As a young singer at the age of 23, I had the opportunity to take my first master class with the famous Hans Hotter. The theme of the course was: “Schubert, Wolf and Strauss”. I prepared six songs by each composer and went to Austria where the course took place. I was full of anticipation for the masterclass. In my bag I had, among others, my favorite Schubert songs Ganymed and Prometheus, some Goethe -Lieder by Wolf and some Strauss “classics” such as Die Nacht, Traum durch die Dämmerung and of course Zueignung, probably the most famous song by Richard Strauss.
- “Know’st thou the land?” 
Some weeks ago we talked about the bad auditory memory, about how we lose our ability to evoke sounds that we heard only once, no matter how impressive they were. On that occasion I was afraid that the post was too long so I left something out for a new one; this week I go back to this subject although, I'm afraid this post seems to be written by Captain Obvious. Anyway, if you get tired while reading, please don't give up without listening to the song because, believe me, it's very worth it.
I like February. I like that light and sun that begin to warm us up, I like that feeling on my cold face (in the very few cold days we’ve got in Barcelona). I also like to see almond trees and mimosas in bloom; those cherry plums won't be long before also flourish. I like to see the buds on the branches, in a few days they'll blossom out and the austere beauty of the trees will be enhanced with tiny shoots. We should be attentive to be able to see it, otherwise, spring will burst out covering in green all over without us noticing. I live by the sea with a Mediterranean climate and most trees and bushes don't shed; that's why, I think, I love taking my time to observe fruit trees, linden, season passing by and be watchful, this time of the year, for those first shoots. And, also this time of the year, I think of a Schumann's Lied [...]
This year 2014 we celebrate some of those round anniversaries, used to recall and also pay homage to their heroes. The one most related to this blog is Richard Strauss’ 150th birth anniversary, one of the regular composers on Liederabend. We'll also remember First World War 100th Anniversary, because such a deep wound had also a major impact on Europe’s musical life. And finally, one more anniversary to which this post is dedicated. It's related to MIchelangelo Buonarroti: next Tuesday 18th is his death 450th anniversary.
