Liederabend: Nine Art Song Premieres - A Collaboration with NEC Composers and Song Lab
The Liederabend—literally, "evening of song"—dates back to the 1800s, when musicians and lovers of music would gather at someone's home, and one or more singers and a pianist would perform the songs of composers of the day. In the field of classical music, these songs are referred to as "art songs," and the German art songs are called "Lieder." In Germany, the great age of song came in the 19th century. German and Austrian composers had written music for voice with keyboard before this time, but it was with the flowering of German literature in the Classical and Romantic eras that composers found high inspiration in great poetry, sparking the genre known as the "Lied."
The tradition of the art song composition continues today, with composers from all corners of the world setting poetry in many languages, scored for voice and piano. The NEC Liederabend series presents songs in a variety of languages—not only German—dating from the 19th century up to the present day.
Special thanks to Michael Gandolfi, John Harbison, Lisa Saffer, and the NEC Composition Faculty for their help in bringing these songs to the stage.
Da-Yu Liu ’24 DMA | Piano
Artists- Mara Riley, soprano
- Sepehr Davalloukhoungar, piano
Ian Wiese ’23 DMA | Bel Canto
Artists- Rebekah Schweitzer, soprano
- Michael Banwarth, piano
Ellie Zhong ‘24 | Alone
Artists- Shiyu Zhuo, soprano
- Sepehr Davalloukhoungar, piano
Ethan Antonio Chaves ’27 MM | And he was the demon of my dreams
Artists- Olivia Sheehy, mezzo-soprano
- Michael Banwarth, piano
Haoyu Zheng ‘23 | Since There’s No Help
Artists- Josie Larsen, soprano
- Pualina Lim, piano
Claire Stephenson ‘24 | Highland Mary
Artists- Jimin Park, soprano
- Pualina Lim, piano
Changjin Ha ‘23 | Symphony of End
Artists- Benedict Hensley, baritone
- Shalun Li, piano
Lingbo Ma ’24 DMA | A Dream Within a Dream
Artists- Chihiro Asano, mezzo-soprano
- Shalun Li, piano
Alex Matheson ’24 DMA | When Ecstasy Is Inconvenient
Artists- Alexandra Henderson, soprano
- Jamie Lorusso, piano