Together, Hana Blažíková & Andreas Staier give form to the voice of nostalgia, longing and melancholy. The current and previous artists in residence at AMUZ bring songs by Chopin, Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn to the stage.

In 1814, Franz Schubert set the tone for the Romantic art song. He had a poetic affinity with late 18th century German poetry, and followed Goethe’s literary work closely. As the son of a bookseller and publisher, Schumann was also very fond of good literature. Allow yourself to be moved by both the poetry and his poignant musical settings. Seventeen of Chopin’s lieder were published posthumously by his friend Julian Fontana, as Opus 74. Like his piano works, these are Chopin’s personal, stylised versions of Polish music. His distant homeland is evoked more directly in the texts, written by poets in Chopin’s circle of friends who, like him, lived in exile in Paris. Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words were a typical 19th century genre: one-part keyboard pieces in which the composer expresses the inspiration and feeling of the moment: a musical snapshot, as it were. Enjoy an afternoon of warm, beautiful and poetic notes!

31 March, 2019 15:00 -- amuz

The Stabat Mater is one of the highlights of Boccherinis vocal oeuvre: he paints an intimate, poetic portrait in music of Marys fear at seeing her son on the cross. Dorothee Mields sings with spiritual depth and purity of voice. She is accompanied by the equally subtle Salagon Quartet and a double bass. They will also perform the young Felix Mendelssohn’s exceptionally refined Salve Regina, dating from 1824. The thoughtful interaction between Mields and the Salagon Quartet and the refinement of their playing result in sincere and intimate chamber music that is absolutely unmissable.

04 April, 2019 21:00 -- amuz

Inspired by the six-part Septet in E-flat major, Opus 20, which Beethoven published in 1802, Franz Schubert started composing his Octet in F major, D 803 in 1824. Schubert added a second violin to the instrumentation of Beethoven’s Septet and adopted the overarching six-part structure and progression of keys in the piece almost unaltered. But the beauty of the lilting melodies with their suggestion of the eternal, the subtle interplay of light and shadow, the expressive harmonies and sensitive melancholy of the Octet are entirely Schubert’s own. Anima Eterna Brugge combines Schubert with Franz Berwald. Berwald is considered to be Swedens most famous composer. In 1911, fellow composer Carl Nielsen remarked: “Neither money, power or the media can influence good art. There will always be a few simple, decent artists who show the way, produce good art and stand up for their work. The best example of such an artist can be found in Sweden: Berwald.” This majestic chamber music is led by the violinist Jakob Lehmann.

05 April, 2019 21:00 -- amuz

Edvard Griegs songs and solo piano music radiate Nordic tenderness and melancholy. Many of his songs are about the relationship between a mother and child. “That involvement in his personal life feels strongest to me in Moderen Synger (The Mother Sings, Opus 60, no. 2)”, Hendrickje van Kerckhove tells us. “The song, which is actually a lamentation, is the most beautiful in the entire selection, but also the most emotionally demanding.” The piano part adds a particular drama to the song. “From a pianists point of view, these pieces are well-written: the difficulty lies in the search for intimacy”, pianist Nicolas Callot adds. The duo succeeds admirably in combining emotion with a sense of genuine experience. An enrichment.

14 April, 2019 15:00 -- amuz

Arvo Pärts music has an intensity and stillness that goes straight to the bone, touching the heart of even the most hard-line atheists. Pärt intends his music to convey a spiritual power, considering this to be an essential aim of music. Passio is based on the Gospel of St. John, written for choir, solo voices and solo instruments. Vox Clamantis, with its “granite basses, clear tenors, rich altos matched with shining sopranos that contribute to this ensemble’s excellent sound, tuning and blend” (PerformingArtsHub), is one of the most richly praised ensembles for the performance of contemporary music. The singers and artistic leader Jaan-Eik Tulve have worked intensively with Pärt since 1999, and the composer was even present when they recorded his work. An endorsement from the master himself!

18 April, 2019 21:00 -- amuz

In Mary of Burgundy’s time, Bruges was the artistic centre of the Burgundian Empire. Based in Bruges, the painter Hans Memling caused an international furore from 1464 onwards. This lecture takes his monumental triptych Christ with Singing and Music-Making Angels – a recently restored highlight of the KMSKA collection – as a starting point for a fascinating discussion of art and culture in the Burgundian Netherlands in the second half of the 15th century.

16 August, 2019 11:00 -- amuz