EICHENDORFF TWO WAYS

 Michael Brofman, William Socolof, Elisabeth Marshall, and Brandon Bell

We have long been a fan of the Brooklyn Art Song Society and a great admirer of the  illuminating programs designed by Artistic Director Michael Brofman. Our regular attendance having been disrupted by Covid and geographical distance, we looked forward to our pilgrimage to Brooklyn for a very special concert, part of The Dichter Project. This year's entry focused on the poetry of Joseph von Eichendorff, a major star in the firmament of Germany's 19th c. Romanticism.

Indeed, his poetry is the most often set of all of Germany's poets, and it is easy to see why. Reading it aloud in German feels like a musical experience. His lines rhyme and scan and beg to be set to music. Apparently, we are not alone in this opinion. Among the many composers who have set his poetry are Schumann,  Wolf, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Pfitzner, Strauss, and Zemlinsky. For last night's concert, Schumann and Wolf were the chosen two.

In our opinion, Schumann made the more likeable of the two. There is something about Schumann's melodic invention that stays in the ear long after the hearing. His writing is entirely sincere and direct; it goes straight to the heart but is also "pictorial" in that it inspires the imagination to create a scene.

Brandon Bell, the baritone to whom was given the first half of the program, comprising Liederkreis, Op.39 , took his cue from the writing and delivered each of the dozen songs in the same sincere direct fashion. Yes, we have heard more dramatic performances of, say, "Waldesgespräch" but we found no fault in Mr. Bell's interpretation which evinced his fine baritonal texture.

We beg your indulgence Dear Reader, for a couple personal stories. Once, riding through Bhutan with a non-English speaking driver, we listened to a tape playing a folk song in Bhutanese. Of course, we did not understand the words but we immediately felt the same emotions we feel when listening to "In der Fremde". Later, we requested the guide to ask the driver what that song was about. You have probably guessed it--a man far from his homeland feeling nostalgia and missing his parents!

The second story is a bit more embarrassing. With all of the arrogance of a first year composition student, we chose Eichendorff's "Wehmut" to set to music. We own that the melody wasn't bad but we knew nothing about writing for piano and the piece lies hidden at the bottom of some drawer. It was like trying to rewrite Shakespeare and we are sure that our composition teacher worked very hard to hide his amusement.

Returning now to last night's excellent concert, the second half comprised settings of different works by Hugo Wolf. We had hoped to hear at least one of the same songs for comparison with Schumann's settings but that was not to be the case. The set was shared between soprano Elisabeth Marshall and bass-baritone William Socolof who seems to be making a big splash in the music scene lately, winning lots of prizes.

We find Wolf's music to be far less accessible to the ear than Schumann's and probably far more difficult to sing. The piano part seems to be denser and the tender moments fewer and farther between. Regular readers will recall that we have great antipathy for the music stand and our heart sank to see both singers glancing down and looking up again, such that the communicative spell was broken.

Mr. Socolof was not the singer listed in the season's brochure so we are going to cut him some slack, imagining that he was not given sufficient time to memorize the nine songs. We have a high opinion of his artistry but we found our attention focusing more on Mr. Brofman's intense piano performance. The stentorian nature of "Der Freund" gave way to the charming story of the feckless "Der Musikant", told with some frisky staccato. 

At this point, soprano Elisabeth Marshall took over for "Verschwiegene Liebe" and continued to use that loathed music stand. We cannot think of an excuse for this since the singer was listed on the original season's program and had plenty of time to learn three songs. We would welcome another opportunity to hear her sing under different circumstances.

We are sure that there were audience members who did not mind but we attend lieder recitals to feel the contact with the poet and the composer, as channeled by the performer. We want to feel that connection and when it is missing, we have the thought that we may as well have stayed home and listened to a CD (of which we have a huge collection, although we understand no one listens to CD's anymore).

And so, we shifted our attention to the piano which Mr. Brofman plays so well. Each song was given its due. We particularly enjoyed the tender moments of "Nachtzauber". In "Soldat I" Mr. Brofman captured both the martial rhythms and also the humor of a man who will escape if his sweetheart speaks of marriage. 

To return to the topic of Eichendorff, he was not only a poet but also a novelist, a critic, and a playwright. It is interesting to note that much of his poems were integral parts of his novellas. One might find it amusing to read the poetry and to try to imagine the character that speaks it and what the situation was. Perhaps this knowledge might yield a fascinating evening!

