This concert and the Pure Voice series are sponsored by the Jean & Jula Goldwurm Memorial Foundation in memory of Jula Goldwurm.
Dorothea Röschmann’s program presents songs and song cycles by three of the all-time great lied composers: Franz Schubert, Gustav Mahler, and Robert Schumann. Her final group is by Richard Wagner, a composer most often associated with opera, though his Wesendonck Lieder—composed in 1857–1858 and closely associated with his opera Tristan und Isolde—certainly rank among the finest German songs.
The second half of the program is entirely devoted to songs set to poems by women. Schumann’s last song cycle, Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart, uses verse that Mary, Queen of Scots is believed to have written and that portray her state of mind at five critical moments in her turbulent life. The words of the Wesendonck Lieder were created by Mathilde Wesendonck, wife of one of Wagner’s wealthy supporters and the woman for whom Wagner developed an ardent passion, fueling his composition of Tristan. And although Goethe wrote the text for four of Schubert’s songs, they were intended to be sung by a woman from the point of view of the fascinating character Mignon.
Born in Flensburg, Germany, Dorothea Röschmann is closely associated with the Staatsoper Berlin, where in 2016 she was awarded the title of Kammersängerin. In 1995, she gained international recognition, singing the role of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at the Salzburg Festival conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. She has since made regular returns to the festival, where her roles have included Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Ilia (Idomeneo), Nannetta (Falstaff), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Florinda (Fierrabras), and Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito) under such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Harding, Charles Mackerras, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
In 2012, Ms. Röschmann made her debut at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, singing Countess Almaviva; she returns this year to sing Florinda. She is a regular guest at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Vienna State Opera, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where she sang Desdemona in Otello with Sir Antonio Pappano.
Her concert appearances have included performances with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, and Mr. Harding; the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Mr. Harnoncourt, Daniel Barenboim, and Pierre Boulez; the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Mr. Barenboim; The Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst; the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Mr. Harding; the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest and The Philadelphia Orchestra with Mr. Nézet-Séguin; and the New York Philharmonic with Alan Gilbert.
A prestigious recitalist, Ms. Röschmann has given concerts to wide acclaim in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Edinburgh, and Munich festivals. She has sung with Mr. Barenboim at the Staatsoper Berlin, and with Mitsuko Uchida at Carnegie Hall, the Lucerne Festival, and Wigmore Hall, the live recording of which won a Grammy Award.
Recent highlights include a European tour of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Mariss Jansons and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; R. Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder with Mr. Harding and the Filarmonica della Scala, and with Mr. Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest; Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder with Marc Albrecht and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; and Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with Mr. Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. She recently made her debut as Agathe in Der Freischütz at the Staatsoper Berlin and sang the role of Dido in Dido and Aeneas at Carnegie Hall with Les Violons du Roy.
Recognized as one of the leading collaborative pianists of his generation, Malcolm Martineau has worked with many of the world’s greatest singers, including Sir Thomas Allen, Dame Janet Baker, Olaf Bär, Barbara Bonney, Ian Bostridge, Angela Gheorghiu, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Della Jones, Simon Keenlyside, Angelika Kirchschlager, Magdalena Kožená, Solveig Kringelborn, Jonathan Lemalu, Dame Felicity Lott, Christopher Maltman, Karita Mattila, Lisa Milne, Ann Murray, Anna Netrebko, Anne Sofie von Otter, Joan Rodgers, Amanda Roocroft, Michael Schade, Frederica von Stade, Sarah Walker, and Sir Bryn Terfel.
Mr. Martineau has presented his own series at Wigmore Hall and at the Edinburgh International Festival. Performing throughout Europe, he has appeared at the Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London; Teatro alla Scala in Milan; Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; Liceu Opera in Barcelona; the Philharmonie and Konzerthaus in Berlin; the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; and the Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna. He has also appeared in North America at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and in Australia at the Sydney Opera House.
Mr. Martineau has released recordings with Sir Bryn Terfel for Deutsche Grammophon; Simon Keenlyside for EMI, with whom he won a Grammy Award; Angela Gheorghiu and Barbara Bonney for Decca Classics; Magdalena Kožená for Deutsche Grammophon; Della Jones for Chandos Records; Susan Bullock for Crear Classics; Solveig Kringelborn for NMA; Amanda Roocroft for Onyx Classics; and Sarah Walker and Tom Krause for CRD. Other recordings include Schubert’s Winterreise and Schwanengesang with Florian Boesch for Onyx Classics; Heimliche Aufforderung and Scene! Concert Arias with Christiane Karg; and Portraits with Dorothea Röschmann.
This season, Mr. Martineau has appearances with Elīna Garanča, Christiane Karg, Michael Schade, and Florian Boesch; recitals at Wigmore Hall with Sylvia Schwartz, Simon Keenlyside, and Sarah Connolly; and a US tour with Dorothea Röschmann.
Born in Edinburgh, Mr. Martineau studied at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge, and the Royal College of Music. He received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2004 and was appointed an international fellow of accompaniment in 2009.
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