{"id":101999,"date":"2024-02-29T15:34:42","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T20:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=101999"},"modified":"2024-03-01T12:12:21","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T17:12:21","slug":"preview-toronto-mendelssohn-choir-takes-new-arrangement-schuberts-winterreise-women-composers-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/02\/29\/preview-toronto-mendelssohn-choir-takes-new-arrangement-schuberts-winterreise-women-composers-era\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | The Toronto Mendelssohn Singers Takes On A New Arrangement Of Schubert\u2019s Winterreise & Women Composers Of The Era"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R:
L-R: Franz Schubert, an engraving copied from a painting by A.W. Rieder (From the New York Public Library Collection, public domain); Fanny Mendelssohn- Hensel, portrait by R. Marowsky at Mendelssohnhaus in Leipzig (Photo: Yair Haklai<\/a>\/CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED<\/a>)\/cropped); Philip Chiu (Photo courtesy of the artist); Brett Polegato (Photo courtesy of the artist); Clara Schumann, circa 1839 (From a lithograph by Andreas Staub, 1806-1839\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Toronto Mendelssohn Singers will be performing a new arrangement of Schubert\u2019s Winterreise, along with selections from Clara Schumann and Fanny Hensel at their next concert. Canadian baritone Brett Polegato and pianist Philip Chiu will join TMC under the baton of Jean-S\u00e9bastien Vall\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

The concert takes place on March 16.<\/p>\n

The Music<\/h2>\n

Schubert\u2019s Winterreise<\/h3>\n

Schubert\u2019s song cycle (D. 911, published as\u00a0Op. 89 in 1828) incorporates 24 poem written by Wilhelm Muller. It was their second collaboration after \u00a0Die sch\u00f6ne M\u00fcllerin, composed in 1823. Poet M\u00fcller was also Imperial Librarian at\u00a0Dessau\u00a0in\u00a0Prussia, and a soldier, and he died in 1827, most likely never having heard either work performed.<\/p>\n

Winterreise was originally written for a tenor soloist, but Schubert himself was fond of transposing it for different voicings. It has become one of the most treasured works in the art song repertoire.<\/p>\n

The composition is written in two main parts, each consisting of 12 songs. They are all united by a common theme, that of unrequited love. The protagonist is a young man who wanders the countryside at night contemplating his despair after his beloved leaves him for another. The unifying theme and a kind of storyline add drama and an emotional subtext to the music.<\/p>\n

According to historical records and anecdotes of Schubert\u2019s friends and colleagues, the composer was in a deep depression when he wrote the now famous song cycle.<\/p>\n

The concert features a new adaptation for choir, baritone, and piano by Gregor Meyer.<\/p>\n

Clara & Fanny<\/h3>\n

The program also includes Clara Schumann<\/strong>\u2019s Ich stand in dunkle Tra\u0308umen\u00a0Op.13 No. 1 and Liebst du um Sch\u00f6nheit\u00a0Op. 12 No. 2, both arranged by James McCullough.<\/p>\n

Clara Schumann\u2019s career as pianist, composer and piano teacher was enormously influential over the music and practice of her time. She was a child prodigy, trained by her father from a very early age. Clara was touring as a concert pianist by age 11. After marrying Robert Schumann, their eight children put a damper on her compositional output, but she regained her concert career as a widow after Robert\u2019s early demise.<\/p>\n

She left a number of compositions, including lieder and choral works.<\/p>\n

Fanny Hensel<\/strong>\u2019s Lockung\u00a0Op. 3 No. 1 and Sch\u00f6ne Fremde\u00a0Op. 3 No. 2 round out the concert\u2019s second half.<\/p>\n

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel\u00a0struggled with juggling her roles as composer and woman during her lifetime, an era when deviation from traditional roles had an enormous social cost. Fanny\u2019s burgeoning gifts as a musician and composer, while recognized by her family, were also restricted by her family so as not to ruffle the feathers of Berlin\u2019s upper classes, which they were hoping to join. At 14, her father abruptly wrote to her that he was ending her musical education.<\/p>\n

Felix, it had to be said, also did his part to dampen his sister\u2019s sense of her own talents. She still composed while tending to family and other traditionally acceptable pursuits, but would hang on her brother\u2019s opinions, and abandon anything he claimed to dislike. With a supportive husband, however, she continued to compose, and became one of Europe\u2019s famous musical presenters of the day, using her home to program concerts for her wide circle of friends and family.<\/p>\n

The Soloists<\/h2>\n

Brett Polegato, baritone<\/h3>\n

Brett is a regular performer on the world\u2019s opera and concert stages, including the Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Concertgebouw, the Op\u00e9ra National de Paris, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Teatro Real, Roy Thomson Hall, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall, among others. As a soloist performing Vaughan Williams\u2019\u00a0A Sea Symphony\u00a0(Telarc) with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, he appears in the Grammy Awards\u2019 Best Classical Recording of 2003.<\/p>\n

Among many other guest appearances around the world, the University of Toronto graduate has also performed in Toronto in Tafelmusik\u2019s Messiah. Most recently, he was in Vienna early in the New Year making his debut as Capulet in Gounod’s Rom\u00e9o et Juliette with the Theater an der Wein.<\/p>\n

Philip Chiu, piano<\/h3>\n

Acclaimed Canadian pianist Philip Chiu was the inaugural winner of the M\u00e9c\u00e9nat Musica Prix Goyer, and is a member of the Juno award-winning piano quartet Ensemble Made in Canada. In 2023, his album Fables won the Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year (Solo Artist). The recording is one of three that feature original commissions from Canadian composers such as Barbara Assiginaak and Alice Ping Yee Ho, set alongside music by Ravel and Debussy.<\/p>\n

Along with his work as a soloist, Philip is a dedicated chamber and collaborative musician, and has appeared in recitals with renowned musicians such as James Ehnes, Regis Pasquier, and Matt Haimovitz. Along with pianist Janelle Fung, he is part of the Fung-Chiu Duo.<\/p>\n

Philip is also an educator and coach based at McGill University.<\/p>\n