© meche kroop

2023 GEORGE AND NORA LONDON FOUNDATION COMPETITION FINALS

 

Pianist Maestro Michael Fennelly, Foundation President John H. Hauser, and finalists in the 2023 Competition

The gracious presence of the late Nora London was greatly missed but we received a warm welcome from John H. Hauser, President of the George and Nora London Foundation. The prizes awarded in this competition are generous and the winners generally go on to great careers. The twelve finalists were of the very highest caliber and the judging must have been extremely difficult. We were glad not to have been among them! We love this competition because all finalists walk away with great honor as well as financial benefit.

If you must know which five of the twelve received the greatest honor, you must look on the foundation's website. We are sure it made a difference to the competitors but to our ears, they were all winners. There seemed to be more large voices this year and also a preponderance of sopranos and tenors with a lone mezzo-soprano, a sole bass-baritone, and a singular counter-tenor.

Regardless of who won the major prizes, several performances suited our taste to the point of lingering in our memory. That they just happen to be three beautiful young women "should" be considered irrelevant but it surely doesn't hurt one's career to be as appealing to the eye as to the ear.

Karoline Podolak put a smile on our face with a spirited performance of "Je suis Titania" from Ambroise Thomas' Mignon. There was charm and expressiveness in spades, utilized to underscore the fioritura which was cleanly delivered. It was altogether enchanting.

No less enchanting was the bright soprano of Erika Bakoff who performed "A vos jeux amis" from Thomas' Hamlet. It seems curious that we have heard very little of Thomas' works and here we got to hear two on the same program. We got to realize how well he writes for young light sopranos! Along with the lovely vocal line, we appreciated a terrific trill and a smoothly descending scale passage.

The role of Sophie in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier must impress the audience in the same fashion as Sophie herself is impressed by the attention paid her by Count Rofrano as he delivers the silver rose. In this case, Elena Villalon succeeded in conveying innocence and wonder with a sweet coloration to the voice and the assumption of a modest demeanor. It was a completely convincing characterization.

We have been hearing quite a bit of "Aleko's Cavatina" from the Rachmaninoff opera that we have never seen in its entirety. Poor Aleko sings of his despair, his Gypsy wife having fallen for a young man of her own people.  Somehow we were reminded of old King Philips's aria "Ella giammai m'amo" from Verdi's Don Carlo in which the singer must generate sympathy for a murderous man. At this task, bass-baritone William Socolof succeeded admirably  with a carefully modulated performance, generous tone, and exemplary Russian.

Contrasting with the lowest voice in the competition was the highest male voice, that of counter-tenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen who performed "Inumano Fratel...Stille Amare" from Händel's Tolomeo in which the eponymous title character believes he has drunk poison and cannot make it through the da capo. Mr. Cohen dazzled with his mastery of this rare fach and it's vocal fireworks. If our opinion inspires you, you can hear his video for yourself on YouTube.

It is always interesting in a competition to be introduced to an aria with which one is unfamiliar but it is an entirely different story when a young singer tackles a very familiar aria. We feel the satisfaction one feels with the familiar but we are looking for something original or different in which the singer tells us something new about the character. Tenor Matthew Cairns took on "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" from Bizet's Carmen and he did so with full tone and a lovely vocal quality. We particularly admired the dynamic variety and a smooth decrescendo.

Tenor Joseph Sacchi has a large powerful instrument just right for the role of Max in Weber's Die Freischütz. "Durch die Walder, durch die Auen" was performed in clearly enunciated German, augmented by meaningful gesture.

We always enjoy arias more when we understand the words and tenor Jordan Loyd delivered "Inutile regrets" from the final act of Berlioz' Les Troyens in fine French. He employed his fine vibrato to express Énée's despair in an emotional performance.

Another highly emotional performance was that of tenor Ricardo Garcia who put 110% into his portrayal of Lensky facing death in Tchaikovky's Eugene Onegin. The vocal line was lovely and the gestures were Russian in their extravagance.

The only mezzo-soprano on the program, Olivia Johnson gave an expressive performance of "O ma lyre immortelle" from Gounod's Sapho. (The program listed the composer as Massenet and indeed Massenet did write a piece of that name almost a half-century later but we are quite sure that what we heard was from the Gounod.)

The only Puccini aria on the program was from Edgar, about which we know little. Amber Monroe has a sizable soprano with an expressive vibrato put to good use in "Addio mio dolce Amore" sung by the faithful Fidelia.

