Twilight Schumann Songs

Description

Twilight is the third album of tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Saskia Giorgini, dedicatedto Robert Schumann song cycles, all written in the miraculously productive year of 1840.The album title and cover photography were inspired by the song Zwielicht, whichtogether with Mondnacht from the same Op. 39 cycle is often considered to be theepitome of German nineteenth-century Romanticism. It is also a fitting metaphor forSchumann's troubled soul, constantly oscillating between light and dark, between hopeand despair. Shedding a fascinating light on Schumann's dark inner world, the recordedsongs are both an expression of his profound love for his wife Clara and of euphoria afterhaving overcome a period of severe mental disturbance. It is hard to think of betterambassadors for this repertoire than Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini, whoseacclaimed partnership has made them seasoned champions of the German lied.Ian Bostridge is one of the most celebrated tenors and lied interpreters of his generation.His PENTATONE recording of Schubert's Winterreise (2019) was crowned with the ICMAVocal Music Award 2020. Bostridge has since released Schwanengesang (2022), The Follyof Desire (2023) as well as Die schone Mallerin (2020) and Respighi Songs (2021), bothtogether with Saskia Giorgini, on the label. Giorgini's Liszt recordings Harmoniespoetiques et religieuses (2021) and Consolations (2023), as well as her Debussy recitalalbum Images (2024), have all received extensive praise.