Nachtviolen - Schubert: Lieder Christian Gerhaher & Gerold Huber

• Franz Schubert (1797–1828): Lieder
• 1An den Mond in einer Herbstnacht, D. 61408:01
• 2Hoffnung, D. 29501:26
• 3Im Jänner 1817 (Tiefes Leid), D. 87602:41
• 4Abschied, D. 47505:09
• 5Herbst, D. 94503:34
• 6Über Wildemann, D. 88402:21
• 7Der Wanderer, D. 64902:23
• 8Der Wanderer an den Mond, D. 87002:26
• 9Der Zwerg, D. 77104:54
• 10Abendstern, D. 80602:08
• 11Im Walde, D. 84305:09
• 12Nach einem Gewitter, D. 56101:33
• 13Der Schiffer, D. 69403:11
• 14An die Nachtigall, D. 19601:55
• 15Totengräber-Weise, D. 86905:12
• 16Frühlingsglaube, D. 68603:16
• 17Nachtviolen, D. 75202:35
• 18Abendlied für die Entfernte, D. 85605:14
• 19Wehmut, D. 77202:24
• 20Der Strom, D. 56501:31
• 21Der Hirt, D. 49002:17
• 22Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren, D. 36002:47
• 23Nachtgesang, D. 31401:40
• 24Der Sänger am Felsen, D. 48203:06
• Total Runtime01:16:53

Info for Nachtviolen - Schubert: Lieder

This album is a great introduction to the deeply absorbing world of Schubert's songs. It features a very personal collection of Schubert songs chosen by Christian Gerhaher, who has performed these songs for many years and has a profound connection to them. The album includes a detailed booklet text with a separate paragraph detailing each song.

Schubert set the verse of over 100 poets to music, composing approximately 650 songs. He selected biblical texts and poetry from classical Greece, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the early Romantic era, the poets including Goethe, Schiller, Shakespeare, Petrarca and Heine as well as his Austrian contemporaries and friends.

“Beautifully judged playing from pianist Gerold Hubersupports the silky lightness of Gerhaher at his most intimate in these 24 songs; though there are flashes of steel beneath the gossamer that are all the more exciting for their sparse deployment.” (The Observer)

“Gerhaher’s outstanding qualities – a heavenly baritone, crisp diction, intelligent address – once again find an echo in Huber’s pianism.” (Financial Times)

“Gerhaher brings his special qualities, the most beautiful lyric baritone voice of any lieder specialist I know, entirely natural and immaculate German diction, and musical and expressive insights that mark him out as one of the greatest lieder singers of any age...the entire programme is vintage Schubert and vintage Gerhaher.” (Sunday Times)

“gently beautiful and deeply rewarding...Gerhaher simply lets the music flow through him, his voice its unassuming servant. The pitching is immaculate, the breath control so easeful as to be imperceptible. He seems incapable of making an ugly sound.” (The Telegraph)

“With his lyric high baritone at its freest, Gerhaher has the uncommon gift of making everything alive, specific, while always sounding natural...a superlative recital by a singer who for vocal beauty, poetic insight and expressive immediacy is surely unsurpassed in Lieder today.” (Gramophone Magazine)

“One of the most symbiotic partnerships in chamber music...Friends since childhood, they have performed lieder since they were teenagers. This recording of works by Schubert is a marvel of the fusion of text and melody, suffused with the beauty of Mr. Gerhaher’s mellow, smooth timbre.” (New York Times)

