Albin Fries, who is also a passionate natural scientist, presents highlights of his Lied oeuvre on this CD with soprano Margarita Gritskova, who has been a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble since 2012. These include songs that refer to nature, such as the “Seasons” cycle, which includes a setting of Uhland’s famous poem “Frühlingsglaube”, as well as music on poems by Hermann Hesse, Stefan Zweig and Heinrich Seidel, songs dedicated to love, such as the cycle “Lieder nach Gedichten von Friedrich Rückert op. 52” and settings of other poems by Adelbert von Chamisso and Clemens Brentano. The “Five Last Songs op. 53” based on poems by Theodor Storm and Edith Haider, which are dedicated to Margarita Gritskova, were composed under the impression of the composer’s determination to cease composing, which had become impossible for him due to his advanced hearing loss.
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