You want something you won’t generally hear on the radio? How about Robert Schumann’s “Scenes from Goethe’s ‘Faust’” – all blessed two hours of it, complete with vocal soloists and chorus. I’ve got a fine performance of it, all ready to go, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Faust, Elisabeth Harwood as Gretchen, and John Shirley-Quirk as Mephistopheles. The conductor? Benjamin Britten.
It may very well be the highlight of this morning’s show, which will be devoted to works inspired by Germany’s literary giant, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), on his birthday anniversary.
Here’s the thing: in order to play what I want to play, I’ll have to start Schumann’s “Faust” at 7 a.m. So brew yourself some strong coffee and leave a message for the boss that you’ve got an emergency dental appointment and you’ll be in a little late.
There will also be symphonic poems by Liszt (“Tasso, Lament and Triumph”) and Paul Dukas (“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” in a vintage recording with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra), plenty of music based on melodies from Gounod’s “Faust,” Beethoven’s “Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage,” some opera arias, and lieder, lieder, lieder, from Franz Schubert to Hugo Wolf.
All you have to do is sign this parchment with your blood.
I hope you’ll join me this morning, from 6 to 11 ET, as we celebrate Goethe, on WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com. Get your fill of the quill, on Classic Ross Amico.*
*Apparently Goethe actually preferred the pencil:
http://takingnotenow.blogspot.com/2013/08/goethe-and-quill-and-pencil.html