Christian Gerhaher, baritone
Gerold Huber, piano

Christian Gerhaher
During his studies under Paul Kuen and Raimund Grumbach, German baritone Christian Gerhaher attended the Opera School of the Academy of Music in Munich where he studied lied interpretation with Friedemann Berger. While completing his medical studies Christian Gerhaher perfected his vocal training in master-classes given by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Inge Borkh. At present Christian Gerhaher, together with Gerold Huber, holds a class in lied interpretation at the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre, and occasionally teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Together with his regular piano accompanist Gerold Huber, Christian Gerhaher has devoted himself to lied interpretation for 30 years now, in concerts and recordings, and over the years they have been awarded several major prizes. The lied duo can be heard regularly on the stages of major international recital centres, for instance in the concert halls of New York, the Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, the Cologne, Luxembourg and Berlin Philharmonie, the Cité de la musique in Paris, the Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna, the Teatro della Zarzuela in Madrid and in La Scala Milan; they are particularly frequent guests in the Wigmore Hall in London. Christian Gerhaher und Gerold Huber perform regularly at the festivals in Munich, Aix, Heidelberg, Salzburg, Granada, Berlin, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Rheingau and Schleswig Holstein. The Liedwoche Elmau, devised by Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber, takes place for the third time in September 2023.

Christian Gerhaher has worked together with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding, Herbert Blomstedt, Bernard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, Christian Thielemann, Kirill Petrenko, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir Antonio Pappano, Daniel Barenboim, Andris Nelsons and Mariss Jansons, and for 25 years has given concerts in the world’s major concert halls. Orchestras which regularly invite Christian Gerhaher to perform include the London Symphony Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, and in particular the Berlin Philharmonic, where he was the first ever singer to be artist in residence, as well as the Swedish Radio Symphony and in particular the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Particularly outstanding projects of the past season were tours with a string sextet initiated by Isabelle Faust with a specially created version of Les Nuits d’été by Hector Berlioz, and in addition Othmar Schoeck’s Notturno; concerts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Harding (works by Dvořák and Brahms); the title role in Berg’s Wozzeck in a new production at the Vienna State Opera, two concert projects with the Berlin Philharmonic (Mahler’s Rückert Lieder conducted by Antonello Manacorda and Zemlinksky’s Lyric Symphonyunder Kirill Petrenko). The season came to an end with an extensive Hugo Wolf project (Italian and Spanish Song Book, Mörike Songs) which Christian Gerhaher performed in ten recitals in London, Heidelberg, Munich, Madrid and Salzburg.

In the current season Christian Gerhaher can be heard together with Gerold Huber in recitals in London, Berlin, Berne, Valencia, Madrid, Vienna and later at the festivals in Munich, Aix and Salzburg. He again gives guest performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, this time in the title role of Mendelssohn’s Elijah conducted by Kirill Petrenko. In addition with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, both conducted by Andris Nelsons (concert performances of Tannhäuser, Mendelssohn’s oratorio Paul and Ein deutsches Requiem by Brahms in Leipzig and Salzburg).

Besides giving concerts and recitals, Christian Gerhaher is also a highly sought-after performer on the opera stage and has received several prizes such as the Laurence Olivier Award and the theatre prize Der Faust. His roles include Posa in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Amfortas (Wagner, Parsifal), Lenau (Holliger, Lunea, world premiere in 2018), Germont (Verdi, La Traviata), Figaro and Count Almaviva (Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro) as well as the title roles in Monteverdi’s Orfeo, in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and in Henze’s Der Prinz von Homburg. Wolfram in Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser was and remains a constant role in his calendar in the opera houses in Berlin, Vienna, London and Munich and soon also at the Salzburg Easter Festival with Andris Nelsons conducting the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester. A milestone in Christian Gerhaher’s opera career was his debut in the title role of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck in September 2015 at Zurich Opera House in the celebrated staging by Andreas Homoki. At the beginning of the 2022/23 season Christian Gerhaher performs Don Alfonso for the first time in a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte (stage director: Benedict Andrews, conductor: Vladimir Jurowski) at the Bavarian State Opera. In 2023 he appears in two new productions of Wozzeck, first in London at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (stage director: Deborah Warner, conductor Antonio Pappano) followed directly by performances at the Festival d’Aix en Provence with Simon Rattle conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in an eagerly anticipated production by Simon McBurney which had to be postponed due to the Corona pandemic.

