Schumann & Brahms Lieder

Elina Garanca's first solo recital album with works by Schumann and Brahms, accompanied by Malcolm Martineau on the piano.

For Elina Garanca, the song is the most intimate musical form of all. »We are there with our personal feelings to ourselves, without having direct contact with the other person. Longing and fantasy have no limits in the song, «says Garanca.

The heart of the album is the song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben op.42 by Robert Schumann, composed in 1840, which tells of the various stages in a woman's life. In addition to the Schumann cycle, the artist dedicates herself to various Brahms songs on the album, including the pieces Liebestreu op.3 No. 1, Mystery op.71 No. 3, Heimweh II op.63 No. 8 and Von Ewiger Liebe op. 43 No. 1. When making the selection, Garanca wanted to juxtapose very different emotional states set to music.

Garanca has valued the Scottish pianist Malcolm Martineau for many years as a sensitive and accomplished companion and dialogue partner in exploring the emotional worlds of sound. Often times the two artists performed the album's repertoire in concert. The recording for the album was made in Berlin in July 2020.