Samuel Hasselhorn is one of the most distinctive baritones of his generation. Like any German singer, he is part of the long tradition of performers of Schubert’s indispensable *Winterreise*, a legendary song cycle that revolutionized the genre.
Tackling this monumental work is never merely an exercise in style: it is a challenge.
Schubert died in 1828, at the age of thirty-one, and it seems he gave his very best in the final months of his life. Indeed, the extensive cycle of twenty-four lieder titled *Winter Journey* dates from 1827; it is both a self-portrait of the musician in search of himself and a dramatic journey through an intimate genre.
Here, Schubert expands the miniature form and turns each lied into an increasingly poignant stage: loneliness, rebellion, sarcasm, despondency—all these moods run through these twenty-four landmarks of a distressed soul that encounters a raven, a hurdy-gurdy player, a linden tree, a young girl—and at the end, something that is both death and transfiguration.
“Not only is no instruction in the score omitted, but, above all, each performer’s personal interpretation of the Lied and their absolute rapport give rise to an inspired performance, where the profound meaning of the poetry is conveyed through subtle inflections that offer a fresh perspective, despite the hundreds of recordings left behind by their predecessors, from the most illustrious to the most modest. We are truly swept away, kept on the edge of our seats by the expressive power of this performance.” – ForumOpera
Philippe Cassard, piano
Samuel Hasselhorn, baritone
SCHUBERT
Winterreise, D.911
Cycle of 24 Lieder based on poems by Wilhelm Müller
Doors open at 10 a.m. Breakfast provided by the association
