‘I have just finished a cycle of Kerner’s poems. Clara was very happy but has also suffered from my silences and absences – this is the price of my lieder.’ Shortly after marrying Clara, Robert Schumann felt his inspiration desert him. It was after this silent, unproductive period that a song cycle of twelve lieder based on Kerner’s poems saw the light of day: born out of silence, these lieder are all the more intense and their melancholy all the more poignant. To perform these vibrant Robert Schumann songs, we have an exceptional guest: Stéphane Degout, a much admired and frequent visitor to La Monnaie, who earlier this season took part in the premiere of Pinocchio by Philippe Boesmans. ‘And from this fearful dream, only an angel will awaken me.’ (J. Kerner)

Programme

• Gabriel Fauré
  • Aurore, op. 39/1
  • Poèmes d’un jour : Rencontre ; Toujours ; Adieu, op. 21 (1878)
  • Automne, op. 18/3 (1878)
• Johannes Brahms
  • O kühler Wald, op. 72 (1877)
  • Die Mainacht, op. 43, (1868)
  • Auf dem Kirchhofe, op. 105, (1889)
  • Feldeinsamkeit, op. 86, (1879)
  • Alte Liebe, op. 72, (1877)
  • Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen, op. 32, (1864)
  • Willst du dass ich geh ?, op. 71, (1875)
• Robert Schumann
  • Zwölf Gedichte, op. 35, (1840)