Perhaps it was the stress of singing first but having heard tenor Alexander McKissic several times in the past, we didn't think we were hearing him at his best in "Se all'impero amici dei" from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, sung by the merciful titular character. He sounded best in the pianissimi passages with a lovely legato but as the volume increased his tone sounded rough which did not suit Tito's character. We found ourselves wishing he had not been first on the program.

Splendid accompanying in all these varied styles was provided by Maestro Michael Fennelly.

© meche kroop

COSI FAN JUILLIARD

William Socolof, James Ley, Kathleen O’Mara, Mer Wohlgemuth, Megan Moore, and Erik van Heyningen (photo by Richard Termine)

One cannot find better voices than one finds at Juilliard Vocal Arts. It was a revelation to hear six healthy young voices interpreting the characters of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte just as they should be. In the incredibly challenging role of Fiordiligi, soprano Kathleen O'Mara fearlessly tackled the high lying tessitura and broad upward jumps of "Come scoglio" and "Per pietà" maintaining clarity of tone in two very different emotional states.

As the somewhat more mutable Dorabella, mezzo-soprano Megan Moore dazzled us with her histrionic outpouring in "Smanie implacabili" and later, as her resolve weakens, with "É amore un ladroncello". We particularly appreciated the varying colors as her intention changed.

The role of Despina was splendidly realized by soprano Mer Wohlgemuth whose acting was completely persuasive and whose singing never showed a hint of "technique" but rather seemed completely natural. Her dramatic intention did not vary but she had an opportunity to show off her style in "Una donna a quindici anni".

The men were similarly outstanding. James Ley made a fine Ferrando and did complete justice to the marvelously tender and melodic "Un aura amorosa", then varied his coloration effectively for the bitter "Tradito, schernito".

As his friend Guglielmo, baritone Erik van Heyningen lived up to his full potential, managing to convey both the triumph in seducing his friend's fiancée as well as disappointment in "Donne mie, le fate a tanti".

We were more than usually impressed with the performance of bass-baritone William Socolof who performed the role of Don Alfonso, lightening his substantial voice sufficiently to perform the most exquisitely precise turns in the vocal line. We love to hear voices that possess both size and flexibility.

Duets and ensembles were effectively rendered with perfect balance among the voices, giving Mozart the attention to detail that his interweaving lines demand.

In the pit we had the superb Juilliard Orchestra responding just as one would expect to the astute conducting of Nimrod David Pfeffer. When we could tear our eyes away from the stage we enjoyed watching his expressive hand working in tandem with his precise baton. It was a performance filled with lyricism and subtlety. Nathaniel LaNasa played the harpsichord continuo.

And what about the production? Da Ponte's story was pulled up by the roots and transplanted to contemporary America. The story is set in a high school in a town called West Naples which could have been anywhere but by name alone, suggested the West coast of Florida. During the overture, the four young people have just graduated. They are therefore meant to be about 18 years old and therefore vulnerable to the machinations of the older Don Alfonso, who seemed to be an athletic coach.

Despina was transformed into a teacher and, in an original dramatic subtext, appeared to have had a one time problematic relationship with the aforementioned coach. Instead of a servant offering the girls their morning chocolate, she delivered academic papers.

Kristen Robinson's sets fell in line with this take on the story. Act I takes place in what appears to be a dormitory bathroom, complete with stalls with open doors. The "poison" taken by the "Albanians" is swigged from jugs of bleach drawn from what must be a janitorial closet.

Other scenes take place behind the bleachers of an athletic field where the two girls seem to hang out on beach chairs surrounded by detritus, including a puzzling broken bottom half of a torso--the kind used as window dressing. Or so we thought.

For the final act, the bleachers were turned around and the characters scampered up and down with some risk of stumbles. At the top was a booth to which repaired the newly formed couples for some canoodling, followed by "walks of shame".

Sara Jean Tosetti's costumes also fell in line with the story. Most effective was Despina's reserved suit with sensible shoes. The four young graduates wore motley costumes with doofy hats and, in a clever and original twist, the men did not fool their sweethearts by dressing in exotic costumes. Rather, they wore preppie clothes and neatly trimmed hair. Guess they could have fooled their sweethearts!

In one puzzling scene, Dorabella, newly mated with Guglielmo, pulls off his wig. We expected this to indicate that she recognized the ruse but the remainder of the scene did not fulfill our expectations.