Christian Gerhaher’s CDs are issued by Sony Music, with which he has an exclusive partnership. Accompanied by Gerold Huber, the Schubert, Schumann and Mahler cycles have been released on this label. A unique project that has preoccupied Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber for years – the complete recording of all Robert Schumann’s songs in a box set – was released by his exclusive label Sony Classical in September 2021. Alle Lieder is a coproduction with Bavarian Radio and the Heidelberg Frühling. Early in 2022 the recording of Othmar Schoeck’s Elegiewith the Basle Chamber Orchestra and Heinz Holliger were released, Holliger’s poet opera Lunea (on ECM) and Rihm’s Stabat Mater together with Tabea Zimmermann, and in addition his Lyrical Diary (a compendium of essays on lied interpretation) was published by the C. H. Beck Verlag.

Piotr Beczała
is one of the most sought-after tenors of our time and a constant guest in the world’s leading opera houses. The Polish-born artist is acclaimed by audiences and critics alike not only for the beauty of his voice, but also for his ardent commitment to each character he portrays.

Piotr Beczala´s 2016-17 season will feature returns to Chicago, New York, Berlin, Barcelona, Vienna, Zürich, and beyond. Following a recital with San Diego Opera, Piotr encores his signature portrayal of Edgardo in a new-to-Chicago production of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. From there, he heads to New York for a revival of La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera. He also joins a star-studded lineup of colleagues on the Met stage to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary at Lincoln Center. Rodolfo in Puccini’s bohemian masterwork is also the vehicle for Piotr’s return to the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Furthermore Piotr Beczala can be heard in Barcelona with a revival of Massenet’s Werther at the Gran Teatre del Liceu paired with a recital at the city’s Palau de la Música. The recitals continue with stops in Frankfurt, Graz, Berlin, and Hamburg. Returning to the Wiener Staatsoper stage, Piotr headlines a revival of Un ballo in maschera before joining Opernhaus Zürich for a new production of Léhar’s Das Land des Lächelns in the role of Prince Sou-Chong.

Since his debut as Duca in Rigoletto in 2006, Piotr Beczala is a regular guest at the Metropolitan Opera New York. Here he has performed in a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin opposite Anna Netrebko, Prince in Dvorak’s Rusalka, Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo (La Bohème), as well as in the title roles of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and Faust. In 2011 he accompanied the MET on a tour to Japan, singing Rodolfo and Edgardo. 2012 saw Piotr Beczala make his role debut as Chevalier des Grieux in Laurent Pelly’s new production of Manon, alongside Anna Netrebko as the eponymous heroine, conducted by Fabio Luisi. The production was part of the “HD live” series by the MET and was broadcast live in cinemas throughout the US and over 50 countries world-wide. It was released on DVD, as was his interpretation of the Duke in a new production of Rigoletto, alongside Diana Damrau in January 2013, for which he received the ECHO Klassik Award “Singer of the Year” in 2014. In the 2015/16 season he was making his highly acclaimed debut in the title role of Wagner´s Lohengrin opposite Anna Netrebko at the Semperoper Dresden.

At Teatro alla Scala in Milan Piotr Beczala made his debut in 2006 singing Duca in Rigoletto, returning later as Rodolfo in La Bohème. The tenor also opened the 13/14 season for the first time, singing Alfredo in a new production of Verdi’s La Traviata. Piotr Beczala also regularly sings at the State Operas in Munich and in Vienna. On the stage of the National Theatre in Munich, he interpreted the Prince, Alfredo, the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, and the title role of Massenet’s Werther. During the Munich Opera Festival, Piotr Beczala was heard as Alfredo in La Traviata. In Vienna he performed Roméo in Jürgen Flimm’s production of Roméo et Juliette, under the baton of Plácido Domingo. Since his Die Zauberflöte and Rodolfo in La Bohème. Piotr Beczala sang guest performances at the Nederlandse Opera, Théâtre de la Monnaie/de Munt, Staatsoper Hamburg, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatr Wielki (Warsaw), and the Mariinsky Theatre, amongst many others.

