Composer-pianist Friedrich Heinrich Kern and soprano Reilly Bianchi Nelson present Kurt Weill’s Songs of Glass and Iron, an event that combines concert and musical theatre, on January 29. The performance explores themes of displacement and belonging through the artistry of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.
Kurt Weill’s Songs Of Glass And Iron blends iconic songs, the textures created by glass resonance, and improvised electronic soundscapes, using a contemporary sensibility to reframe and reimagine Weill’s music. You can expect a mashup of cabaret music, modern urban life, and more.
“Weill’s outsider perspective — Jewish German composer in exile — speaks powerfully to modern wanderers and people who live between worlds,” says Nelson in a statement. “We’re interested in the possibility that exists in displacement, in translation, in never quite arriving.”
The Performance
What is human intimacy in a world that’s increasingly dictated by financial markets, migration, and forgetting the past? These are themes that speak as loudly today as they did in Weill’s time.
Through the performance, Nelson and Kern will guide the audience through a series of imaginary rooms that examine love, displacement, labour, and loss. Theatricality is at the forefront of Weill’s work, created with a juxtaposition of art and pop culture, and drenched in irony and social satire. In Songs of Glass and Iron, it’s paired with transparent, even fragile, sound worlds to evoke a unique atmosphere.
Weill’s iconic songs (Je ne t’aime pas, Youkali, Nanna’s Lied) are woven together with electronics, improvisation, and spoken text in both English and German. Kern plays piano, electronics, and resonant glass to create poignant soundscapes that complement the journey of the performance.
“These songs were written by a composer in exile,” Kern notes. “Glass sounds bring an otherworldly quality — something suspended between presence and absence, belonging and displacement.”
Pamenar, the venue, is an intimate setting ideal for the performance. “Weill belongs in warm cafés and underground salons, not only in the concert hall,” Nelson adds. “This is where Songs of Glass and Iron comes to life.”
Performers
Reilly Bianchi Nelson, soprano
Canadian soprano Reilly Bianchi Nelson focuses music with a historical perspective, infused with drama and feeling. She grew up in Sault Ste. Marie in Northern Ontario in an Italian-Scottish family. She connected as a child to the emotions of the Italian song tradition, and stays close to that heritage today.
Reilly has also become a specialist in the works of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, and garnered second place in the Lotte Lenya Competition.
She’s now based in Toronto, where she performs frequently in the Italian cultural community in both prominent and intimate venues. Her background includes performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Pacific Opera Victoria, Cincinnati Opera, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Tapestry Opera, and in the Glimmerglass Festival world premiere of Tenor Overboard. She recently performed Kaija Saariaho’s From the Grammar of Dreams with The Happenstancers as part of The Royal Conservatory of Music’s 21C Music Festival.
Friedrich Heinrich Kern, electronics & piano
German composer, pianist, and glass harmonicist Friedrich Heinrich Kern studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim, followed by a year studying traditional Korean music at the Seoul National University. He earned a PhD from New York University.
His compositions include works for acoustic instruments for soloists, chamber ensembles, and full orchestras, as well as his work in electronic music and media. He has performed and composed music throughout the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Today he divides his time between New York and Paris, creating music that blends classical and contemporary sensibilities.
The Event
Kurt Weill’s Songs of Glass and Iron takes place January 29 at Pamenar in Toronto’s Kensington Market.
The Program
Songs by Kurt Weill:
- Je ne t’aime pas
- Youkali
- Surabaya Johnny
- Nanna’s Lied
- Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib?
- Ballade vom ertrunkenen Mädchen
And:
- Original electronic compositions and improvisations by Friedrich Heinrich Kern
- Bilingual spoken texts (German/English) by Friedrich Heinrich Kern
Find tickets and event details [HERE].
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