Spring Recital: Songs by Robert Schumann from Cycle “Dichterliebe”

The Goethe-Institut welcomes spring with a sonorous recital of songs this year. Soprano singer Ha Pham Thang Long, tenor Leo Hieu Nguyen and pianist Nguyen Huy Phuong present song cycles from the Romantic period by the German composer and conductor Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856). His melodies are accompanied with poems by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 – 1838) and Heinrich Heine (1797 – 1856) amongst others.

In line with the spring, the evening is all about love. Frauenliebe und Leben, sung by Ha Pham Thang Long, tells the story of the first encounter with love, of desire, sorrow and heartache up to the loss of the husband. The awakening of love in spring and the roller-coaster of emotions is described in Dichterliebe. The soprano singer and the tenor round off the evening with a duet of a collection of songs about love, family and the night.

PROGRAM

Robert Schumann Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42
* Poem: Adelbert von Chamisso
* Soprano: Ha Pham Thang Long
* Piano: Nguyen Huy Phuong

Robert Schumann Songs of Dichterliebe, Op. 48
* Poem: Heinrich Heine
* Tenor: Leo Hieu Nguyen
* Piano: Nguyen Huy Phuong

Robert Schumann Duets about love, family and night
* Poem: Emanuel von Geibel, Robert Burns, Friedrich Hebbel
* Soprano: Ha Pham Thang Long
* Tenor: Leo Hieu Nguyen
* Piano: Nguyen Huy Phuong

Listen to Frauenliebe und Leben, performed by mezzo-soprano Jaime Korkos at New England

PARTICIPATING MUSICIANS:

Ha Pham Tang Long: The Vietnamese soprano opera singer Ha Pham Tang Long has a Master’s Degree in opera performance at the National Academy of Music in Vietnam. Currently she is a vocal teacher at the University of Military Culture and Arts and has taken many roles in performances by the National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Vietnam. Furthermore she regularly participates as a solo artist in the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra. Her performance experiences are varied including work by Händel, Mozart and Haydn.

Leo Hieu Nguyen: Leo Hieu Nguyen’s talent as Tenor was first discovered by his choir conductor at Bates College, USA, where he studied political psychology and concentration. Therefore he performed his first solo parts in the college choir including challenging compositions like Carmina Burana or Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. He also performed a recital in Germany in 2015 and is a voice student of Richard Staab and Joachim Keuper. Early in 2016, he performed “Die Winterreise” in Hanoi, which was the first time this famous recital was sung in Vietnam.

Nguyen Huy Phuong: (Ph.D., Associate Professor) was born in 1974 to a musical family, as son of the nationally well-known composer Huy Du. At the age of 7 he started to play the piano. Completing his studies at the Hanoi Music Conservatoire, the artist also studied abroad in Russia where he received his Ph.D. Presently he is the Vice-head of the Faculty of Piano at the Vietnam Academy of Music. For his concerts in Vietnam, Russia and Japan, the pianist enjoyed favorable reviews. In 2010, he also won the "Prize for Best Singing Accompaniment Pianist" at the National Chamber Singing Competition in Vietnam.

The event will be happening at 8p.m., May 21 & 22, 2016

Goethe-Institut Hanoi, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hanoi

Free tickets are available from 9a.m., May 16 at the Goethe-Institut Hanoi.