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Elina Garanca - Malcolm Martineau

Brahms, Schumann Lieder

Deutsche Grammophon

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Brahms: 5 Gesange, Op. 71: III. Geheimnis
1 Schumann: Frauenliebe und -leben, Op. 42 / I. Seit ich ihn gesehen  
2 II. Er, der Herrlichste von allen  
3 III. Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben  
4 IV. Du Ring an meinem Finger  
5 V. Helft mir, ihr Schwestern  
6 VI. Süsser Freund, du blickest  
7 VII. An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust  
8 VIII. Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan  
9 Brahms: Gesänge, Op. 3 Nos. 1-6 / I. Liebestreu  
10 Brahms: Lieder und Gesänge, Op. 63, Nos. 1-9 / VIII. Heimweh II  
11 Brahms: Lieder (5), Op. 107 / V. Mädchenlied  
12 Brahms: Gesänge, Op. 3 Nos. 1-6 / III. Liebe und Frühling II  
13 Brahms: Gesänge (5), Op. 72 / III. O kühler Wald  
14 IV. Verzagen  
15 Brahms: Lieder (5), Op. 94 / IV. Sapphische Ode  
16 Brahms: Lieder (5), Op. 47 / IV. O liebliche Wangen  
17 Brahms: Gesänge, Op. 71 Nos. 1-5 / III. Geheimnis  
18 Brahms: Lieder (4), Op. 96 / II. Wir wandelten  
19 Brahms: Gesänge (5), Op. 72 / I. Alte Liebe  
20 Brahms: Gesänge, Op. 43 Nos. 1-4 / II. Die Mainacht  
21 I. Von ewiger Liebe  
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For Elina Garanca, the Lied is the most intimate of musical forms. Whereas in opera, for example, one singer may be directly reacting to another, performing Lieder is about the expression of one person's innermost feelings: "There are no limits to longing and imagination in Lieder." The Latvian mezzo has now recorded her first solo recital album devoted exclusively to this genre, choosing works that she has been performing live on stage for many years with the aim of documenting her personal interpretations of some classics of the German song repertoire. The album is released today, 6 November, 2020, by Deutsche Grammophon. 

The programme opens with Schumann's song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben op. 42. Composed in 1840, it offers a chronological narrative of the different stages in the life of a woman. Garanca sees the cycle as resembling a never-ending journey that can be undertaken at any age, and which you see from a fresh perspective and with greater intensity as you acquire each new experience in your own life. A criticism often levelled at the texts is that they portray women in an overly traditional light. Garanca, however, thinks this is not a work about oppression or self-sacrifice, but rather – in a positive sense – about "wanting to surrender yourself lovingly". 

To complement the Schumann, she has chosen a selection of Lieder by Brahms – including Liebestreu op.3 no.1, Geheimnis op.71 no.3, Heimweh II op.63 no.8 and Von ewiger Liebe op.43 no.1 – basing her choice of material on the desire to juxtapose songs expressing very different states of mind. When it comes to Brahms's Lieder Garanca particularly appreciates his harmonic writing, which is so rich that she often thinks in orchestral terms when interpreting them. The composer's down-to-earth idiom is also close to her heart: "Brahms always touches me. He is genuine, earnest and sincere."

Garanca is accompanied on this album by Scottish pianist Malcolm Martineau, a sensitive and experienced musician who has long been her trusted partner in exploring these emotional soundworlds. The pair have often performed this repertoire together in recital, and teamed up once again to make this recording in Berlin in July 2020. 

The album is yet another milestone in the career of Elina Garanca, who has been one of the world's best-known singers for more than 20 years, enthralling audiences in both opera house and concert hall with her colourful and agile voice, technical brilliance and exceptional charisma. In recent years she has begun turning to the heavier dramatic repertoire, making her debuts as Santuzza in the verista opera Cavalleria rusticana and as Princess Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlos. Verdi's Amneris (Aida) and Wagner's Kundry (Parsifal) are on the schedule for 2021. As she embarks on this new operatic chapter, she is keen to showcase a very different facet of her art with these recordings of Schumann and Brahms. "I love contrasts," she explains. "I want to demonstrate that I can still whisper and be tender and soft and intimate; that three notes on the piano

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