Vienna: Fin de Siècle (2018)

performed by Barbara Hannigan (soprano), Reinbert de Leeuw (piano)
composed by Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Alma Mahler, Anton Webern, Arnold Schoenberg, Hugo Wolf

Soprano Barbara Hannigan has become something of a cult favorite with her deep dives into specific and unusual repertories. Her self-presentation in concert is unorthodox and marked by full-scale efforts to communicate the essence of the music at hand, in works ranging from Berio to Gershwin. So it is with this set of songs from the decade and a half on either side of 1900 in Vienna. The enjoyment begins with the physically passionate cover, an example of her way of personifying the music's spirit. Hannigan's is an utterly ... Read More

Soprano Barbara Hannigan has become something of a cult favorite with her deep dives into specific and unusual repertories. Her self-presentation in concert is unorthodox and marked by full-scale efforts to communicate the essence of the music at hand, in works ranging from Berio to Gershwin. So it is with this set of songs from the decade and a half on either side of 1900 in Vienna. The enjoyment begins with the physically passionate cover, an example of her way of personifying the music's spirit. Hannigan's is an utterly distinctive voice, edgy and coruscating, and she knows how to tone down her considerable virtuosic powers to the dimensions of the music, such as that here, intended for small rooms. She explores the early, tonal (although sometimes barely so) songs of Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg, delivering insight into the controversial Richard Dehmel (attacked by the proto-fascist, German right wing) and other poets, with expertly sensitive accompaniment from her collaborator Reinbert de Leeuw.... Read Less