This collection of Schubert Lieder is Andre Schuen's third album for CAvi. Together with accompanist Daniel Heide, Schuen has chosen songs on the theme of wandering.
Andrè Schuen: "This time, as a point of departure, we chose the idea of "wandering", of a "journey", a "path", and tried to come up with all possible variants. Three major themes emerged. On the one hand, we have Romantic "wandering" per se, which plays an important role in Schubert (as in Der Wanderer on a poem by Schlegel). Secondly, the path to the beloved as in Auf der Bruck as well as in Willkommen und Abschied. The third theme is the journey to the afterlife or to death, as in Totengräbers Heimwehand Im Abendrot. In my view, these three principle themes imbue our programme with a kind of ambivalence, reflecting a general ambivalence that is omnipresent in Schubert.
Daniel Heide: The overwhelming quantity of songs that are often slow and address themes of sadness and yearning is actually one of the core issues in Romantic Lied repertoire ? indeed, why do they have to be so plodding, so sorrowful, so full of longing? Where is the cheerfulness? Is there any life-affirming element to be found?
Baritone Andrè Schuen has been regularly invited to appear in Salzburg Festival productions since 2009, collaborating with conductors Ingo Metzmacher, Riccardo Muti, and Ivor Bolton ? most recently in the role of Morales in Carmen with Sir Simon Rattle as conductor. From 2010 to 2014 he was a member of the ensemble of soloists at Graz Opera, where he covered roles including Prince Yeletzky (Queen of Spades), Belcore (L'elisir d'amore), Ford (Falstaff), Papageno (Magic Flute), Heerrufer (Lohengrin), and Roi Alphonse (La favorite). At the Theater an der Wien (Vienna) he was invited to perform under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt in the title roles of Don Giovanni and Nozze di Figaro, as well as in the role of Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte; he has likewise sung Don Giovanni in Perm (Russia) with Teodor Currentzis conducting. The Theater an der Wien has invited him back for further role debuts including the title role in the world premiere of Anno Schreier's Hamlet and the Count in Richard Strauss's Capriccio; he also covered Marcello in La Boheme for the Grand Theatre de Geneve. In parallel, Andre Schuen pursues a widespread career on concert podiums, collaborating with conductors such as Daniel Harding, Philippe Herreweghe, Riccardo Muti, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Paavo Jarvi, and Trevor Pinnock.
