented by star soprano Julia Lezhneva, who is making her long overdue Brucknerhaus debut with this concert, and Helmut Deutsch, who has been one of the most sought-after and successful lied pianists in the world for decades and yet has retained both his curiosity and his interest in forgotten repertoire.
Songs from
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884)
Anton Bruckner (1824–1896)
Peter Cornelius (1824–1874)
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)
Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
Reynaldo Hahn (1874–1947)
Julia Lezhneva | Soprano
Helmut Deutsch | Piano