When the phony rescue of the two "Albanians" takes place, Despina appears in a ridiculous and not convincing costume and when the fake marriage takes place, she appears in a white and gold jumpsuit suggesting Elvis Presley as the marriage officiant.

The audience loved all these sight gags and laughed every time the girls took selfies of themselves or used their cell phones. Did we love it?  No, we did not. We felt that the story was shoehorned into a "concept" which worked only partially. We read the notes of Director David Paul when we got home (as we usually do, to avoid coloring our perception of any work of art). His words made a case for the temporal and geographical transposition in terms of contemporary resonance.

However, regular readers will recall that we like to do the work ourself, instead of being spoon fed. We remember with overwhelming pleasure the production from seven years ago, directed by Stephen Wadsworth. It was true to time and place and told Da Ponte's story well, although darkly, with lots of anger and confusion. We spent quite a bit of time thinking about how consistent human feeling is from the 19th c. to the 21st and also about what is different.

Mr. Paul's view wound up similarly dark with no marriage at the end and no pairing off. We will say that we enjoyed the way he directed his cast and, within the framework he chose, the acting was valid and meaningful. We just didn't care for fitting the story into his Procrustean bed.  We guess it's a question of taste. We don't mind updating if such updating tells us something new but this production did not. 

© meche kroop

TAG TEAM SCHUBERTIADE

Äneas Humm, Brian Zeger, James Ley, Erik van Heyningen, and William Socolof

Last night at Alice Tully Hall, The Juilliard School Vocal Arts Department delighted us with an evening of Schubert. As far as we are concerned, no composer has equalled Schubert's output of songs; the master, in his sadly truncated life, produced over 600 songs (all of which were presented a few years ago, over the course of a year, by pianist Lachlan Glen).

When we ask what made Schubert great, it was not only his preternatural compositional skills, but his wise choice of text. The German language has a special rhythm and cadence to it and Schubert's poets created works that rhymed and scanned. This text inspired memorable melodies; indeed we have yet to walk out of a lieder recital without humming one of Schubert's terrific tunes. This is what makes music "popular" and the reason why most contemporary vocal compositions, relying as they do on lengthy abstruse prose, is so consistently forgettable.

In a talk Saturday night at the Brooklyn Public Library, Michael Brofman, Artistic Director and Founder of the Brooklyn Art Song Society, chose Schubert's "Im Frühling" as one of his two favorite songs and played a couple verses for the gathered masses. Heads bobbed and bodies swayed; one didn't even have to understand the language to get "the feels". It was this very song that opened last night's Juilliard Songfest. 

Äneas Humm is a young singer who has impressed us since his American debut with the German Forum a few years ago. He identifies as a baritone but we and our operatic companion agree that his sound has a tenorial quality--light, lyrical, and sweet. Of Swiss background, his German is naturally flawless and his delivery is filled with dramatic import. He wears each song like a fine bespoke suit. We loved the graceful crescendo on the word "hell" and the prolonged "ihr". The change to minor mode was heartbreaking.

The text of the four songs which prefaced the main event of the evening were all written by Ernst Schulze, a contemporary of Schubert; he grew up motherless and fell in love with a young woman who died of tuberculosis, an illness which claimed his own life shortly thereafter. His texts are melancholy and seem focused on loss of love, just as does Wilhelm Müller's text for Winterreise. The programming seemed appropriate since the concert was dedicated to the memory of the recently deceased and deeply mourned Sanford Sylvan. It was a fitting tribute.

Bass-baritone William Socolof employed his deeply resonant bass-baritone for "Der liebliche Stern" in which the poet sees his lost love as a star in the sky which he cannot reach; but perhaps the reflection in the water below can be reached by drowning himself; at least that is how we interpret the text. Mr. Socolof has a most interesting texture at the bottom of his register and took us straight to the depths.

Bass-baritone Erik van Heyningen has a different tonal quality that was well-suited to "An mein Herz" in which the poet recommends brave endurance in the face of grief and an indifferent universe. The beating of the heart was clearly conveyed by collaborative pianist Brian Zeger, whose incomparable artistry at accompaniment was well deserved by the four singers.

Mr. Zeger's piano was especially fine conveying all the images of nature in "Im Walde", performed by tenor James Ley who succeeded in connecting with the audience whilst holding the score, no mean feat. Mr. Ley's tenor manages to be both sweet and powerful at the same time; the restlessness of the text and the music let us know that this wanderer will never find rest.

