NAUBURG HONORS ERIN WAGNER AND VICE-VERSA

Maureen Zoltek and Erin Wagner

Having won the Naumburg Vocal Award in 2021, the impressive mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner presented a stunning recital at Manhattan School of Music, from which she received her BM in 2019. She was accompanied by the equally impressive collaborative pianist Maureen Zoltek who received her DMA from the same institution in 2013. The two artists did credit to their alma mater and to the Naumburg Foundation.

The recital was a very personal one. Ms. Wagner has strong tastes about what she wants to present and how she does so. She opened the program with Hugo Wolf's 1888 setting of the Mignon Lieder, taken from Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Leehrjahre. We are mostly familiar with the setting by Schubert and it was a challenge to wipe those easy Schubertian melodies from our brain and open our ear to the more difficult harmonies of Wolf. Will we ever be able to really hear the settings by Schumann and Tchaikovsky? The text is so compelling that it is a wonder that more composers have not made the attempt but we are glad of it.  In perfect German and with deep emotion, Ms. Wagner brought this sad tale to vivid life.

Next on the program was a contemporary work, a setting of text of Larry Eigner by David Clay Metten. In the program notes, Ms. Wagner described her connection with both poet and composer and the personal involvement was clear. Nonetheless, we found nothing in the text or vocal line to relate to and shifted our attention to the piano. Ms. Zoltek is a remarkable pianist and tackled the challenging and varied piano part with relish. We might add that her erect posture and graceful arms added to our fascination.

The first half of the program jumped from the 19th century to the 21st but the second half brought us to the 20th century with a late life composition by Francis Poulenc, one that we always enjoy hearing--the intensely dramatic "La dame de Monte Carlo" which gave Ms. Wagner an opportunity to let out all the stops dramatically, creating a character and telling her story in as fine a French as one could wish for.

The program concluded with Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs of 1953. This collection of ten songs represents texts casually inscribed by medieval monks. And what a collection it is!  Some of the texts are sacred ("St. Ita's Vision", "The Praises of God", "The Crucifixion") and some are profane ("Promiscuity") and some are just charming and worldly  ("The Monk and His Cat"). It seems likely that the authors of the text were different men with different moods and Ms. Wagner gave each writer his due.

The audience demanded an encore and we got one--"Sure on this Shining Night", a Barber setting of text by James Agee.

We have been writing about Ms. Wagner for at least six years and have witnessed her winning one competition after another. She continues to surprise us and we are willing to follow where she leads. We have said nothing this time about her vocal and linguistic strengths but they are legendary. If you wish to appreciate her growth as an artist, we urge you to enter her name in the search bar so you can catch up.

© meche kroop

OUR FIRST TIME

It was our first time hearing Poulenc's "La Dame de Monte Carlo", a 1961 setting of a work by Jean Cocteau.  To hear it sung at all would have been a treat, but to hear this scena as performed by Adrienne Danrich was a revelation.  Ms. Danrich dressed for the part of a down-on-her-luck potential suicide who is keeping herself going by gambling at Monte Carlo; she threw herself completely into the part with her grandly expansive soprano and conveyed every nuance in the piece.  A triumph!She did equal justice to four Rachmaninoff songs, our favorite of which was "Child, You are Fair as a Flower".  Her a cappella encore "Lord, I just can't keep from crying" was incredibly moving.

Baritone Sidney Outlaw sang four songs by Brahms that gave a lie to the oft-repeated claim that Brahms' songs don't measure up to those by Schubert and Schumann.  One can especially appreciate the way the vocal line and the piano reflect one another.  There is nothing lightweight about "Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer", another heartbreaker.  Switching to French, Mr. Outlaw sang the tender "Phidylé" and followed it with the intensity of "Le manoir de Rosemonde".  The songs of Henri DuParc are all little gems!  Mr. Outlaw's a cappella encore  "Fix Me Jesus" allowed him to really let loose and pour his feelings into song; this brought down the house.  A duet of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" was finely harmonized.

Mr. Bagwell's accompaniment is always exceptional.  Not only is he a genius at putting together a program and finding the right singers but his playing is always totally supportive of the singer.  The piano part of this afternoon's recital involved breezes, waves, warm fragrances and a galloping horse--all of which came through perfectly.  But it is in contemporary music that one listens more intently to the piano part (because the vocal lines are rarely lyrical) and Mr. Bagwell's playing did ample justice to the contemporary works on the program.  Drew Hemenger's setting of Langston Hughes' "Genius Child" seemed the most interesting of the set.

As the final concert of The Lotte Lehmann Foundation Recitals drew to a close, we found ourselves anticipating more to come for the next season.  In the meanwhile, we hereby notify you to save next December 1st for a recital in commemoration of World Aids Day in the Great Hall of Cooper Union.

(c) meche kroop