Piotr Beczala is a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival. Since his debut as Tamino in 1997 he has sung the cantata Rinaldo by Johannes Brahms under the baton of Sir Elliott Gardiner at the Whitsun Festival as well as Prince in Rusalka, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, the title role in Gounod´s Faust and Rodolfo in Damiano Michieletto’s new production of La Bohème opposite Anna Netrebko during the Summer Festival. This production was broadcasted on TV and released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon. Piotr Beczala also sang with Anna Netrebko in concert performances of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta in 2011. In 2013 he was heard in Verdi’s Requiem with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Riccardo Muti conducting.

In addition to his operatic work, he has sung many of the great choral and orchestral vocal works with the world’s most distinguished orchestras and maestri. Celebrating his 20th stage anniversary Piotr Beczala gave a concert at Theatre Wielki in Warsaw in 2012. Also in 2012 he sang the New Year’s Eve concerts at the Semperoper Dresden for the second consecutive year. The concerts, which were led by Christian Thielemann, were broadcast on TV and released on CD and DVD by Deutsche Grammophon. In 2014 he joined a spectacular group of colleagues for Le Concert de Paris, an annual concert event and celebration at the Eiffel Tower with an estimated live audience of more than half a million people.

Piotr Beczala was born in Czechowice-Dziedzice in Southern Poland and received his initial vocal training at the Katowice Academy of Music, where he was given instruction by such illustrious singers as Pavel Lisitsian and Sena Jurinac. His first engagement was at the Landestheater Linz and in 1997 he became a company member of the Zürich Opera. The Zurich audience could hear him as Alfredo in La traviata, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role of Faust, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Elvino in La Sonnambula, and also as the soloist in orchestral songs by Richard Strauss, Riccardo in Un Ballo in maschera as well as Rodolfo in La Bohème.

Piotr Beczala’s is represented on dozens of CDs in a vast array of works, ranging from staples of the repertory, including Faust live from Vienna (Orfeo) and La Traviata from Munich (Farao), which was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award, to such rarely-heard works as Szymanowski’s Król Roger and Offenbach’s Rheinnixen (Accord) and Johann Strauss II’s Simplicius (EMI). In addition, Piotr Beczala sings on a recording of Lucia di Lammermoor with Natalie Dessay in the title role and Valery Gergiev leading the Mariinsky Opera on the Company’s own label.

Three solo aria CDs have been released on the Orfeo label. “Salut”, featuring French and Italian arias (2008), was followed by “Slavic Opera Arias”, with repertoire by Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff, Moniuszko, Źeleński, Nowowiejski, Smetana and Dvořák. Opera News declared it #1 on its list of 2011’s “Twelve Best Recital Discs” & it received Classica’s coveted “Choc de l’année 2011”. In 2013 a Verdi album was released. Since 2012 Piotr Beczala is an exclusive artist of Deutsche Grammophon and released his second album “The French Collection” with the yellow label in February, 2015.

His DVD releases include a series of performances from the Zurich Opera including: Rigoletto, La Traviata, Die lustige Witwe, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Die Zauberflöte and Simplicius (all on Arthaus), as well as Don Giovanni (EMI). Also available are Der Rosenkavalier (TDK) from Salzburg, Don Giovanni (Decca), Rusalka alongside Renée Fleming (Decca) and Lucia di Lammermoor from the MET (DG). Other recent DVD releases include the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with Christian Thielemann leading the Wiener Philharmoniker (Unitel/C Major) and the Farewell Concert for the Wiener Staatsoper’s long standing Intendant, Ioan Holender (DG), among many others.

Booklet for Nachtviolen - Schubert: Lieder