Dorothy Coulter, soprano; Doris Young, soprano; John Kuhn, tenor; Richard Cassilly, tenor; Chester Ludgin, baritone; Richard Cross, bass-baritone; Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Herbert Grossman, Conductor; Johanna Meier, soprano; The Aeolian Chamber Players: John Graham, viola; David Walter, double bass; Ronald Anderson, trumpet; Albert Regni, clarinet, saxophone; Hugo Weisgall, conductor; Judith Raskin, soprano; Morey Ritt, piano; Carolyn Heafner, soprano; Dixie Ross Neill, piano
Hugo Weisgall (b Ivançice, nr Brno, 13 Oct 1912; d Long Island, NY, 11 March 1997) has been called America’s preeminent composer of opera. His musical legacy includes ten important operas, each based on a major theatrical masterpiece or theme, ten song cycles, sacred choral music, with and without orchestra, and works for orchestra, various chamber combinations, and solo piano. His honors are too numerous to detail—but the most recent of them include the Lifetime Achievement Award from Opera America, the Gold Medal for Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the William Schuman Prize from Columbia University, the first award in the arts from the Foundation for Jewish Culture, and a number of honorary doctorates.
Weisgall was an intellectual—having received his Ph.D. in German literature from Johns Hopkins University—but he was also a man of action. He founded and directed chamber opera companies, music conservatories, and chamber music societies. His activities in various military, diplomatic, and cultural posts in Europe during and after World War II relied on a unique combination of guile, foreign-language abilities, and chutzpah and led to the liberation of many people in danger.
As a life-long educator, Weisgall taught composition at Juilliard (1957–1970), was Distinguished Professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, CUNY (1961–1983), and was chairman of the faculty of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (1952–1996). A gifted administrator, he directed the path-breaking Brena and Lee Freeman, Sr., Composer in Residence Program at Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1988 to 1997, and served as a president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1990–1993), the American Music Center (1963– 1973), and the League of Composers/ISCM (1970–1971).
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Hugo Weisgall: Two Operas and Two Song Cycles
| MP3/320 | $32.00 | |
| WAV | $32.00 | |
| 2xCD-R | $32.00 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
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The Tenor: Coming! Coming!
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The Tenor: Who's who in smells, sir
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The Tenor: Have you forgotten what you were hired for?
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The Tenor: To belong to you-
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The Tenor: My trunks, costumes, scores?
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The Tenor: Forty minutes left
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The Tenor: Sitting in the dark
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The Tenor: I am young, Gerardo, I am pure
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The Tenor: Surprise, surprise, quite a surprise!
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The Tenor: Here is my card
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The Tenor: That was a noble trick
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The Tenor: Nils Hansen brought the house down in London last night
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The Tenor: I am just likely, I am not
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The Tenor: I have left my home forever
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The Tenor: I have created nothing
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The Tenor: And yet you cannot leave the stage?
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The Tenor: Yes, Maurice, yes, yes
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The Stronger: Lisa, darling, how nice to see you
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The Stronger: Isn't this a sweet infant?
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The Stronger: You're still brooding about that mix-up
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The Stronger: Why must all his things be this horrid color
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The Stronger: And as for Harold
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The Golden Peacock: I. Undzer Rebenyu
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The Golden Peacock: II. Lomir Zikh Befrayen
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The Golden Peacock: III. Mayn Harts Veynt in Mir
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The Golden Peacock: IV. Baleboste Zisinke
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The Golden Peacock: V. Shlof Mayn Kind
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The Golden Peacock: VI. Der Rebe Elimeylekh
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The Golden Peacock: VII. Di Goldene Pave
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Four Songs, Op. 1: I. Old Love
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Four Songs, Op. 1: II. Song
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Four Songs, Op. 1: III. Oh, Lady, let The sad tears fall
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Four Songs, Op. 1: IV. Dirge
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