A Journey Through German Lied

For almost two centuries, between the late 18th and mid-20th centuries, the Lied for voice and piano constituted one of the most significant genres of German art music. With Haydn and Mozart, it stemmed from the appreciation of traditional rural songs and the legacy of the Lutheran choir. With Beethoven and Schubert, the forms and harmonies became more complex, and the Lied established itself as a recognized exponent of Germanic cultural identity itself. With Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Brahms, the piano became an increasingly crucial partner in musical discourse, in a dialogue between equals with the voice. With Mahler, the instrumental component expanded to include the orchestra. With Wolff and Richard Strauss, the Romantic tradition reached its final peak in this genre, before the song then veered towards Modernism, through the pens of Berg, Weil, and Henze. Along the way, these composers crossed paths with some of the greatest poets of all time in the German language, from Goethe, Heine, Eichendorff, Rückert or Mörike to Dehmel, Rilke, Brecht or Hesse.