<<<  <<  -- 2 --  Maria Nockin    DISTANT SOUND  --  >>  >>>

Lyric coloratura soprano Stacey Tappan's bell-like voice easily met the demands of the Nightingale's Aria 'Liebwerte Freunde' from Die Vogel ('The Birds') by Walter Braunfels (1882-1954). In the mid 1920s, the composer was director of the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne and the première of his opera was conducted by Bruno Walter, but when the Nazis came to power, Braunfels was dismissed from the school and his music condemned.

Tappan continued her performance with a rousing rendition of the jazzy aria, 'Als ich damals,' from Jonny spielt auf ('Johnny tunes up') by Ernst Krenek (1900-1991). The youngest of this group, Krenek studied with Schreker and was influenced by Alban Berg and Anton Webern. When his works were discredited in Germany, he came to the United States where he taught and worked as a freelance composer in the Los Angeles area.

Continue >>