The major part of the program was Winterreise, one of our favorite song cycles. It too is relentless in its melancholy but the grief is punctuated by anger, bitterness, sarcasm, and occasional false hope. Although the poet is not explicit about the backstory, it seems obvious that the poet found love with a young woman and intended marriage. For unknown reasons, the plan failed to come to fruition and the once-friendly town now appears as rejecting as his former sweetheart. He goes on a journey through a cold and forbidding landscape, yearning for a bed in the cemetery. Every natural element reinforces his depression and symbolizes an element in his psychology. Scholars cannot agree on whether the "leiermann" playing his hurdy-gurdy at the end of the cycle symbolizes Death. 

Some critics find the cycle rather over-cooked and histrionic. We see it as an exemplar of German Romanticism. Is it relevant today?  Just ask a young person how he feels after a romantic rejection. Some will say "whatever" and move on.  Others of a more sensitive nature may slip into depression and contemplate suicide. The lucky ones will receive psychopharmacological relief but others will succeed in self destruction.

We long ago lost count of how many times we have thrilled to this cycle. There have been only two failures, in our eyes and ears. One performance employed a modern dance company which distracted from the singing; another was presented by a scholar of sub-minimum vocal gifts who wanted to rearrange the songs to suit Müller's original ordering.

So, although we are less than enthusiastic about tinkering with this masterpiece, last night's tinkering was interesting and not offensive.  Parcelling out the two dozen songs among the four young artists was an original idea and served to emphasize the "Everyman" aspect of the story. John Giampietro's dramatic consultation was probably responsible for the staging, with each of the four artists sitting on his own piano bench; each seemed lonely, depressed, and isolated, lost in his own misery. Eye contact was avoided.

Some songs were shared by two singers and the final "Der Leiermann" involved all four in a quartet of despair. Keys were changed to accommodate each singer's fach. Holding it all together was Mr. Zeger's piano, unfailingly supportive of each singer. We loved the rippling figures in "Erstarrung",so beautifully sung by Mr. Ley who created a lovely messa di voce in "Die Krähe".

Mr. van Heyningen excelled in "Der Wegweiser" which has many relentlessly repeated notes which he made interesting by maintaining a long uninterrupted line. He was powerful and fierce in "Mut". In "Wasserflut" he seemed to bend the notes to suit the text.

Mr. Humm, who excels at the upper end of his register, successfully negotiated the low tessitura of "Der Lindenbaum", our favorite song of the cycle. Our second favorite song is "Frühlingstraum" in which his dramatic gifts permitted a shift from the false hope of the dreamer to the disillusionment of wakefulness.

The rhythmic "Die Post" was shared by Mr. van Heyningen and Mr. Socolof and the two different bass-baritones played well off one another whilst Mr. Zeger's piano introduced the horses hooves and the poet's pounding heart. Mr. Socolof also made much of the short clipped phrases of "Der stürmische Morgen" and the varied dynamics of the opening "Gute Nacht".

German diction was exemplary all around and for this we credit Marianne Barrett who coached. Start to finish it was a revelation. We may never hear Winterreise sung like this again and feel grateful for the experience.

Bravi tutti!

(c) meche kroop

NYFOS AT JUILLIARD

Shakèd Bar, Jack Kay, Jaylyn Simmons, William Socolof, Anneliese Klenetsky, Chance Jonas-O'Toole, and Gregory Feldmann in Kurt Weill's Berlin

Beloved pianist, raconteur, teacher, and song-miner Steven Blier has a special relationship with students of the Juilliard Vocal Arts Department. Every year his New York Festival of Song presents a special evening at Juilliard starring a group of gifted students, both graduate students and undergraduates. We love to hear students of opera stretch their artistry in new directions; under Maestro Blier's tutelage we hear them shine in new ways. The study of cabaret involves the use of gesture and body movement that can only enhance their operatic performance.

We love Mary Birnbaum's stage direction in everything she does and are thrilled to learn that she will be directing La Bohême in Santa Fe this summer and cannot wait to see what she will bring to one of our favorite operas. For last night's exploration of German cabaret music, she made sure that every movement and gesture was on point.

Still, the success of such an undertaking rests upon the performances themselves and these seven young artists gave their all.  There was never a moment in which we did not experience total commitment to the material and total connection with the audience. The enthusiastic applause was well deserved.

