2014 NEUE STIMMEN Lied Master Class comes to a successful conclusion

On Sunday they presented the same selection of songs to an audience at the Konzerthaus in Berlin.

The week before, the four up-and-coming talents – Monika Rydzkowski (soprano), Elsa Dreisig (mezzo-soprano), Annika Schlicht (mezzo-soprano) and Sebastian Seitz (baritone) – had worked intensively with their teachers on the concert program. NEUE STIMMEN President Liz Mohn emphasized the importance of the lied, the focus of their week-long efforts. "In addition to the traditional opera repertoire, we want to keep this very special art form alive and ensure both young and old continue to appreciate its richness and beauty. Young people in particular are becoming less and less interested in language, lyric poetry and other forms of verse. That means they are losing touch with the cultural roots that make all of us who we are. And that's why it's so important that we succeed in helping young people in particular become familiar with the lied once again."      

As part of this "lied project," the NEUE STIMMEN organizers have therefore added a multi-year lied master class, including final recital, to the existing international master class.

In past years, the organizers have succeeded in engaging internationally renowned artists such as Kammersängerin Edda Moser (2012) and Kammersängerin Angelika Kirchschlager (2013) to direct the lied master classes.

The tradition of the German lied begins in early history and continues through the development of lieder as an art form in the 16th century to the golden age of classical, romantic lieder at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. The lied is now at risk of becoming lost as an art form. While the genre's fans appreciate the Kissinger Sommer festival's Lied Workshop, the Heidelberger Frühling festival's Lied Academy, and the Lied Competition initiated by Thomas Quasthoff, these events remain rare exceptions.

The ongoing partnership with Berlin's internationally acclaimed Konzerthaus reinforces the goals of providing singers with greater support and attracting a new, young audience.