<<<  <<  -- 4 --  Kelly Ferjutz    THE WANDERING TRAVELLER

In 1839, Wagner went to Paris, where he first encountered Berlioz (ten years his senior) and once again decided to try his hand at art song, the French Mélodie, to be exact. He used poems of Victor Hugo. Dr Lashbook elaborates a bit: 'He didn't know the French language all that well, so he wasn't as successful in setting French poems. Because of this, they were harder to sing, and since he made little money from them, he gave up that idea. But, one can easily hear his influence in other examples of Mélodie. Duparc, for instance in his Extase, has Tristan chords, and a generation later, Hugo Wolff, one of the most famous art song composers ever, admired Wagner so much that he stopped composing for a while after Wagner died.'

Laurie Lashbrook grew up in South Dakota, and remembers listening to opera on the car radio while being driven to music lessons. 'The Wagner operas were so powerful; their drama was so strong even without seeing it on the stage, just from listening you could tell what was happening.' She wasn't drawn to Wagner especially until she understudied Der Fliegende Holländer at the Des Moines Metro Opera. Her first-hand experience with the leitmotivs and how they all intertwined was particularly fascinating to the young singer. As her voice developed, and grew larger, she began to investigate the bigger roles, and has also been recognized for her expertise in Czech music.

On Saturday evening, Dr Jerry Wong of nearby Kent State University will present a recital that includes piano music by Liszt, as well as a few of his piano transcriptions of Wagner operas. The works by Liszt include: Au lac de Wallenstadt, Pastorale, Vallée d'Obermann, Les cloches de Genève, and Hungarian Rhapsody No 12. The transcriptions scheduled are the Recitative and Romance 'Evening Star' from Tannhäuser, 'Lohengrin's Admonition' from Lohengrin, and the 'Liebestod' from Tristan und Isolde.

Tickets are available for the entire symposium or individual events. Details, including prices and other details of past and present symposia plus other helpful links, as well as information about transportation and accomodations are presented at the web-site: www.wagnersocietyofohio.org (or if you prefer, you may call +1 (330) 682 0724.