There are so many parallels between our time and Germany in the 20's and 30's that it is frightening. The lyrics written during the Weimar Republic dealt with social and political instability, great gaps between social classes, sexual shifts, and anti-war sentiment. Of course, most artists lean toward the left and we heard a great deal of satire of the ruling class.

Offerings spanned musical theater, operetta, satirical songs, and racy kabarett. The original German was often sung for the opening verse with English translation brought in for subsequent verses. We far preferred listening to the crisp sound of German, so well coached by Marianne Barrett. There was nothing terrible about the English translations but the rhymes were less pungent, less striking to the ear. 

The program notes were extensive and well worth reading. The program also included the lyrics but some of the sense was lost in the translation and one never wants to be reading along instead of paying attention to the performer. We would have preferred to hear the program in German with titles projected above. 

We do acknowledge that even a fluent German speaker might have missed a number of references that an audience contemporaneous with the original performances would have grasped. Perhaps there is no perfect solution to the presentation of material from another century and in another language.

Consequently, it was up to the singers to convey the meaning of the songs and at this, they excelled.  Tenor Chance Jonas-O'Toole with his sweet sound and William Socolof with his rich bass-baritone got the evening off to a fine start with Kurt Weill's "Berlin im Licht", accompanied by Mr. Blier's piano and Jack Gulielmetti's banjo.

Frederick Hollander's "Wenn der alte Motor wieder tackt" was brought to life by Ms. Birnbaum's clever staging and the performances of mezzo-soprano Shakèd Bar and Gregory Feldmann's resonant baritone.

Although written somewhat later (1956), we could really identify with Olaf Bienert's ballad of disconnection "Augen in der Großstadt", given a heartfelt delivery by baritone Jack Kay. We suppose that even prior to cell phones, big city folk suffered from missed connection by virtue of other distractions.

Soprano Anneliese Klenetsky created a humorous portrait of a woman fighting off unwelcome suitors in Hollander's "Tritt mir bloß nicht auf die Schuh". She was joined by all four men in the ensemble who imitated her gestures to hilarious effect.

Songs of sexual politics were particularly resonant and Ms. Bar's performance of Kurt Tucholsky's "Sleepless Lady" stuck in our mind. What woman has not resented a man falling asleep while she lies in bed with insomnia! The message was "Don't sleep in company".  Well, it sounded better in German!

Ms. Bar, Ms. Klenetsky, and soprano Jaylyn Simmons formed a terrific trio for Bienert's "That", a very cute illustration of the timelessness of male focus on sex. We loved the line "It's just that we're fond of some kind of bond, along with That".

Anyone who has regretted discarding a lover could identify with Rudolf Nelson's "Peter, Peter", a ballad beautifully rendered by Mr. Socolof.

Much fun was had at the expense of the greedy financial world in "The Lottery Agent's Tango", performed with accurate irony by Mr. Jonas-O'Toole from Kurt Weill's last work in German--Der Silbersee, written before he fled Germany and banned by the Nazis. Whilst hearing Mr. Feldmann's excellent performance of "Caesar's Death", we could understand why it was banned! Of all the works we heard it seemed most typical of the collaboration between Weill and Bertold Brecht.

Their prior Happy End included a song of gentrification which also resonated with contemporary times--"Bilbao Song". We liked Mr. Blier's honky-tonk piano accompaniment and Mr. Gulielmetti's guitar.

Ms. Simmons was superb in Bienert's "Song of Indifference" which reminded us of our present tendency to "fiddle while Rome burns". "And my purse is slowly swinging" made a good equivalent.

Although Mr. Blier's customary fascinating narration was hampered by some rather poor amplification, we were able to understand a very important point he made about the song "Wie lange noch", sung by Ms. Bar.  This was commissioned during World War II by the Voice of America to be broadcast behind enemy lines. We always thought it was about a romantic betrayal but Mr. Blier pointed out that it was about Hitler betraying the German folk.

One of the best anti-war songs we've ever heard was Eisler's "Der Graben" which really sticks it to the military-industrial complex. Will times never change! Mr. Feldmann gave it a moving interpretation.

The bitter "Denn wie man sich bettet, so liegt man" (from Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) closed the program with the entire ensemble joining in. We were glad there was an encore--Eisler's "Peace Song".

There is not room to describe all the performances but we hope we have given you the flavor of the evening--a bit sour, a bit bitter, a bit salty. We were missing something sweet so we came home and had a cookie.

(c) meche kroop