TU Dublin Choral Society with conductor, Simon Harden
present
Liebeslieder Walzer Op 52 and Op 65 by Johannes Brahms
TU Dublin Concert Hall, East Quad, Grangegorman Campus D07 XFF2
The Liebeslieder Walzer by Johannes Brahms are a collection of waltzes on texts by the poet Georg Friedrich Daumer on the theme of love. The German folksong is apparent in the writing and although the songs are based on the traditional waltz rhythm, Brahms creates a huge amount of variation and subtle rhythmic complexity along with conveying a range of emotions and moods. There is reference to Johann Strauss, seen by Brahms and his contemporaries as the “Waltz King”. One of the songs is even called “On the banks of the Danube”!
These love-songs achieved wide-spread popularity across Europe with a particularly exuberant reception at the London premiere in 1877. The charming short pieces that make up both Opus 52 and Opus 65 sets were probably intended originally more for the drawing room and soirees than for large concert halls. However, the scoring for piano 4-hands and the ad libitum number of voices on each part allows for a flexibility of performance in many different settings.
Conductor: Simon Harden
Piano: Andreas Ioannides and Celine Kelly
Soloists:
Sofia-Rose Deeleman, Soprano
Maedhbh Hanafin, Soprano
Jane Holland, Mezzo Soprano
Luke O'Reilly, Counter Tenor
Oisín Ó Dálaigh, Tenor
James Connolly, Bass
