The “Vienese concert” is a cycle of five songs after the Lyrisches Intermezzo by Heinrich Heine and was composed when Olivier Greif was 23 years old. The manuscript provides the exact dates of composition of each lied: May 8th, June 17th, June 31st, July 18th and November 26th, 1973.
The Wiener Konzert was officially created on April 24th, 1974 with soprano Nell Froger and the composer himself at the piano, at the Salle Cortot of the École normale de musique in Paris, during the 778th concert of the Société nationale de musique. Jacqueline Thuilleux (Le Figaro, May 8th) reported: “These songs, written on particularly gloomy poems by Heine, are similar to Malher’s in their atmosphere and are very seductive in their violence and their causticity.”
Brigitte François-Sappey
(translation Philippe Do)
Table of contents
- 1. Vergiftet sind meine Lieder (No. 51, “Poisoned are my songs")
- 2. Aus meinen großen Schmerzen (No. 36, “Out of my great sufferings”)
- 3. Wenn zwei voneinander scheiden (No. 49, “When two lovers part”)
- 4. Am Kreuzweg wird begraben (No. 62, “At the crossing they are buried”)
- 5. Mein süßes Lieb, wenn du im Grab (No. 32, “My sweet love, when you rest in the tomb”)
Audio Excerpts
« Vergiftet sind meine Lieder »
« Aus meinen grossen Schmerzen »
« Wenn zwei voneinander scheiden »
« Am Kreuzweg wird begraben »
« Mein süßes Lieb, wenn du im Grab »