István Kovács & Gábor Farkas Song Recital

István Kovács, Liszt Prize-winner opera singer, has performed the most important bass roles in the operatic repertoire on renowned European stages and he is acclaimed soloist of the Hungarian State Opera. This time, his chamber music partner will be Gábor Farkas, Liszt Prize-winning pianist and rector of the Liszt Academy. As soloist, he has won numerous awards, including first prize at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Weimar. This time, they will perform a true masterpiece in the lieder repertoire: Franz Schubert’s Winterreise. This cycle, which sets twentyfour poems to music, was published in two parts in 1828, the year of the composer’s death. The text by the German poet Wilhelm Müller recounts the inner turmoil of a wandering young man. The biting cold of winter, aimless wandering, and the question of death are masterfully transformed into an auditory experience in Schubert’s musical setting. Both the pianist and the singer paint this vivid imagery through a clear mode of expression; there is no strict hierarchy among the parts. This often sets a major challenge for the pianist to “sing” on his instrument, or for the singer to take on an accompanying role. Alongside the more abstract, atmosphere-creating effects there are more obvious examples, such as the depiction of a snowdrift, or the repetitive hum in the closing song that imitates a hurdy-gurdy.