Wagner the songwriter

Richard Wagner's work abounds with artistic creations on a massive scale. These, the ten grand operas (with Rienzi, Das Liebesverbot and Die Feen also sometimes included) remain a favourite spectacle for posterity. But there was also a lyrical side – one thinking in terms of smaller forms – to Wagner, who composed altogether 20 songs with piano accompaniment, either because the mood struck him or because fate brought him the task, as well as choral transcriptions, piano pieces, cantatas and concert arias. On the “zero” day of RingFest, we will be presenting this vocally oriented Wagner who readily composed music to text written by others – welcoming inspiration from both Goethe and his beloved Mathilde Wesendonck – and even writing a “Flohlied” (“Song of the Flea”) and a lullaby.

Wagner: Songs

Featuring: Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz, Beatrix Fodor, Bori Keszei, Zoltán Bátki Fazekas (voice), Bálint Zsoldos (piano)

Host: Ferenc László