Schubert's Schwanengesang

This recital features Schubert's Schwanengesang, paired with Errollyn Wallen's The Lake.

Schwanengesang (Swansong), D 957, is a posthumously assembled collection of 14 late lieder by Franz Schubert, published in 1829 as his final musical testament. Composed in 1828 just before his death at age 31, it features settings of poems by Ludwig Rellstab (7 songs), Heinrich Heine (6 songs), and Johann Gabriel Seidl (1 song).

Unlike Winterreise, Schwanengesang is not a strictly unified narrative, but rather a collection ordered by the publisher, Tobias Haslinger, that flows from light, hopeful romanticism to existential despair.

Errollyn Wallen's The Lake is a 21st-century song cycle composed as a reflection on Schubert’s Schwanengesang. It was premiered in 2022 to showcase a contemporary take on classic song forms. Errollyn Wallen CBE is a prolific, Belize-born British composer and performer, recognized as one of the world's most performed living classical composers. Appointed Master of the King's…