Brooklyn Art Song Society Opens 14th Season With CIRCLE I: Clara, Robert, and Johannes

Led by Artistic Director Michael Brofman, Brooklyn Art Song Society opens its 14th season on Friday, October 6, 2023 at 7:30PM with Circles I: Clara, Robert, and Johannes.

The first installment in a six-part series exploring the musical and social connections between composers throughout music history centers around the complex relationship between Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann, and Robert Schumann. Soprano Elisabeth Marshall, mezzo-soprano Katherine Lerner, baritone Gregory Feldmann, bass-baritone Brian Mextorf, and pianist Joel Harder join Artistic Director Michael Brofman at the piano. The concert follows a lecture by Dean Whiteside, Goethe-Institut New York’s Library and Information Project Manager.

Clara and Robert Schumann were personally introduced to Johannes Brahms in 1853 and quickly became ardent supporters of his work. Robert Schumann, a noted critic, was integral in the launch of Brahms’ career and famously described him as a genius akin to Beethoven. Shortly after their meeting, however, Robert Schumann’s long-standing struggles with mental health worsened and he was committed to an asylum until his death in 1856. During the time before Robert Schumann’s death, Brahms stepped in as a surrogate head of the Schumann householdWhile the debate about the nature of Clara Schumann and Brahms’ relationship continues, the musical references and interconnections in their compositions reflect how they artistically inspired one another for many years after Robert Schumann’s death, and both composers pay tribute to him with their work.

“It’s always of interest to humanize the composers whose music we love and to understand them not as abstractions but as flesh-and-blood like ourselves,” said Artistic Director Michael Brofman on programming this concert. “With this particular trio, understanding their personal lives is integral to understanding their music.”

BASS’ 2023–24 seasons continues with Circles II: The Wagnarians on Friday, November 3, 2023 at 7:30PM, featuring soprano Tami Petty, mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert, baritones Mario Diaz-Moresco and Brian James Myer, and pianists Dimitri Dover and Spencer Myer and on Friday, December 3, 2023 at 7:30PM with Circles III: The Second Viennese School featuring sopranos Maggie Finnegan and Jennifer Zetlan, mezzo-soprano Kate Maroney, and pianists Michael Brofman, Eric Huebner (New York Philharmonic), and Nana Shi.

BASS is pleased to once again offer its Digital Concert Hall Subscription, which reaches audiences all over the world. The subscription includes free admission and automatic RSVP for all in person concerts (excluding the Dichter Project), unlimited on demand viewing of BASS’ entire season, complete programs, notes, texts and translations before each concert, access to BASS’ performance archive, and more..

Event information:
Circles I: Clara, Robert, and Johannes
Friday, October 6, 2023 at 7:30PM
First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn
119 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Link: https://brooklynartsongsociety.org/circles-i-clara-robert-and-johannes/

Program:
Clara Schumann, selected songs:
Ich stand in dunklen Träumen Op. 13 no. 1Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen Op. 12 no.1 Liebst du um Schönheit Op. 12 no. 2Warum willst du and're fragen Op. 12 no. 3
An einem lichten Morgen Op. 23 no. 2Johannes Brahms, selected songs:
Ständchen, op 106 no 1
Minnelied Op. 71 no. 5
Sapphische Ode Op. 94 no. 4
Geheimnis Op. 71 no. 3
Wie Melodien Op. 105 no 1.
Verzagen Op. 72 no. 4
Die Mainacht Op. 43 no. 2
Von ewige liebe Op. 43 no. 1Robert Schumann: Dicherliebe, Op. 48
Im wunderschönen Monat Mai
Aus meinen Tränen sprießen
Die Rose, die Lilie
Wenn ich in deine Augen seh'
Ich will meine Seele tauche
Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome
Ich grolle nicht
Und wüssten's die Blumen
Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen
Hör' ich das Liedchen klingen
Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen
Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen
Ich hab' im Traum geweinet
Allnächtlich im Traume
Aus alten Märchen winkt es
Die alten, bösen Lieder

Artists:
Elisabeth Marshall, soprano
Katherine Lerner, mezzo-soprano
Gregory Feldmann, baritone
Brian Mextorf, bass-baritone
Michael Brofman, piano
Joel Harder, piano

Brooklyn Art Song Society’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.The New Voices Festival is made possible in part by support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In Person Concerts: Individual tickets are “Pay What You Wish” with a minimum of $10 and a suggested general admission price of $35.* Please note: All tickets purchased at the suggested price or higher include a month-long pass to the digital concert hall. Digital Concert Hall subscribers receive free admission to all performances*.
*Excluding The Dichter Project

The Dichter Project: Individual Tickets: $50 (not included in Digital Subscription Package)

Digital Concert Hall: Annual Subscriptions: $111.99/year or $10.99/month. Includes free Admission to In Person Concerts, unlimited on demand viewing of BASS’s entire season, complete programs, notes, texts and translations, and a bonus listening guide made available before each concert, exclusive access to full episodes of Song and Wine, BASS’s hit web series.

Individual tickets and Digital Subscriptions available at www.brooklynartsongsociety.org

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