FULL Alt-Rhapsodie (Brahms) Lucerne 2014 Andris Nelsons, Sara Mingardo

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: Alt-Rhapsodie  
• Composer: Brahms Johannes  
• Libretto: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe  
• Venue & Opera Company: KKL Lucerne, Switzerland  
• Recorded: August 15/16, 2014
• Type: Concert Live
• Singers: Sara Mingardo
• Conductor: Andris Nelsons  
• Orchestra: Lucerne Festival Orchestra  
• Chorus: Bavarian Radio Choir  
• Chorus Master: Gerald Häussler  
• Stage Director:   
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: Accentus  
• Date Published: 2015  
• Format: DVD & BD
• Quality Video: 5 Audio:5
• Subtitles: yessubs, desubs  

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

  Quote Wikipedia:
  “The Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53, is a composition for contralto, male chorus, and orchestra by Johannes Brahms, a setting of verses from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Harzreise im Winter. It was written in 1869, as a wedding gift for Robert and Clara Schumann’s daughter, Julie. Brahms scholars have long speculated that the composer may have had romantic feelings for Julie, which he may have integrated into the text and music of the Alto Rhapsody. The text, with its metaphysical portrayal of a misanthropic soul who is urged to find spiritual sustenance and throw off the shackles of his suffering, has powerful parallels in Brahms’s life and character.

  The work is in three sections: the first two, in a chromatically dense and wandering C minor, are for the soloist and orchestra and describe the pain of the misanthropic wanderer. The second section is an aria in all but name. The third section, in a nominal C major, brings in the male chorus, which joins the soloist in a plea to a celestial spirit for an abatement of the wanderer’s pain. The third part of the Rhapsody has similarities of vocal and choral style to A German Requiem, which was written the previous year.”

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